"Then one day, approaching Shantanu, who was grieving and sunk in thought, his son Devavrata spoke this word to his father: 'All is well with you on every side, and all kings are obedient to you; why then do you grieve here without ceasing, so troubled, and, as though lost in thought, O king, say nothing at all?' Thus questioned by his son, Shantanu replied: 'Beyond doubt I am sunk in thought; it is as you say. Our posterity — you alone stand for our great line, O Bharata; and such is the impermanence of mortals — that is why I grieve, my son. If some misfortune should befall you, O Gangeya, our line will be no more; beyond doubt, you alone are better than a hundred sons. Nor do I wish, without cause, to take a wife again; it is only for the sake of the line's continuance that I would desire it — blessings on you! "To have but one son is as good as having none" — so say the knowers of dharma. The agnihotra, the three Vedas, sacrifices with their gifts — all these are not worth a sixteenth part of good progeny. So it is among men, and among all creatures as well; that there is good in progeny, O most wise, of this I have no doubt; such is the eternal teaching of the three Vedas and of the ancient, most excellent traditions. And you are a hero, ever intolerant of insult and ever bearing arms, O Bharata; your death can come by no means other than by weapons, O sinless one. That is why I have fallen into anxiety, thinking: "If you should perish, what then?" — here, my son, is the cause of my grief, told to you in full.'"