Dhritarastra – Index

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DHRTARASTRA.

I. Father of the Kauravas.

 

1 ) Genealogy.
Descended from Visnu thus:

Brahma, Atri, Candra, Budha, Pururavas, Ayus, Nahusa, Yayati, Puru, Janamejaya, Pracinvan, Pravira, Namasyu, Vita-bhaya, Sundu, Bahuvidha, Samyati, Rahovadi, Raudrasvan, Matinara, Santurodha, Dusyanta, Bharata, Suhotra, Suhota, Gala, Gardda, Suketu, Brhatksetra, Hasti, Ajamidha, Rksa, Samvarana, Kuru, Jahnu, Suratha, Viduratha, Sarvabhauma, Jayatsena, Ravyaya, Bhavuka, Cakroddhata, Devatithi, Rksa, Bhima, Pratica, Santanu, Vyasa,

 

2) Birth. Santanu, a king of the Lunar dynasty, had two wives Ganga and Satyavati.

Ganga gave birth to eight sons. But seven of them were thrown into the river Ganga. Giving the eighth son Bhisma to Santanu Ganga disappeared.

Santanu then married Satyavati, a fisher-woman.

 

Satyavati gave birth to two sons, Citrangada and Vicitravirya. When Santanu grew old, Citrangada was anointed as King, as Bhishma had taken Brahmavrata (vow of celibacy). Once when Citrangada went to the forest for hunting, a Gandharva of the name Citrangada killed him.

 

So Vicitravirya became the King of Hastinapura.

Bhisma took the three daughters of the King of Kasi, Amba, Ambika and Ambalika by force into his chariot and brought the last two, to Hastinapura to be given as wives to Vicitravirya.

Vicitravirya married Ambika and Ambalika. But shortly after that he also died, before any children were born to him.

 

Fearing that the Lunar dynasty would come to an end, Satyavati brought her son Vedavyasa, who was born to her from hermit Parasara, before her marriage, to Hastinapura. In the night Satyavati sent Ambika adorned with ornaments and costly garments, to the bedroom of Vyasa. But she could not bear to lie with Vyasa who was clad in barks of the tree and wearing matted hair. Still thinking that it was not right on her part to stand against the wish of her mother, she approached Vyasa and lay with him with closed eyes. Ambika became pregnant. The child she gave birth to, was blind. That child was Dhrtarastra.

 

Next night Ambalika approached Vyasa. When she saw Vyasa she turned pale at his uncouth figure and her face became bloodless. So the child born to her was pale and was called Pandu.

Next night the maid of the queen approached Vyasa with a joyful heart and so she got Vidura as son, who was extremely wise and intelligent. Thus Dhrtarastra, Pandu and Vidura became sons of the same father.

(Maha-bharata, Adi Parva, Chapters 63 and 105) .

 

 

3) Up to marriage.

After the birth of Dhrtarastra Vyasa returned to forest and since then Bhisma stood in place of father to the children. Bhisma performed `Upanayana’ (investiture with Brahma-string) and other rites of the children. Dhrtarastra, Pandu and Vidura had their education in Hastinapura. (M.B. Adi Parva, Chapter 108) .

 

“Dhrtarastra, Pandu and the wise Vidura The three were brought up as sons by Bhisma,

 

They became well educated, cultured and devotional, Respectful towards vows and fasts, and of good physique, earnest in work And they became valiant youths.

Learned the Vedas and Veda of archery, Clubbing, shield and swords play, elephant-keeping, laws of chastisement,

Veda ‘sastras, all-led works and epics and the Puranas,

Pandu came out expert archer, Dhrtarastra the strongest of all. None in the three worlds was equal to Vidura, In wisdom and knowledge and righteousness.”

(M.B.Adi Parva, Chapter 109).

 

Because of his blindness Dhrtarastra was not anointed as King. It is stated in M.B. Adi Parva, Chapter 108 Stanza 25, that in the place of Dhrtarastra, Pandu was anointed the King.

