Satyavati was the beautiful daughter of the chief fisherman. She had a very special fragrance which people could smell from a long distance away. She was a gandharva’s daughter born through a fish. Therefore, when she was born, she smelt like a fish. As she grew up, she used to ferry passengers across the river in her father’s boat. One day, sage Parashar had to be ferried across. He fell in love with her beauty. She was afraid that he would curse her if she rejected him. So, she kept quiet. In return, the sage gave her the blessing of the special fragrance. Her eldest son, Vyasa, became a very learned sage like his father Parashar. Vyasa gave her a promise that whenever she thought of him, he would come to her for whatever service she needed. It was a promise he kept all through her life and later to his sons and grandsons too.
Satyavati’s Eldest Son
