Devāpi, while still a young boy, withdrew from the world and entered the forest. In his absence, Śantanu ascended the throne and became king. There is even a well-known verse sung on earth in his honor, describing how whomever Śantanu touched with his hands would regain their youth, and by his supreme actions, the king himself attained peace. Yet, for twelve years in Śantanu’s kingdom, the rains did not fall. The land suffered under a relentless drought. Witnessing the devastation spreading throughout his realm, Śantanu, troubled and anxious, turned to the Brāhmaṇas and asked, “Why does the god not send rain upon our land? What wrong have I committed?” The Brāhmaṇas replied, “You enjoy the land that rightfully belongs to your elder brother. Because of this, you are considered a usurper.” Hearing this, the king asked them, “What should I do in this situation?” They answered, “As long as Devāpi, your elder brother, has not fallen from virtue or acquired faults, the kingdom is rightfully his.” When the matter was thus decided—that the kingdom should be offered to Devāpi—the chief minister, Ashmaravin, sent ascetics into the forest. These ascetics, versed in Vedic doctrine, sought out Devāpi. Through their influence, even the upright mind of Devāpi, son of the king, was turned away from the path of Vedic righteousness, and he began to speak against the teachings of the Veda. Meanwhile, King Śantanu, distressed by the words of the Brāhmaṇas and weighed down by sorrow, gathered the Brāhmaṇas and journeyed with them into the forest to offer the throne to his elder brother. When they reached Devāpi’s hermitage, the gods themselves approached the bowed and humble prince. The Brāhmaṇas, addressing Devāpi with words grounded in Vedic authority, said, “The kingdom should be ruled by the elder brother.” But Devāpi answered them in many ways, refuting their arguments with reasoning opposed to the Vedic doctrine. The Brāhmaṇas then turned to Śantanu and said, “Come, O King, enough of this delay. The fault that brought the drought has now ceased, for Devāpi has spoken words contrary to the Veda. The drought, which seemed endless, has ended.” They explained further, “When the elder brother has fallen from the path, you do not become his successor by wrongdoing.” Thus reassured, Śantanu returned to his city and resumed his rule. Though Devāpi remained in the forest, having spoken against the Veda, the lord Parjanya—the rain god—sent down rain for the good of all. In the lineage, Somadatta was born as the son of Bahlika. Somadatta had three sons: Bhūri, Bhūriśravā, and Śalya. The renowned Bhīṣma, learned in all scriptures, was born to Śantanu by the immortal river goddess, Jāhnavī. Śantanu also fathered two sons, Citrāṅgada and Vicitravīrya, with Satyavatī. Citrāṅgada, still a boy, was slain in battle by a Gandharva who bore the same name. Vicitravīrya married Ambā and Vālika, daughters of the king of Kāśī. However, due to excessive indulgence and distress, he was stricken with consumption and died. By Satyavatī’s command, my son Krishna Dvaipāyana—regarding his mother’s word as inviolable—begot Vidura upon a maid sent by Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Pāṇḍu in the field of Vicitravīrya. Dhṛtarāṣṭra, too, fathered a hundred sons upon Gāndhārī, with Duryodhana and Duḥśāsana as their foremost. Pāṇḍu, while hunting in the forest, was cursed by a sage and became incapable of producing offspring. Thus, through the grace of Dharma, Vāyu, and Indra, Kuntī bore Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīmasena, and Arjuna, while through the Aśvins, Mādrī bore Nakula and Sahadeva—five sons in all. All five brothers shared Draupadī as their wife. Yudhiṣṭhira’s son was Prativindhya; Bhīmasena’s son was Śrutasena; Arjuna’s son was Śrutakīrti; Nakula’s son was Śatakarman; and Sahadeva’s son was Śrutakarman. Bhīmasena also fathered a son, Sarvaga, with a princess of Kāśī. Yudhiṣṭhira had a son named Devaka by Yaudheyi. Bhīmasena and Hiḍimbā had Ghaṭotkaca as their son. Again, Sarvaga was born to Bhīmasena by Kāśī. Sahadeva fathered Kuhotra with Vijayī, and Nakula begot Niramitra with Reṇumatī. Arjuna, by Ulūpī, the serpent maiden, had a son named Irāvān. Thus unfolded the lineage of kings and heroes, each birth and event woven into the great tapestry of the Kurus, as preserved in the sacred tradition.