Shantanu returned to Hastinapur  with his newfound son Debabrata. Soon he anointed Debabrata as prince. Everyone liked the new young prince.

Four years later, On one evening, Shantanu was strolling in the bank of river Yamuna when an intriguing perfume drew him in.

The scent drew him deep inside the woods in front of a young ravishing beauty. Shantanu asked the girl who she is. The girl said: “My name is Satyavati. My dad is the king of the fishermen. I row boats in Yamuna”.

Shantanu, smitten by Satyavati's beauty, visited her father Dass in fishermen's grove and asked him his daughter's hand for marriage.

Dass said: “O King, I am honored by your offer. But you must promise the throne to her yet-to-be-born son”.

Shantanu could not make such a promise on the spot. He returned to the palace, his mind occupied by a charming young face of a fragrant beauty.

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Debabrata noticed pensive mood of his father for few weeks before asking: “O mighty king, peace reigns all over the kingdom. The borders are safe and secure from the enemies. Yet, why are you so worried? You don't ride the horses in the morning, nor you go for the evening stroll, you look pale and lost weight. What is eating you up?”

Shantanu answered: “Oh my dear son, you are the sole heir to Bharath clan. You are a great warrior, I know. But human life is tenuous. God forbid, something happens to you, the great bloodline of Bharatha will cease. You worth more than hundred sons to me and that is why I do not wish to marry again. But the wise says that a single son is no better than no son at all. This is what makes me worry”.

Debabrata sensed something more than continuing legacy of royal bloodline is bothering his old man. So he consulted his father's chief secretary: “What's wrong with my father? Why is he so pensive lately?” The chief secretary revealed the real cause.

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Debabrata immediately went to meet fisherman Dass with a group of senior statesmen. He requested  Dass on behalf of his father for Satyavati's hand in marriage.

Dass received Debabrata with due respect but reiterated: “O Prince, beloved of all, who would not be honored by such a proposal? My daughter, Satyavati is fit to be the queen of the great emperor Shantanu. But you will be her future son's step-brother. Who could be happy to play second fiddle to a an all-rounder prince like you?”