Somewhere in the east of the continent a man was sitting in front of a statue of Ganga praying with full devotion with nine womans who is sitting behind him also praying with their complete faithfulness.
He was the king of Sapta Janani (Seven mothers). It was a kingdom who was built in the past all thanks to the blessings of the god of war Kartikeya. The kingdom itself is quite mysterious in its own ways. The kingdom was surrounded by seven river , and the main palace was in the middle of the kingdom. The name of the kingdom represent the nine Kṛttikā nakshatra (Pleiades). These stars, personified as Kartikeya mothers who wanted to take care of him and nurse him when he appeared on the banks of the River Ganga.
The current kingdom was currently facing a big crises, it have been 12 years since the king of this kingdom has married his nine wife's. At the start of his marriage he was quite happy about it, but as time pass his happy state turn into sadness as neither of his wife's were able to give birth to any child that could become the heir of his large kingdom. At start he was quite patient with this but now he can feel the ministers of his kingdom eying his own throne.
Right now Akshay the king of Sapta Janani is praying to his kuldevi, also known as the clan deity who coaxed to watch over one's kula (clan), lineage, family, and children from misfortune that they may come accross from. The kuldevi of Sapta Janani family is the goddess Ganga in person as it her water that protects his kingdom from different varieties of threat.
As the king family continue to pray with all their devotion a blue light suddenly appear and from it a beautiful woman figure immerge. It is the goddess Ganga in person. The king seeing her bow his head respectfully as he says.
Akshay "O great goddess you who has the power to clean the soul of even the worst sinner, my kingdom seek your help in this time of need" he said to her with respect.
Ganga seeing his action just smile as she start to speak. Ganga "King of Sapta Janani I am very happy from your devotion please tell me what can I do to help your kingdom?" She reply with her calm demeanor.
Akshay "Devi as you know I do not have any son or daughter that can carry my lineage in the future, even after all this time I was unable to have my own child from any of my wife's . Moreover my wife's are dying to have a child that they can shower with all their love and a someone that can take care of my kingdom after my death".
Hearing this a smile appear on Ganga face, looking at the king and his family she say.
Ganga "King Akshay I am sorry but even as your kuldevi I cannot give you a boon to have a children just like that. If I do that it will be a disrespect to all my devotees who work hard and do tapasya, just so that they could see me." hearing this the king feel desperate as he see the last string of hope breaking.
Seeing the face of the king Ganga smile wilden on her face as she continues her talk with the king. Ganga "But I have a solution to your problem". Hearing this the king who was about to fell in his knee gain a little bit of faith. "What is the solution?" he ask with the new sense of hopefulness.
Ganga "I cannot grant you that wish but I can offer you my own child to carry out your lineage". Hearing this Akshay is taken aback as he only know one son of Ganga which is Bhishma who is considered as the most powerful worrior of this yuga.
Akshay "Sorry to say this but isn't Bhishma your son already serving Hastenapur?" he ask with a little bit of stupor.
Ganga "No I am not talking about my elders child but my youngsters". When Akshay hear this he became shock not only him but also his wife's, as no one knows about Ganga adopting Rudra.
Akshay "Sorry to ask this but devi you have another son?" He ask complete surprise by this revelation.
Ganga "Yes I have another son who is only five year old, but he already has power to fight demon" after Ganga says that Akshay could not take it anymore and decide to accept the proposal.
Akshay "Devi we accept your proposal to take care of your son" he reply with a smile on his face.
Ganga "I am glad that you accept my son but I have some conditions before giving him to you and if you are unable to accept it then I won't gave you my lovely child."
Hearing this Akshay start to panic as he really want a child . "Yes devi I will accept all your condition, but what are your condition?" he reply after some time of reflection.
Ganga "The first condition is that he will be allow to leave this kingdom whenever he want to travel the world and either you nor your wife will stop him from leaving, my second is that he will be free to choose any guru he want, thirdly he will be free to choose whether he want to become king of this kingdom or not."
After hearing this Akshay was surprise by these request, but he accept knowing it is his last chance of having someone to carry his lineage.
Akshay" Devi we accept all your condition so please tell me when can I meet my son ? " the king ask enthusiastically.
Ganga meet me at night in the forest where my river past, there you will see your new son, she said with a happy face with that she disappear leaving a very happy and excited family.
______________________________________Hey guys hope you are enjoying the chapter, I know that this kingdom does not exist in the mahabharata but we are in the multivers so there's my be some unknown surprise for the future. Have a good day grin. And also please don't forget to share the stories with your friends and family's