Mahabharat Dhritarashtra — The Story of the Pandavas and Kauravas
The Mahabharat is an ancient Indian epic that tells the story of two sets of cousins, the Pandavas, and the Kauravas. One set belonged to a royal family called the Kurus, which was descended from a blind man who had been given sight by Indra. The other set belonged to a family called the Panchalas, who were descended from his son. This rivalry eventually led to a bloody war in which both sides suffered greatly. In some parts, it reads like no other epic poem was ever written before or since-a drama with all its elements-love, hate, greed, revenge, and sorrow — all etched into human life through characters as compelling as any in literature.
Birth of the Pandavas and Kauravas
A long time ago, there was a king named Pandu. He ruled over lands that were rich in pasture and grain. One day, he asked his four wives to bear him children. But they could not have children because they had made a vow to God that they would not have any more children. As a result, the king was unable to produce an heir with them. He then went on to marry two other wives- Madri and Rohini- who bore sons for him- Yudhishthira from Madri, Bhima from Rohini, Arjuna from Madri, Nakula and Sahadeva from Rohini.
These five brothers came to be known as the Pandavas. The youngest son, Yama (the god of death), also appeared before the five princes and granted each one a special boon from their father. To Yudhishthira he gave sovereignty; to Bhima great strength; to Arjuna skill with weapons; to Nakula knowledge of horses; and finally to Sahadeva mastery over various crafts. To make sure the earth will be happy and prosperous again when they die, Mahabharat Dhritarashtra states it is best if only one brother can succeed at a time so they divide up all their possessions and take turns ruling the land.
Childhood of the Pandavas and Kauravas
Dhritarashtra was born to King Shantanu and Queen Ganga. He had two brothers, Bhishma and Vichitravirya. One day, the sage Durvasa visited their kingdom. He insulted Bhishma for being celibate. In anger, he cursed him that he would die if he did not marry within 12 years. To save his life, it was decided that his younger brother Vichitravirya would marry first and father children with his two wives to produce heirs for both of them.
The dice game and exile of the Pandavas
The Mahabharat tells a story about a dice game where Yudhishthira lost everything he had won in his life, including his wife Draupadi. After losing everything, Duryodhana challenged Yudhishthira to another dice game for Draupadi’s sake. Yudhishthira reluctantly agreed to the game on the condition that if he lost again, he would have to go into exile for 12 years.
In this game, however, Duryodhana intentionally threw so that Yudhistira would win. As an act of goodwill, Yudhistira offered Duryodhana a chance to throw in order to win back some part of what was lost. Duryodhana declined and accepted defeat as Yudhistira’s turn to throw came. He was happy with whatever little he had left after the losses at dice.
The Pandavas were exiled for twelve years because they couldn’t leave without their common wife, Draupadi. They were separated from her due to difficulties with traveling women during that time period. While she waited for them, she went through intense pain as she watched her five husbands go through a separation from her and endure many hardships while being away from home.
Also read: Karna: A Great Warrior of Mahabharata
The return of the Pandavas
In order to return to power, the Pandava brothers must play a dice game with their cousins. Yudhisthira agrees to play, but in order to ensure victory, he offers all his wealth if he wins. He loses his kingdom and goes into exile for thirteen years. His wife Draupadi gets humiliated by Dushasa’s son while they are in exile.
When they return from exile, they regain their lost empire and Draupadi gets justice at last when Dushasa’s son is executed by Arjuna. In this story of Mahabharat Dhritarashtra, we see how greed led to disaster for the Pandavas even though it was an unwise decision on behalf of Yudhisthira.
The story of Mahabharat Dhritarashtra continues as Draupadi curses Bhima after she got insulted by her husband’s sister-in-law Kunthi in front of her sons Abhimanyu and Parikshit during a dance performance on King Virata’s birthday celebration. She asks Bhima not to have another child until Kunthi does because she sees that Bhim has only two children whereas Kunthi has many kids around her. Her curse comes true as Bhima can no longer produce any offspring even after 14 years despite trying hard for another child.
The battle of Kurukshetra
Years before any battle took place, Krishna sensed that in a near future, there would be a war in which great misery was about to come. He made an appeal to Yudhistira and his four brothers, that they should give up their sovereignty and retire from active life. His reply is enshrined for posterity as daiva Dharma. They replied with pledges of Dhrithari Sametha — never to withdraw from the battle under any circumstances — no matter what happened. Krishna granted their wishes. It is in this spirit that Mahabharat Dhritarashtra begins.
When considering Mahabharat Dhritarashtra in detail it becomes very obvious how divided opinions can be. This can only be expected because such grand stories so relevant today were written thousands of years ago when people were more concerned with daily struggles for survival rather than education or entertainment like we are today. Therefore, understanding and interpretation today should always start by considering what information or concept each version provides us, why it was written, and whether we want it incorporated into our personal beliefs or not?
The whole story is brilliant on many levels and will provide lots of points to discuss; nevertheless, I wish you success with whatever opinion you adopt on Mahabharat Dhritarashtra!
Conclusion
Now that you know a little more about Mahabharat Dhritarashtra, it is clear to see how he was not a villain. He was only doing what he thought would be best for his family. Sometimes, we all have to do things we don’t want to in order to keep our loved ones happy. But if you have any doubts about whether or not something is right, it’s always better to ask for help rather than blindly follow through with it.
That way, you can avoid hurting anyone in the process! And as long as you are confident that your decision is the right one, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. I hope this has helped answer some of your questions on Mahabharat Dhritarashtra — the story of the Pandavas and Kauravas.
Originally published at https://www.historicalhuman.com.
