Long ago, in the kingdom of Hastinapura, there ruled a powerful king named Shantanu. One day, he fell in love with the river goddess Ganga and married her.

However, Ganga made a strange condition — the king must never question her actions. Shantanu agreed.

After marriage, each time a child was born, Ganga would take the baby to the river and drown it. The king, bound by his promise, remained silent in pain.

When their eighth child was born, Shantanu could not bear it anymore and stopped her. Breaking the condition, he questioned her actions.

Ganga then revealed the truth — the children were cursed celestial beings, and she was freeing them from their curse. Since Shantanu had broken his promise, she left him, taking the child with her.

This child would grow up to become the महान warrior Bhishma, who would shape the destiny of the Kuru dynasty.