Shantanu
| Shantanu | |
|---|---|
Shantanu and Ganga, chromolithograph by Bama Pada Banerjee | |
| In-universe information | |
| Title | Maharaja of Kuru |
| Spouses | Ganga Satyavati |
| Children |
|
| Relatives | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Home | Hastinapura |
Shantanu (Sanskrit: शांतनु, शान्तनु, IAST: Śāṃtanu, Śāntanu) is a character in the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was the King of Kuru kingdom with his capital at Hastinapura. He was a descendant of the Bharata race, a forebear of the lineage of the Chandravamsha, the father of Bhishma and the great-grandfather of the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
Shantanu was the youngest son of King Pratipa of Hastinapura and had been born during the king's later years. His eldest brother, Devapi, had leprosy, and had given up his rightful claim before becoming a hermit. The middle son, Bahlika (or Vahlika), abandoned his birth kingdom, and had started living with his maternal uncle in Balkh, subsequently inheriting his kingdom. Shantanu, thus, ascended the throne of Hastinapura.