THE KAURAVA MOTHER - GANDHARI

Gandhari, another important female character in the epic Mahabharata also underwent physical and mental sufferings like Kunti and Draupadi. Gandhari was the only daughter of the Gandhara king Subala with  hundred brothers, Shakuni being the youngest one. Gandhari made unparalleled sacrifices throughout her life. She imbibed strong moral values in her life.

King  Subala was worried when he came to know that Gandhari’s horoscope predicted that  her husband would die immediately after her marriage. To avert such calamities, he first performed her marriage to a goat, but misfortune for Gandhari didn’t stop there. Bhishma arrived and requested the king to give his daughter Gandhari in marriage to the blind Dhrutarashtra of the Kuru dynasty. It is then her high moral values surfaced and she wanted to identify completely with her husband. Hence she tied a piece of silk to her eyes voluntarily. The youngest brother Shakuni wasn’t happy with this. When sage Veda-Vyasa came to Hastinapur after marriage she served the sage with reverence and devotion. The sage granted her a boon and wished for a hundred sons. Thus Gandhari became a mother of hundred Kauravas, Duryodhana being the eldest one.

Gandhari was a loyal and a dedicated wife to Dhrutarashtra. She disliked her eldest son Duryodhana’s jealousy and hatred towards his cousins, the Pandavas. She tried to educate Duryodhana about the perils of jealousy. She even warned her brother Shakuni for misleading her son Duryodhana. She told them that hatred towards the Pandavas would ruin them. Unfortunately her advice went unheeded and Gandhari witnessed their destruction with agony and sorrow.

Gandhari had a good relationship with Kunti. Both of them were loving mothers. Despite the fact that they stood on opposite sides during the Kurukshetra war they supported and shared each other’s sorrow. Gandhari followed the Pativrata dharma which enabled her to attain great spiritual powers.

In the Kurukshetra war all of her sons except Duryodhana were killed. Duryodhana finally had to face Bheema and Gandhari wanted to save him. She asked him to stand before her naked and she would unfold the cloth which she covered her eyes with, and glance through his body which would give him a diamond strong body so that no one could defeat him in the war. Krishna heard about this and approached Duryodhana and chided him about appearing before his mother naked. Hence Duryodhana covered his thighs with the loins and appeared before his mother. When Gandhari removed her cloth to focus on Duryodhana’s body she was aghast that he had disobeyed her.

In the Kurukshetra war all her sons were killed. She was grief-stricken at the loss of her children. She cursed Krishna that the entire Yadava clan too would be destroyed and Krishna would also die like an ordinary man. Krishna accepted her curse gracefully. After the war Yudhishthira became the king. Dhrutarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti decided to leave Hastinapura for forest to engage themselves with this spiritual practice. In the forest they perished in the forest fire. Yudhishthira with a heavy heart performed their last rites.

Gandhari’s goodness and purity were severely tested. Her sorrow and agony on the loss of her sons touches one’s heart.