 According to the Harivamsa , Satyavati in her previous life was Achchhoda , daughter of the Pitrs ( ancestors ) and cursed to be born on earth . The Mahabharata , Harivamsa and Devi Bhagavata Purana assert that Satyavati was the daughter of a cursed apsara ( celestial nymph ) named Adrika . Adrika was transformed by a curse into a fish , and lived in the Yamuna river . When the Chedi king , Vasu ( better @-@ known as Uparicara @-@ vasu ) , was on a hunting expedition he had a nocturnal emission while dreaming of his wife . He sent his semen to his queen with an eagle but , due to a fight with another eagle , the semen dropped into the river and was swallowed by the cursed Adrika @-@ fish . Consequently , the fish became pregnant . The chief fisherman caught the fish , and cut it open . He found two babies in the womb of the fish : one male and one female . The fisherman presented the children to the king , who kept the male child . The boy grew up to become the founder of the Matsya Kingdom . The king gave the female child to the fisherman , naming her Matsya @-@ gandhi or Matsya @-@ gandha ( " She who has the smell of fish " ) due to the fishy odor which came from the girl 's body . The fisherman raised the girl as his daughter and named her Kali ( " the dark one " ) because of her complexion . Over the course of time , Kali earned the name Satyavati ( " truthful " ) . The fisherman was also a ferryman , ferrying people across the river in his boat . Satyavati helped her father in his job , and grew up into a beautiful maiden . 
