Editing Mahabharata (section)

=== The older generations ===
[[File: Ravi Varma-Shantanu and Satyavati.jpg|thumb|Shantanu falls in love with Satyavati, the fisherwoman. Painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]].]]

King Janamejaya's ancestor, [[Shantanu]], the king of [[Hastinapura]], had a short-lived marriage with the goddess [[Ganga (goddess)|Ganga]] and had a son, Devavrata (later to be called [[Bhishma]], a great warrior), who becomes the heir apparent. Many years later, when King [[Shantanu]] goes hunting, he sees [[Satyavati]], the daughter of the chief of fishermen, and asks her father for her hand. Her father refuses to consent to the marriage unless Shantanu promises to make any future son of Satyavati the king upon his death. To resolve his father's dilemma, [[Bhishma|Devavrata]] agrees to relinquish his right to the throne. As the fisherman is not sure about the prince's children honoring the promise, Devavrata also takes a vow of lifelong celibacy to guarantee his father's promise.

Shantanu has two sons by Satyavati, [[Chitrāngada]] and [[Vichitravirya]]. Upon Shantanu's death, Chitrangada becomes king. He lives a very short uneventful life and dies. [[Vichitravirya]], the younger son, rules [[Hastinapura]]. Meanwhile, the King of [[Kāśī]] arranges a [[swayamvara]] for his three daughters, neglecting to invite the royal family of Hastinapura. To arrange the marriage of young Vichitravirya, Bhishma attends the swayamvara of the three princesses [[Amba (Mahabharata)|Amba]], [[Ambika (Mahabharata)|Ambika]], and [[Ambalika]], uninvited, and proceeds to abduct them. Ambika and Ambalika consent to be married to Vichitravirya.

The oldest princess Amba, however, informs Bhishma that she wishes to marry the king of Shalva whom Bhishma defeated at their swayamvara. Bhishma lets her leave to marry the king of Shalva, but Shalva refuses to marry her, still smarting at his humiliation at the hands of Bhishma. Amba then returns to marry Bhishma but he refuses due to his vow of celibacy. Amba becomes enraged and becomes Bhishma's bitter enemy, holding him responsible for her plight. She vows to kill him in her next life. Later she is reborn to King [[Drupada]] as [[Shikhandi]] (or Shikhandini) and causes Bhishma's fall, with the help of [[Arjuna]], in the battle of Kurukshetra.