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After the birth of the three children - Dritharashtra, Pandu and Vidura - the Kuru kingdom
grew in prosperity. The citizens were filled with hope when they saw the
youthful faces of their princes.
Dritharashtra, Pandu and Vidura were brought up by Bhishma,
as if they were his own sons.
The children grew up into young men well versed
in Vedas and skilled in athletics. They became skilled in the use of a bow, fighting on horsebacks and riding elephants.
While Dritharashtra excelled in personal strength, Pandu excelled in archery.
There was no one to match Vidura in his devotion to virtue and his knowledge of
the rules of ethics and morality
Since the eldest of
the brothers Dritharashtra was blind, Pandu was crowned the king.
One day, Bhishma told Vidura, “We should take steps to
perpetuate our race. I find that there are three maidens worthy of being allied
to our race. One is the daughter of Surasena of the Yadava race. Another is the
daughter of Suvala and the third is the princess of Madra. I think we should
choose them for the growth of our race. Tell me what you think.”
Vidura said, “You are our father. You are our mother too.
You are also our teacher. Therefore, please do what you think is the best for
us.”
Bhishma sent messengers to Suvala, the king of Gandhara
seeking his daughter for Dritharashtra. Though Sulava was initially reluctant to accept the
proposal because of Dritharashtra’s blindness, he subsequently agreed to the
proposal, considering the glory of the
Kurus. He gave his daughter Gandhari in marriage to Dritharashtra.
Learning about Dritharashtra’s blindness, Gndhari
blindfolded her eyes, resolving not to have the faculty of vision which her
husband did not possess.
Sakuni, the son of Suvala, formally gave her away to
Dhritarashtra. Gandhari was devoted to her husband. She gratified her superiors by her good conduct.
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