 

 

4) Marriage and birth of children.

Dhrtarastra came of marriageable age. Bhisma had heard about Gandhari, daughter of Subala, the King of Gandhara, as a beautiful damsel of good qualities. Moreover she had acquired a boon from Siva that hundred sons would be born to her.

Bhisma sent a messenger to Subala with a request to give Gandhari as wife to Dhrtarastra.

Subala was not much pleased at the aspect of getting a blind man as son-in-law. Still he thought of the prestige his family would get by a marriage alliance with the kings of the Kuru Dynasty, and finally agreed. Gandhari submitted to the will of her father, and to live with a husband who was blind. She tied her eyes with a cloth. Sakuni the son of Subala brought Gandhari to Hastinapura, and gave her to Dhrtarastra. With the sanction of Bhisma their marriage took place.

 

:. It is stated in M.B. Asramavasika Parva, Chapter st, Stanza 7 having the name Dhrtarastra. (See under Dhrtarastra III).

 

Once Gandhari feasted Vyasa who came tired with hunger and thirst. The hermit was pleased with her and blessed her to have hundred sons. Gandhari became pregnant.

But even after two years no delivery took place. She crushed her womb by force and a lump of flesh came out.

At that time Vyasa came there. He cut the lump into hundred pieces and kept them in ghee-pots. Gandhari had a desire to get a daughter also. Vyasa who had known it had cut the lump in such a way that there was a small piece in excess.

The pots broke by themselves in due course and hundred sons and a daughter were born. The daughter was named Dussala. A son named Yuyutsu also was born to Dhrtarastra of a Vaisya woman. Duryodhana was the eldest of the hundred sons.

The children grew up. Dussala was given in marriage to Jayadratha, the King of Sindhu. (M.B. Adi Parva, Chapters 109 to 116).

 

 

5) Till Bharata-battle.

At this juncture Pandu incurred a curse from a hermit that he would die if his wife touched him. With that Pandu retired to forest with his wives. Dhrtarastra was grieved at the separation of his brother. Pandu died in the forest and Madri jumped into fire and died with her husband. Dhrtarastra asked Vidura to perform their cremation rites. After that Yudhisthira became King. The Pandavas became more and more prosperous.

This made the heart of Dhrtarastra cloudy. He gave sanction to Duryodhana to transfer the Pandavas to the lac house in Varanavata. The lac house caught fire and it was rumoured that the Pandavas died in the lac house fire, and Dhrtarastra shed crocodile tears, and ordered for the mourning and oblation to be performed. After the marriage of Paficali, it came to be known that the Pandavas were alive and that they were living with Drupada. Dhrtarastra recalled them and gave them half of the country. The Pandavas made Indraprastha their capital and began to rule the kingdom. Yudhisthira performed the sacrifice of Rajasuya (royal consecration). Dhrtarastra also took part in the sacrifice.

Duryodhana wanted to challenge Yudhisthira to a game of dice. Dhrtarastra agreed but advised Duryodhana not to live in enmity with the Pandavas. The game of dice was played, and Yudhisthira lost everything the Pandavas had. Dhrtarastra called Pancali and told her that she might ask any boon. She requested that her husband Dharmaputra might be exempted from servitude and the Pandavas made free. Dhrtarastra compelled her to ask for more boons. She replied that according to law Vaisyas were eligible for one boon, Ksatriya women two boons, Kings three boons and Brahmanas hundred boons, and since she had already taken two boons, she wanted no more. Dhrtarastra who was pleased at this reply gave the Pandavas freedom and returned all their lost wealth.

 

Duryodhana wanted to challenge the Pandavas for a game of dice again. Dhrtarastra agreed. This time also Yudhisthira lost the game. The Pandavas who had lost everything, were ordered to go to forest for twelve years and to live incognito for one year. The Pandavas went that Dhrtarastrawas born as the incarnation oaf a Gandharva to the forest with Paficali. Dhrtarastra was grieved.

