Ganga concludes her tale and departs with Devavrata
Ganga finishes her tale of the curse and its terms. Without another word, she vanishes from the riverbank, taking the young Devavrata with her. Shantanu is left alone with his sorrow, and a son who is now only a memory.
Ganga concluded her account. She had explained the theft, the sage's wrath, the modified curse — seven vasus to die quickly, one to live a long, childless life on earth. She had told Shantanu why she had drowned their first seven sons: it was the boon she had granted, to free them the moment they were born. And she had named the eighth: Dyou, the vasu whose act had brought the curse upon them all, now living as their son.
Her purpose in the world of men was complete. The pact with the vasus was fulfilled. The terms of Apava's curse were clear: this boy, known as Devavrata and Gangeya, was to live a long life devoted to dharma and his father's pleasure, forsaking women and offspring.
Having said all this, the goddess did not linger. She immediately vanished. Taking her son with her, she went away to wherever she wished to go.
Shantanu was left on the riverbank. The boy who had surpassed him in all qualities was gone. The capital he returned to was empty of the two people who had defined his life. With sorrow in his heart, King Shantanu ruled alone, waiting for a future he could not yet see.
The son, known under two names — Devavrata and Gangeya — was gone. But he would return, trained in every art by the gods themselves, to meet his destiny and earn a third, more terrible name.