Hastinapura was the capital of the kingdom where Bharata and his descendants ruled. One of them was King Shantanu. The epic actually begins with the rule of Shantanu. One day, when he was hunting, he saw a beautiful lady beside river Ganga. He fell in love, and introducing himself, told her he wished to marry her. She was Ganga, the river goddess, she said, and would marry him on condition that he would not question anything she did or stop her from doing it. The King Shantanu promised and they were married. They were very happy for some time and a son was born to them. Then Shantanu saw a strange thing: Ganga took the infant and drowned him in the river. The shocked king was silent remembering his promise. But he was struck with horror and misery when this happened to six more sons. When she took the eighth boy, he protested.
Hastinapura and Shantanu
