King Shantanu falls in love with Matsyagandhi (Satyavati). King Shantanu is captivated by Satyavati or Matsyagandha and wants to marry her.

Their liaison later set the stage for the epic Mahabharata.

Satyavati, brought up by a fish chieftain, agrees to marry Shantanu on the condition that their children would inherit the throne, thereby denying Devavrata, Shantanu’s son his rightful place. Shantanu doesn’t agree to it initially but after his son, Devavrata takes the bachelor-hood vow and comes to be addressed as Bhishma, agrees to the conditions, Shantanu marries her and fathers two children – Chitrangada and Vichitravirya.

This oil on canvas painting is a masterpiece by Raja Ravi Varma and is currently located at Maharaja Fateh Singh Museum, Lakshmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara, Gujarat.