Story 3: Next Generation

The two brothers.

Satyavati bargained hard, and got the promise of the mighty Hastinapur for her sons. But that was not to be.

King Shantanu died of a grieving heart, and a sense of unfulfilled duty not long after Satyavati gave birth to his two sons. These children were ordained to be the king of Hastinapur. However they died early too, leaving no heirs to the coveted throne of Hastinapur.

For the first time in history, Hastinapur was at crossroads. An impressive kingdom – with no one to rule it. The very capable Bheeshma had vowed to never become the king, and Satyavati’s sons had died an untimely death! The throne of Hastinapur was empty because of one woman’s ambition and greed.

A solution to this problem was soon arrived at. A great sage, Ved Vyas, was called upon. Ved Vyas then obtained grandsons for Satyavati. But as fate would have it, not even one of these grandsons were anywhere close to  great kings of the lunar dynasty.

Dhritrashtra – the eldest one, was born blind.

Pandu – the middle one, was born pale and weak.

Vidur – the youngest one, healthy and wise, was born of a maid.

Bheeshma oversaw the development of these princes with great care. He imagined getting them married to beautiful, intelligent princesses, and eventually hoped for an offspring that would be worthy of the throne of Hastinapur. Little did he know, that the children of Dhritrashtra and Pandu he was wishing so desperately for, will bring down the whole kingdom.

Bheeshma was keen on getting blind Dhritrashtra married to an intelligent princess. He heard about the princess of the kingdom of Gandhaar (now known as Kandahar in modern Afghanistaan).

Keen to get the princess for Dhritraastra, Bheeshma forced the king of Gandhaar to marry his daughter to the blind prince of Hastinapur. Afraid of Bheeshma and Hastinapur wrath, the hapless king agreed.

The princess Gandhaari and her brother, Shakuni were enraged, but couldn’t do much. As a silent protest, Gandhaari took a public vow to blindfold herself for life. “The man I’m getting married to”, she said, “ can not see. As his wife, so won’t I.”

Her brother, Prince Shakuni, had other ideas. “I shall destroy the proud kingdom of Hastinapur , that forced my innocent sister into an unwanted marriage”, he promised to himself.

And so Dhritraastra got married to a blindfolded Gandhaari.

Pandu, meanwhile, was crowned the king the Hastinapur. He got married to two princesses, Kunti and Madri.  Of these, Kunti held a very special boon given to her by a sage named Durvaasa. This special boon resulted in a very special situation..