 

After thirteen years the Pandavas returned. Duryodhana said that not an inch of land would be given to the Pandavas. Dhrtarastra felt sorry at this. Sri Krsna came to talk about conciliation. Duryodhana wanted to take him a prisoner. But Dhrtarastra opposed it. Sri Krsna showed Dhrtarastrahis Visvarupa (cosmic form) to see which, Krsna gave him sight for the time being for which Dhrtarastra was very thankful. The Pandavas and the Kauravas came to Kuruksetra for Bharata-battle. Dhrtarastra called Sanjaya to him and asked him about the preparations the parties had made for war. Sanjaya gave a true description of the battle arrays of both parties.

(M.B. Adi Parva. Sabha Parva, Vana Parva, and Udyoga Parva).

 

 

(6) Dhrtardstra and the battle of Bharata.

The terrible battle began. The heart of Dhrtarastra was grieved with sorrow. When Arjuna vowed that he would kill Jayadratha, Dhrtarastra cried aloud. When he knew that Satyaki had destroyed the army of the Kauravas he became dumb with grief. He praised Bhima’s valour and blamed his sons. When Sanjaya told him about the fall of Karna, Dhrtarastra fell down unconscious. He rose up again and attended to the noises from the battlefield. He fell down again when he knew that Salya and Duryodhana were killed. He rose again and cried for a long time. He gathered the women-folk, his people and went to the battlefield. He’ broke the metal statue of Bhima and embraced the Pandavas. He asked Yudhisthira to do the mourning and offerings for the dead. It was done accordingly. The Pandavas respected Dhrtarastra. But Bhima scolded them. Dhrtarastra and Gandhari were greatly depressed and asked Yudhisthira to permit them to live in forest. Yudhisthira tried to prevent it. He kissed on the head of Yudhisthira. Seeing that they did not eat food he asked them to eat. Yudhisthira saw that they would eat only if he permitted them to live in forest. At last Yudhisthira agreed. Dhrtarastra accepted money from Dharmaputra and performed mourning and offerings for the dead on a large scale
(Maha-bharata, Drona Parva, Karna Parva, Stri Parva, Santi Parva and Asramavasika Parva).

 

 

7) Journey to forest and death.

Afterwards Dhrtarastra and Gandhari went to forest. Kunti followed them. All the subjects followed them a long way, crying. Dhrtarastra sent them back and entrusted the teacher Kripa and Yuyutsu with the Pandavas. Dhrtarastra, Gandhari and Kunti lived on the Ganges. From there they came to Kuruksetra and lived in the hermitage of ??? for a time. During that period Narada visited them. The Pandavas and the subjects visited them again. Vyasa also came there. He took Dhrtarastra and the rest of them to the river Ganges and evoked the spirits of those who died in the battle. Vyasa gave Dhrtarastra divine eye to see the departed spirits.

After this, at the request of Vyasa they all returned. Dhrtarastra, Gandhari and Kunti went to Gangadvara and performed severe penance and were burnt to death in a wild fire. The relatives put their remains in the Ganges.

The spirits of the three – Dhrtarastra, Gandhari and Kunti entered the realm of Kuvera.

(M.B. Asramavasika Parva, Svargarohana Parva).

 

 

8) The names of Dhrtarastra,

Ajamidha, Ambikasuta, Ambikeya, Bharata, Bharatasardula, Bharatasrestha, Bharatarsabha, Bharatasattama, Kaurava, Kauravasrestha, Kauravaraja, Kauravendra, Kauravya, Kurusardula, Kurusrestha, Kurudvaha, Kurunandana, Kururaja, Kuruvariisavardhana, Kuruvrddha, Vaicitravirya, Prajfiacaksus etc. have been used as synonyms of Dhrtarastra.

