In this episode of Mahabharata, Devavrat is made Crown Prince. All seems well. Until Shantanu’s encounter with a fisherwoman named Satyavati threatens to ruin everything.
Tropes found here
- Because A Horoscope Says So: The reason why Dashraj the fisherman insist that Shantanu appoint his son(s) born of Satyavati as his Crown Prince instead of the already appointed Crown Prince Devavrat. Devavrat himself vows to abdicate and remain celibate and childless because he cannot countermand a horoscope.
-
Broken Aesop: The previous episode established that a king must choose his successor based on merit alone. And in here, Shantanu rejects Dashraj’s demand because Devavrat has proven merit compared to Satyavati’s sons who don’t exist yet. But Devavrat renounces his claim to the throne because some horoscope said that someone else shall rule. So, horoscopes triumph over merit now. - Celibate Hero: What Devavrat takes a vow to be.
- Has a Type: Apparently Shantanu’s type is women associated with rivers.
- Old-Fashioned Rowboat Date: Shantanu asks Satyavati to row him back and forth and back again across the Yamuna.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Played with. Dashraj agrees to let Satyavati marry Shantanu on the condition that Satyavati’s son(s) be appointed as heirs to the kingdom. Because Shantanu refuses to do so, the marriage is disallowed.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Satyavati the fisherman’s daughter and boat coxswain on the Yamuna River, for Ganga the river spirit.
