Satyavati Proposes Niyoga to Bhishma and Summons Vyasa
Bhishma advises that a qualified Brahmana be invited to father sons on the late king's widows. Satyavati agrees and reveals she has a secret son, the great sage Vyasa, who is perfect for the task. With Bhishma's solemn approval, she prepares to summon him.
Bhishma came to his stepmother with counsel born of cold necessity. "O mother! Listen to me as I again tell you how the Bharata dynasty can be certainly extended through sons," he said. "Let a Brahmana with all the qualities be invited. Let him father sons on Vichitravirya’s field."
The practice was niyoga — the appointed union of a widow with a qualified man to produce an heir for her deceased husband. It was a provision for times of distress, and the extinction of a royal line qualified.
Satyavati listened, then spoke to Bhishma in a smiling and bashful voice. "O mighty-armed descendant of the Bharata lineage! You have spoken the truth. Because I have confidence in you, I will now say what needs to be done to continue the lineage." She reminded him that he, learned in the dharma of distress, would not be able to reject a lawful solution. He was the dharma of their dynasty, its truth, its supreme recourse.
Then she told him her secret.
She had a son. Before she married Shantanu, when she was a young girl plying her father's ferryboat on the Yamuna, the great sage Parashara had fathered a child with her. That son was the rishi Dvaipayana, also known as Vyasa — the one who had divided the Vedas, a great yogi, an ascetic free from all passion. He was always devoted to the truth.
"Asked by me and also asked by you," Satyavati said, "that immeasurably radiant one will surely agree to father excellent sons on your brother’s field. He has told me to think of him whenever a task has to be accomplished. O mighty-armed Bhishma! If you so desire, I will think of him now."
When the maharshi's name was mentioned, Bhishma joined his hands in reverence. He considered the proposal against the three objectives of life: dharma, artha (prosperity), and kama (pleasure). "What you have said is in line with dharma and is also for the welfare of our lineage," he concluded. "It is the best course and I approve."
With Bhishma's approval, Satyavati — also known as Kali — thought of the sage Krishna Dvaipayana, summoning him to her mind to accomplish the task.