3304 BCE Shuktimati, the Chedi kingdomThe courtiers and ministers present in the room wore looks of disgust, some fanning the air in front of their faces, others trying to hold their breath in a futile attempt to escape the foul odour. Vasu ascended the marble steps to the throne and sat down, his gaze fixed on the enormous golden fish. “Maharaj!” The fishermen’s voices rang out in a chorus of greeting. Vasu acknowledged them with a nod and gestured towards the fish. “I presume you have a reason for bringing this … thing … here.” It took all his willpower to refrain from pinching his nostrils shut to keep out the revolting reek of dead fish which seemed to pervade every atom of air in the room and, it seemed, even the walls and pillars of the court. The fisherman standing closest to the fish beamed like a magician about to demonstrate his latest magic trick. “Maharaj, thank you for granting us an audience. We have brought you something truly astonishing, maharaj. I caught this fish in the Yamuna. And I knew I had to bring it immediately to you.”Vasu cast an uncertain glance at the fish. He wondered what about it had prompted the fisherman’s action. “Maharaj, it was only after I cut it open that I made my discovery.” The fisherman moved the fish so that the side he had slit open now faced the king. As Vasu looked on, the fisherman, the magician’s smile still plastered on his face, opened up the fish with a flourish. A small scream, immediately stifled, came from behind the latticed screen on the balcony of the courtroom, behind which Girika, Vasu’s queen, and her attendants sat, watching the proceedings below. Vasu looked up, but then quickly turned his attention to the fish. Nestled within the fish, fast asleep, were two infants, human in their shape and form. A boy and a girl. A murmur rose as the courtiers and ministers, forgetting the stench which had so repulsed them a moment ago, now craned their necks to get a better look. The fisherman preened, basking in the reaction to his revelation. Vasu stepped down from the throne and approached the sleeping children, who lay comfortably within the fish. He turned a bewildered gaze to the fisherman. “How did this happen? Did the fish swallow them?”The fisherman scratched his head. “Maharaj, if they had been swallowed by the fish, it would’ve been more believable, but that was not the case. When we caught this fish, it had a swollen stomach, so we thought we might find a good stock of roe inside. But when we cut it open, we discovered that it seemed to have a womb, which fish do not possess as a rule. In that womb, we found these children!”He lifted two flaps of flesh that lay on either side of the children and brought them together, showing that there actually had been some kind of a sac enclosing the two children. Vasu could not believe his ears. “Are you saying that these children were born in the womb of this fish? How is that even possible?”The fisherman nodded vigorously. “Yes, Maharaj. Incredible as it sounds, that’s the reality.” He opened his mouth, as if to say something more, then hesitated and closed it again. It did not go unnoticed by the king. “Speak up, man,” Vasu instructed him. “Say what’s on your mind.”“Maharaj,” the fisherman’s voice was low now, tinged with uncertainty. “You won’t believe me if I tell you.”3304 BCE Shuktimati, the Chedi kingdomVasu glared at him. What was he going on about? “What can be so earth-shattering that I will not believe it? I command you to tell me.”The fisherman still dithered. He looked at his companions, who nodded encouragingly at him. “They will bear witness to what I am about to relate,” the fisherman spoke at last, still nervous. “They all saw what I saw.”He paused as if to steel himself, then began. “When we caught the fish, it was still alive, thrashing about, and it needed all our strength to haul it onto the boat. And when I cut it open, something strange happened. As the fish bled, a spirit came out of it.”He shook his head and held his ears. “I swear, Maharaj, I’ve never seen a spirit before but I knew that was what it was. And it was no ordinary ghost either. It was a woman. A beautiful woman. She was there one moment, and then she was gone. If the others,” he indicated the fishermen gathered around him, “hadn’t been there, if they hadn’t seen the spirit as well, I wouldn’t have believed my eyes.”Vasu tried to keep his incredulity from showing. But the fisherman sounded earnest. And then, there was the fish. With a womb, no less. His eyes did not lie. He decided to get to the point. “What do you want of me?” The fisherman looked relieved that Vasu, far from mocking his story, or worse, actually believed him. He nodded vigorously. “Maharaj, I knew I did the right thing by bringing the fish and the children here. We need your guidance on what to do. Please help us.”Vasu returned to his throne and sat in silence, ruminating on the strange matter that the fisherman had just narrated. Finally, the king spoke. “Leave the boy with us. We will make something of him. The girl, you may take with you and raise as your daughter. If that’s acceptable to you, of course.”The fisherman beamed with delight. “I welcome that, Maharaj. My wife and I have always wanted a daughter, but we’ve not been lucky. It looks like fate has given us a daughter at last, and granted our wish.”He scooped up the girl and cradled her lovingly in his arms, gazing adoringly at the sleeping infant. A female attendant appeared, picked up the sleeping boy and carried him out of the room. Vasu knew that Girika had wanted another son. Well, here he was. Just as fate had conspired to give the fisherman and his wife the daughter they had always desired, it looked like fortune had smiled on the queen as well. He looked at the fisherman. “Look after her well. Always have her best interests at heart.”The fisherman nodded, his face shining with pleasure. “Have you a name in mind for her?”The fisherman beamed at Vasu. “Yes, Maharaj. My wife and I had thought of a name long ago.”He looked lovingly at the small baby in his arms. “We will name her Satyavati.”Excerpted with permission from The Curse of the Kurus (Mahabharata: The Itihasa – Book 1), Christopher C Doyle, Westland.