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Story Of The Birth Of Satyavati In The Mahabharata

Satyavati was the great grandmother of Pandavas and Kauravas. She is one of the most important characters in the Mahabharata. Story of the birth of Satyavati begins with a king named Uparichara Vasu.

Uparichara ruled over the kingdom of Chedi and was renowned for his Dharma. He was married to Girika. One day, while moving through a forest, he was filled with desire to copulate but Girika was not to be found.


Sitting under a tree, his seminal fluid came out. He collected it in a banyan leaf and asked his hunting hawk to carry it to Queen Girika.

On the way, the hawk was attacked by another hawk and the leaf fell into the Yamuna River.

In the river lived an Apsara named Adrika in the form of a fish and she swallowed it.

The fish became pregnant and was caught by a fisherman. When he cut opened the unusually huge fish, he found a boy and a girl.

He took the children to King Uparichara Vasu. The king soon realized what had happened. The fisherman pleaded with the king to keep the girl child. King agreed.

In due course of time, the boy became the king known as Matsya Raja and the girl became a fisherwoman known as Satyavati.