King Shantanu Marries Goddess Ganga

Another esteemed king of Bharata's lineage was Shantanu, the son of Kuru. King Shantanu was passionate about hunting. On one hunting trip, he encountered a stunning young woman on the Ganga riverbank. She had a slender waist, eyes resembling lotus petals, and long black hair. Shantanu was captivated by her beauty and desired to marry her.

"Who are you, O appealing one?" he asked. Before she answered, he introduced himself: "I am King Shantanu. Please marry me. I will give you all the pleasures in the world."

The woman smiled and said, "I will marry you on two conditions."

"I am ready to fulfill any of your conditions." 

"My first condition is that you will never interfere in anything I do and never question me. My second condition is that you will never address me in harsh words, no matter what I do. If you violate these conditions, I will leave you then and there."

Shantanu was madly in love with the woman and agreed to her stipulations without thinking. She was none other than Goddess Ganga in human form!

Shantanu and Ganga got married and lived together for two years. They enjoyed their time together as a married couple. When Ganga became pregnant, Shantanu was overjoyed. His happiness grew when their son was born. However, Ganga took the newborn to the riverbank and drowned him. Shantanu, who had secretly followed Ganga, couldn't believe what he saw. He recalled Ganga's warnings and chose to remain silent.

Similarly, Ganga bore six more sons and drowned each of them in the river, leaving Shantanu feeling helpless to do anything but watch. Ganga showed no sign of remorse on her face as seven of their children had drowned in the river. Sometime later, Ganga gave birth to her eighth son and headed to the riverbank with him, closely followed by Shantanu. This time, he couldn't stop himself. Just as Ganga was about to drown her eighth child, Shantanu yelled, "Stop! Who are you? Why are you killing your own children? Have mercy on this child, at least. Are you a woman or a demoness who takes the lives of her own children?"