The Second Wife

Two women, Two boons, Two Epics

Kaikeyi and Satyavati are two crucial women characters in our epics. Both join us as junior wives of two powerful kings, Dasharath and Shantanu. But both of them rise above their limits in the royal court to be able to stop the crown princes from ascending to the throne in favour of their own sons. Both of them became the ultimate kingmakers instead of languishing at the status of second wives.

Kaikeyi was the daughter of King Ashvapati of Lahore (Kekeya is located between the river Jhelum and Chenab). It seems horses were plenty in the Puranic Pakistan and many kings used the title of Ashvapati. On the eastern coast, by the Ganges, we have many Gajapatis instead. We come across another Ashvapati in the Savitri Satyavan story. Savitri was the daughter of the Madra king, Ashvapati. Madra is part of Pakistan now. We know Alexander came riding on a horse and overpowered Puru riding on his elephant. While horses predominate in the Indus Valley, elephants abound in the Ganges valley.

On the eve of the coronation of the king Ram, Kaikeyi asks for two boons promised to her by the king in a totally different situation. 

The demands were-

‘Ram be sent to forest for 14 years.
Her son Bharat be crowned king instead.’

As the beleaguered father was struck dumb at such a sudden bolt from the blue, the worthy son decides to fulfil the vow on behalf of the despondent father. This sets the stage for the great epic Ramayana.

Shantanu , the great king on the other hand was infatuated by the crafty Satyavati and wants to marry her. Shantanu was old and already had a crown prince, the able Debabrat (Bhisma). Satyavati extracts two boons from the weak king.

‘Bhisma should abdicate his right to the throne of Hastinapur.
So also his lineage’.

Now that is a tall order. The father was flabbergasted. But the son took the challenge. He immediately abdicated his right to the throne. That was easy. But what about his children ? They are going to outwit Satyavati’s future generation. So Debabrat took a Bhisma Pratignya. He would never marry.

We know that both the sons of Satyavati: Chitrangada and Vichitravirya were childless. Then again the Crafty Satyavati calls her son Vyas from her youthful days and Dhritarasta and Pandu were born. One was born blind hence unfit for the throne. The other was infertile. This set the stage for the second epic the Mahabharat.

Two stories of power hunger of two women in two different Yugas that tore into the fabric of ancient India.