Vyasa Accepts the Task and Sets Conditions for the Queens
Vyasa appears instantly at his mother's thought. She explains the crisis, appealing to him as a brother to the dead king. Vyasa agrees to father sons on the widows but sets a condition: the queens must observe a strict vow for a year, or if conception is needed immediately, they must tolerate his formidable ugliness.
The wise one was busy interpreting the Vedas when he learnt his mother was thinking about him. He appeared at once.
Satyavati welcomed her son with the proper rites, embraced him, and bathed him with her tears — the daughter of the fishermen tribe seeing her eldest after a long time. Vyasa washed her face with water, paid homage, and said, "I have come to accomplish the task you desire. You know the ways of dharma. Therefore, tell me what you wish me to do and I will do what pleases you."
When he was seated, his mother looked at his face and made her appeal. She framed it in terms of family and duty. "O wise one! There is no doubt that sons are born from both the father and the mother. According to destiny, you are my oldest son. O brahmarshi! In that way, Vichitravirya is my youngest. Therefore, just as Bhishma is Vichitravirya’s brother on the father’s side, you are his brother on the mother’s side."
She laid out the crisis: Bhishma, bound by his terrible vow, would neither beget offspring nor rule. For the sake of preserving Shantanu’s lineage, to keep Bhishma’s request and hers, out of compassion for all beings, she asked him to do this thing. "Your younger brother has left two wives who are as beautiful as goddesses. They are in the full bloom of youth and beauty and desire to have sons, in accordance with dharma. O son! Therefore, beget sons who are worthy of carrying forward our lineage on them. You alone are worthy."
Vyasa replied, "O Satyavati! You know dharma, in this world and the next. Your mind is always fixed on dharma. With dharma as the objective, I will do what you are commanding me to do. This is an eternal practice. For my brother, I will produce sons who are the likes of Mitra and Varuna."
Then he set his condition. "Let the queens observe the vow I indicate for one year. They will then be purified. No woman can unite with me without having observed a rigid vow."
Satyavati pressed for urgency. "Take steps so that the queens can conceive immediately. The gods do not shower rain in a country that is without a king. O lord! How can a country that has no king be protected? Therefore, let the conception take place and Bhishma will protect the wombs."
Vyasa amended his terms. "If I have to produce a son for my brother quickly and before the appointed time, they must observe the supreme vow that they will have to tolerate my ugliness. If Kousalya can bear my smell, my form, my attire and my body, she will conceive an excellent son today."
Having uttered these words, and pending the time of union, the hermit disappeared.