Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami
From the book “Sri Vraja-mandala-parikrama”:
Śāntanu-kuṇḍa is the place where Mahārāja Śāntanu performed austerities. Its present name is Satohā, and it is on the Govardhana road about three miles from Mathurā. Mahārāja Śāntanu worshipped Bhagavān here with the desire to beget a son. This son became famous as Grandsire Bhīṣma. Bhīṣma’s mother was Gaṅgā, however, for a particular reason she left Śāntanu Mahārāja. The king then became attracted to Satyavatī, who was called Matsyagandhā or Matsyodarī, and who possessed great beauty. She was living in the house of a fisherman across the Yamunā opposite Mathurā. Mahārāja Śāntanu desired to marry her, but the fisherman, Dāśarāja, was unwilling to give the king his adopted daughter in marriage. He said, “If you accept the condition that the son born from my daughter will be the successor to your kingdom, then you can marry her.” Mahārāja Śāntanu refused this proposal for the sake of the crown prince Devavrata (Bhīṣma), yet his heart felt great sadness. When Prince Devavrata came to know of this, he went to the house of the fisherman and vowed to remain a life- long brahmacārī. He promised that the child born from Matsyodarī would ascend the throne. Thus, he was able to arrange for the fisherman’s daughter to marry his father Mahārāja Śāntanu. It is believed that while Hastināpura was Mahārāja Śāntanu’s capital, he also had a place of residence here at Śāntanu-kuṇḍa.
Women who desire a child bathe in this kuṇḍa. Behind the temple there, they make a svastika out of cow dung and perform pūjā. In the middle of Śāntanu-kuṇḍa, on a raised hill, is the temple of Śāntanu’s worshipful deity, Śrī Śāntanu-Bihārījī.
Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This is one of the kundas where Krishna and Balarama used to bring Their cows to drink water. While the cows drank water from the kunda and rested under the shade of the trees, Krishna and Balarama would play various games with Their friends on the banks of the Shantanu-kunda. The kunda achieved its name from Shantanu Maharaja, the King of Hastinapura, who performed penance here and worshiped the sun-god. According to Raghunatha Dasa Goswami, Vrishabhanu Maharaja as well as his daughter Shrimati Radharani also worshiped the sun-god at this same place. In Raghunatha Dasa Goswami’s Vraja-vilasa-stava it says, “Seeing Her father worship Suryadeva out of fear of the nearby Kamsa, Shrimati Radharani, in the secluded place known as Shantanupada, also earnestly worshipped Suryadeva to attain a certain youth, whose complexion is as dark as a host of monsoon clouds, as Her chosen husband. I pray that Suryadeva may protect us.”