 

 

Dhritarashtra

Dritarastra 1
Maha-bharata, Adi, Anukramanika 4

In the Mahabharata, Dhritarashtra was the son born to Vichitravirya’s first wife Ambika. He was fathered by Vyasa. This blind king of Hastinapura was father to a hundred children by his wife Gandhari. These children came to be known as the Kauravas. Duryodhana and Dushasana were the first two sons.
After Vichitravirya’s death his mother Satyavati sent for her first born, Vyasa. According to his mother’s wishes, he visited both the wives of Vichitravirya to grant them a son with his yogic powers. When Vyasa visited Ambika, she saw his dreadful and forbidding appearance with burning eyes. In her frightened state, she closed her eyes and dared not open it. Hence her son, Dhritarashtra was born blind. His brother Pandu, ruled the kingdom for him due to his blindness. After Pandu’s death, he became king of Hastinapura.

At the birth of his first son Duryodhana, Dhritarashtra was advised by Vidura and Bhishma to abandon the child due to bad omens surrounding the child but his love for him stopped him. Dhritarashtra was advised by his elders to be fair to the Pandavas, who were returning from the forest with their mother, Kunti.

Duryodhana was focused on making sure that the he would be the next heir for the kingdom. The king himself wanted his son to be his heir but he was also forced to consider the eldest Pandava, Yudhisthira who was older then Duryodhana.

Against his will, he named Yudhisthira his heir which left Duryodhana frustrated. As a solution Bhishma suggested the partition of Hastinapur. Trying to maintain peace, Dhritarashtra gave Yudhisthira half the Kuru kingdom, albeit the lands which were arid, unprosperous and scantily populated, known as Khandavaprastha. He purposely kept the better half of the kingdom for himself so that his son may one day rule his half of the kingdom.

Dhritarashtra was one of the many men present when Yudhisthira lost the dice game against Shakuni, Duryodhana, Dushasana and Karna. With each throw, the king lost everything gambling away his kingdom, his wealth, his brothers and finally his wife. Dhritarashtra was silent when Dushasana tried to disrobe Draupadi (the Pandavas wife) in front of the court. Finally, the blind monarch conscience was stirred, in part fearing the wrath of Pandavas against his sons. Fearing retribution from the five brothers he returned all the things they lost in the dice game.

However, Shakuni challenged Yudhisthira one more time, and Yudhisthira once more lost. This time, he, his brothers and his wife were forced to discharge the debt by spending fourteen years in exile in the forest before they could reclaim their kingdom. Dhritarashtra was warned by many that the Pandavas will not forget their humiliation. He was constantly told by many that he needed to remember that his responsibilities as king must be placed before his affection as a father.

Sanjaya, Dhritrashtra’s charioteer was blessed by Sage Vyasa with the ability to see the past,present and the future, narrated important events of the Kurukshetra war, a war fought between the Kauravas (the sons of Dhritarashtra) and the Pandavas, to the blind king. Dhritarashtra’s sorrow increased day by day as an ever increasing number of his sons were slain by Bhima. He frequently bemoaned his ineffectiveness in preventing Duryodhana from going to war. Sanjaya often consoled the bereaved king but reminded him every time that dharma was on the Pandava side and a war against Krishna and Arjuna could not be humanly won regardless of the strength of the opposing force.

At the end of the great battle, Dhritarashtra was overcome with grief and rage at the loss of his hundred sons. When the blind king met the Pandavas who had come to seek his blessing prior to ascending the throne, he embraced all of them. When it was Bhima’s turn, Krishna knew that the king was blind and possessed the strength of a hundred thousand elephants from the boon granted by Vyasa. He was quick to move Bhima aside and push an iron figure of Bhima into Dhritarashtra’s embrace. When the thought entered Dhritarashtra’s mind that the man in his embrace had killed every one of his hundred sons without mercy, his anger rose to such a pitch that the metal statue was crushed into powder. Thus, Bhima was saved and Dhritarashtra composed himself and gave the Pandavas his blessing.

