Satyavatī (Matsyagandha)

Matsyagandha, later called Satyavatī, was the daughter of a fisherman (pāṭhīnara) who lived on the banks of the Yamunā. Through her meeting with the ṛshi Parāśara she became the mother of Vyāsa. Later she married King Śantanu and became queen of Hastināpura. She was the grandmother of the Pāṇḍavas and the Kauravas. The Umā Saṃhitā tells how she changed from a fish-smelling boat-girl into Yojanagandha, the one whose fragrance reaches a yojana.

Her name and family

Her first name, Matsyagandha, means “she who smells of fish”. It described her work, as the daughter of a fisherman who ferried people across the Yamunā, and her natural smell before Parāśara changed it. She was dark in complexion (kṛshṇa-varṇā). She appears in the narrative as a young woman of practical wisdom and clear moral sense, able to speak with a great ṛshi as an equal.

Her father was a fisherman. He raised her to help with the family work of ferrying passengers. She is also called Dāśeyī, the daughter of the dāsa (fisherman).

Meeting with Parāśara

Parāśara was on a tīrtha-yātrā (a journey to holy places). He asked to be taken across the Yamunā, and her father sent Matsyagandha to row the boat. Parāśara was struck by a strong attraction and wished to be with her. She did not simply refuse or give in. She spoke with him calmly and with reason. She pointed to the difference in their stations, to the wrongness of the time and place, to the fact that people on the shore could see them, and to her own position afterward. (Umā Saṃhitā, Chapter 44)

Parāśara made a fog to meet her worry about privacy. She then set further conditions. Her kanyātva (her state as an unmarried girl) must be kept. Her parents must not learn of the event. She must receive a divine fragrance in place of her fish smell. She must stay young for ever. Parāśara granted all four. He named her Satyavatī and declared that ṛshis and devas would honour her. He changed her matsya-gandha (fish smell) into Yojanagandha, a fragrance that can be sensed a full yojana away. He restored her virginity.

Mother of Vyāsa

From her union with Parāśara, Satyavatī gave birth at once, on an island in the Yamunā, to a fully formed son who shone like the sun. He became Vyāsa. The child bowed at her feet and left for tapas (austerity) straight away. He said, “When you need me, remember me. I will come.” Satyavatī went back to her father’s house as a kanyā (an unmarried girl), as the boon of restored virginity had promised. She kept the secret of her remarkable son. (Umā Saṃhitā, Chapter 44)

Parāśara himself said that his attraction came from divine destiny (brahma-likhita, “written by Brahmā”). This places their meeting within the divine plan.

Later life

Satyavatī later married Śantanu, king of Hastināpura, and became queen. She bore Śantanu two sons, Citrāṅgada and Vicitravīrya. When both died without heirs, she called Vyāsa to mind. Through him came Dhṛtarāshṭra, Pāṇḍu and Vidura. So Satyavatī’s two sons, the great Vyāsa and the Kuru kings, are the roots of the family of the Mahābhārata. Vyāsa is the compiler of the Purāṇas and of the Mahābhārata.

Sources

• Umā Saṃhitā, Chapter 44