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Ganga is the Hindu goddess of the river Ganges. She is the daughter of Himavat and granddaughter of Brahma. Her sister was Parvati. She waters the Earth alongside Saraswati.

Fall to Earth[]

The was once a king named Sagar. He had sixty thousand sons. One day he intended to sacrifice a horse to the gods, but the horse was stolen by Indra and placed in the Underworld. Sagar told his sons to find it and upon finding it (next to a holy sage), they told their father. However, thinking the sage had stolen it, they hurled insults upon him. The sage opened his eyes after many years and caused the sons to be burnt to death. Their souls roamed the Earth because their last rites had not been performed.

Sagar's descendant Bhagiratha prayed to Brahma to send Ganga down to Earth to cleanse the souls of the sixty thousand sons. Brahma agreed and sent Ganga to Earth. Ganga, feeling insulted, sought to sweep away the Earth with her descent. Brahma told Shiva to break the descent of Ganga. Shiva agreed and Ganga fell on his head. The river flowed through his matted hair and fell to Earth and eventually to the Underworld, cleansing the souls.

Marriage to Shantanu[]

The eight Vasus, attendants of Indra, stole a cow that belonged to a sage. The sage cursed them to be reborn as humans and they requested Ganga to be their mother. Later, Shantanu of the Kuru dynasty saw her bathing near a river and asked her to marry him. She agreed on one condition, that Shantanu never question her actions. If he did, she would leave him forever. After they married, they had seven children in order. Ganga took each one and drowned them in the Ganges. Shantanu could not act against her lest she leave him. When she was about to drown their eighth son, Shantanu was devastated and asked her why. She told him of the curse and how she released seven of the Vasus. She then left him alone with the eight Vasu, who would grow to be Bhishma.

Human Family[]

Kuru Genealogy in Hindu mythology Names in bold are kings of Hastinapura
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chandra
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Budha
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Seven generations
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dushyant
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bharata
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bhumanyu
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Six generations
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kuru
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Viduratha
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bhimasena
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pratipa
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ganga
 
Shantanu
 
 
 
Satyavati
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bhishma
 
 
Chitrangada
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Subala
 
Ambika
 
 
 
 
 
 
Vichitravirya
 
Ambalika
 
 
Shurasena
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shakuni
 
Gandhari
 
Dhritarashtra
 
Madri
 
Pandu
 
 
Kunti
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Duryodhana
 
Kauravas
 
Nakula
 
 
Sahadeva
 
 
 
Karṇa
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Draupadi
 
 
 
Yudhisthira
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bhima
 
 
Rohini
 
Vasudeva
 
Devaki
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Arjuna
 
Subhadra
 
Krishna
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Abhimanyu
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Parikshit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Janamejaya

Gallery[]

Preceded by:
Sunanda
Queen of Hastinapura
Mythic
Succeeded by
Satyavati


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