Seated comfortably beneath the cool shade of a tree, King Uparicara Vasu savored the sweet fragrance of flowers mingled with the scent of honey, letting the gentle breeze fill him with joy. As thoughts of his beloved wife stirred within him, the fire of love grew so intense that, wandering through the dense forest, his seed spilled. The king, quick to act, caught the seed with a leaf, determined that it should not fall in vain. Using his ring, he carefully protected the white seed, tying it with red ashokas and tender leaves. He reflected, “Let this spilled seed not be wasted, and let my wife’s fertile time not pass fruitlessly.” Again and again, the king pondered, confident that his seed would not go to waste. Observing the proper time for his wife’s conception, he consecrated the seed, which was ready to depart swiftly. Understanding the subtle truth of righteousness and purpose, Uparicara Vasu approached a hawk and spoke: “Gentle one, for the sake of my beloved, carry this seed to my house.” The hawk took the seed and soared swiftly through the sky. As it flew rapidly, another hawk spotted it and, suspecting it carried flesh, rushed to attack. In the sky, the two birds engaged in a fierce fight with their beaks. During the struggle, the seed fell and landed in the waters of the Yamuna, where a celestial nymph named Adrika, cursed by Brahma, lived in the form of a fish. As the seed dropped from the hawk’s claws, Adrika, swift in her fish form, seized it. At some time thereafter, fishermen caught this fish. When the tenth month arrived, the fishermen extracted from the fish’s belly a woman and a man, both human. Amazed, they hurried to the king and reported, “O king, from the body of a fish, these two humans have been born.” Of the two, King Uparicara Vasu took the male, who was named Matsya—a righteous king, true to his word. The apsara Adrika, freed from her curse, immediately regained her divine form. She had previously been mentioned as having entered an animal birth, and it had been foretold: “Having given birth to two humans, you will be released from the curse.” After bearing them, she was killed by the fishermen. Leaving her fish form behind, she attained her celestial appearance and, as a splendid apsara, departed for the path of the Siddhas, Rishis, and Charanas. The daughter of the fish, fragrant as a fish, was given by the king to Dasa, with the words, “Let this maiden be yours.” Endowed with beauty, character, and all virtues, she became known as Satyavati, due to her association with the fishermen. For some time, the pure-smiling Satyavati bore the scent of fish. Serving her father, she would row his boat upon the waters. During a pilgrimage, the sage Parashara beheld her on the river, struck by her extraordinary beauty—so radiant that even perfected beings desired her. As soon as he saw her, the wise sage longed for the lovely-smiling maiden, the divine daughter of Vāsava, whose thighs were like plantain stems. Considering her origin and recognizing her, the son of Śakti asked, “Fair one, where is the helmsman steering this boat? Tell me.” She replied, “O twice-born, this boat, filled with a thousand people, is steered by me, the daughter of the boatman, to please my father who has no sons.” Parashara said, “O beautiful Vāsavī, O auspicious one, why do you delay? Let the boat be rowed. The fare will be a pot half-filled with a thousand coins.” Matsyagandhā, saying “So be it,” began to row the boat upon the water. Seeing the sage’s gaze upon her, she spoke: “People call me Matsyagandhā, the daughter of the boatman king. It is by divine knowledge that your form was perceived at the very moment I saw you.” “For the sake of accepting affection, I will tell you this, O Vāsavī, listen: The Pitṛs known as Barhiṣads, O Soma-drinker, are renowned. You are their mind-born daughter, famed as Acchodā, because you arose from the divine lake named Acchoda. You have never before seen your fathers; born from their mind, you do not know your own Pitṛs.” “She chose another as her father, forsaking her own Pitṛs—namely Vasu, a son of Manu, renowned and dwelling in heaven. He was united with Adrikā, an apsaras, residing in a celestial chariot in heaven; by that mental transgression, she, moved by desire, acted thus. Having desired another father, through the power of yoga she fell from heaven; as she was falling, she saw from near the three celestial chariots.” “There she saw her own Pitṛs, as small as particles of dust, extremely subtle, indistinct, with bodies barely perceptible, as if joined limb to limb. Falling headlong, she cried out to them in distress, ‘Father!’ They told her, ‘Do not fear,’ and thus she remained in heaven. Then she began to propitiate her fathers with humble words; the Pitṛs said to their daughter, ‘You have lost your sovereignty by transgression.