Once, king Shantanu of Hastinapur met a woman named Ganga, on the banks of the river Ganga. He wanted to marry her and she agreed to do, on the condition that he would never ask her any questions.
Soon, Ganga gave birth to a child but drowned him in the river. King
Shantunu was shocked. One by one, she drowned six more children.
Finally, when she was going to drown her eighth child, King Shantanu asked
her why she was doing so.
She said that she was the goddess Ganga under a curse to be born as a human. The children
were vasus (demi-gods) and she was freeing them of the curse. But since
King Shantanu had stopped her, the eighth child would have to live the life of a human. Saying so, Goddess Ganga left.
The eighth child grew up to be the great warrior, Bhishma.
After the marriage of the Pandavas, Vidura
went to Pancala and told them, Bhisma Pitamaha, Guru Drona, King Dhritarashtra and
Queen Gandhari, all want them to return to Hastinapur." But the Pandavas were
not sure if they would be safe near Duryodhana. Lord Krishna advised Vidura
to divide Hastinapur between the Kauravas and Pandavas to ensure peace.
The Pandavas went to Hastinapur and were given a warm welcome.
King Dhritarashtra told Yudhisthira, "The throne of Hastinapur belongs to you. But when your father Pandu died, you were very young so I was made king. Due to this, Duryodhana wants to be king. So everybody has decided to give you half the kingdom." Yudhisthira agreed and became the ruler of half the kingdom with its capital in Indraprastha. 
