“Now, according to the Vedic rules, in times of exceptional situations, such as the ones we are facing, sages who are highly qualified can get pregnant the queens in order to obtain high-quality offspring.
This is certainly the case with Vyasa, which is undoubtedly one of the most austere and spiritually advanced Rishis, as well as a member of our own family.”
Bhishma found the idea to be good and spoke to Ambika and Ambalika, who agreed. Satyavati sent messengers to his son’s hermitage, who, given the serious circumstance, approved the matter.
But there was one detail that would prove decisive: Vyasa was very tall, had a solemn bearing, and his appearance aroused fear; moreover, the harsh austerities he underwent had made his body really unpleasant to the eye. So, when he entered Ambika’s room during the night, the woman, seeing him in the dim light, felt her blood run cold with terror and closed her eyes.
At the first light of dawn Vyasa went to Satyavati.
“Your daughter-in-law, Ambika, was not able to tolerate seeing me,” the sage told her, “and when she saw me she closed her eyes. For this reason you will have a very strong grandson, but deprived of both material and spiritual sight.”
The next night, Vyasa entered Ambalika’s rooms, who could tolerate him more than her sister, but couldn’t avoid to pale with fear.
“This second grandson of yours,” Vyasa later reported to his mother, “will be a great man, but since his mother has turned pale on seeing me, he will have a complexion as white as the moon, and besides, he will not be destined to live long.”
Over time Ambika gave birth to a son, blind as Vyasa had predicted, and was named Dhritarastra. Ambalika also gave birth to a boy who was named Pandu.
This is a section of the book “Maha-Bharata As It Is vol. 1 of 2”.
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