In Hindu mythology, Satyavan is the spouse of Savitri, a
lady known for her love to her husband as well as her cunning in outwitting
Death in order to reclaim her husband after he died.
In Hindu mythology, Satyavati is the mother of the sage
Vyasa.
Satyavati comes into the world in a unique manner.
Her mother, a heavenly nymph who is cursed to live as a fish
in the Ganges, consumes some sperm that has fallen into the Ganges, gets
pregnant, and gives birth to a son and a daughter.
Satyavati matures into a lovely young lady, but her origins
lead her to perpetually smell like fish, earning her the nickname Matsyagandhi
("fish-scent").
She works as a ferry driver on the Ganges, and one day she
transports the sage Parashara, who is enchanted by her beauty.
Parashara produces an artificial fog to give the two of them
privacy, has sexual contact with her, and promises that Satyavati would no
longer smell like fish from that day forward.
Vyasa is the son of this relationship.
Satyavati continues her profession, until one day she
ferries King Shantanu, who is likewise enamored with her beauty.
She asks that her sons control Shantanu's realm before she
marries him.
Shantanu accepts, and his son Bhishma swears never to marry,
ensuring that his family would never compete with hers.
Satyavati has two sons: Chitrangada and Vichitravirya.
Chitrangada dies as a kid, while Vichitravirya dies after
marrying the princesses Ambika and Ambalika but before having offspring.
Satyavati, desperate, remembers her first son Vyasa, who has
a son with each of the wives: Pandu with Ambalika, and Dhrtarashtra with
Ambika.
The warring families in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, of
which Vyasa is known as the narrator, are descended from these two sons.