Yudhisthira was crowned king of both Indraprastha and Hastinapura. The war had killed many great warriors and millions of soldiers were killed on each side. Yudhisthira once again showed his kindness when he decided that the king of the city of Hastinapura should be Dhristarashtra. He offered the blind king complete respect and deference as an elder, despite his misdeeds and the evil of his dead sons. After many years as the ruler of Hastinapura, Dhristarashtra along with Ghandhari, Kunti and Vidura left for their final journey into the forest. They died in a forest fire in the Himalayas.

———–

Maha-bharata, Adi, Anukramanika

I felt no difference between my sons and the sons of Pandu. My own sons were wayward and they hated me, because I was old and blind. I bore all on account of my miserable state of being blind and for paternal affection. I was foolish and thoughtless and Duryodhana grew in folly.

Dhritarastra was born blind and for this reason he could not carry out the duties of a King. Thus Pandu, his younger brother, acted as king. Yudhisthira was born before Duryodhana and thus he lost his right to the throne. So Duryodhana had some kind resentment towards his father.
Here it appears that Dhritarastra was not blind only materially but also in intelligence, as he couldn’t recognize his own mistakes. He even wanted to appear innocent.

That son of Arishta, known as Hansa, the king of the Gandharvas, was born to increase the Kuru race.
He was known on earth as Dhritarashtra, the son of Krishna Dvaipayana; he had long arms, he was greatly powerful and he was a king with prophetic eyes.
He became blind for the fault of his mother and anger of the Rishi.
MB, adi, sambhava

List of all Dhritarastra’s sons and daughters

Janamejaya said:
O Lord, tell me the names of all the sons of Dhritarashtra beginning from the eldest, according to the order of their births.

Vaisampayana said:
(They are) Duryodhana, Yuyutsu, Dushasana, Dussaha, Dushala, Durmukha, Vivingshati, ViKarna, Jalasandha, Sulochana, Vinda, Anuvinda, Durdharsha, Subahu, Dushpradharshana, Durmarshana, Durmukha, DushKarna, Karna, Chitra, Upachitra, Chitraksha, Charu, Chitrangada, Durmada, Dushpradharsha, Vivitsu, Vikata, Sama, Umanabha, Padmanabha, Nanda, Upananda, Senapati, Shushena, Kundodara, Mahodara, Chitrabahu, Chitravarma, Durvirocana, Ayobahu, Chitrachapa, Sukundala, Bhimabala, Balaki, Bhima, Ugrayudha, Bhimashara, Suvarmana, Mahabahu, Bhimavega, Vikrama, Kanakayu, Drindayudha, Drindavarmana, Drindakshetra, Somakirti, Anudara, Jarasandha, Drindasandha, Satyasandha, Sahasravaka, Ugrashrava, Ugrasena, Kshemamurti, Aparajita, Panditaka, Vishalaksha, Duradhana, Drindahasta, Suhasta, Vatavega, Suvarcha, Adityaketu, Bahvashi, Nagadatta, Anuyayi, Nishangi, Kavachi, Dandi, Dandadhara, Dhanugraha, Ugra, Bhimaratha, Vira, Virabahu, Alolupa, Abhaya, Raudrakarma, Drindaratha, Anadhrishya, Kundabhedi, Viravi, Dirghalochana, Dirghbahu, Mahabahu, Vyudhoru, Kanakangada, Kundaja and Chitraka. He (Dhritarashtra) had also a daughter, named Dushala, above and over these one hundred sons. Dhritarashtra had another son, named Yuyutsu, born of a Vyasa woman, who was also above and over these one hundred sons.

O king, thus have I told you the names of the one hundred sons (of Dhritarashtra) and also of the name of his daughter. You have now known their names according to the orders of their births.[1]

They were all heroes, great car-warriors and learned in the use of arms. They were also well-versed in the Vedas and experts in statesmanship.

O king, all of them were mighty in attack and defence and all of them were learned. They married wives suitable to them in beauty and accomplishments.

 

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