Gandhari (mythology)
Gandhari ( Sanskrit गान्धारी gāndhārī ) is a figure in Indian mythology , in the Mahabharata she appears as the mother of the Kauravas , the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra .
She is the daughter of Subala , king of Ghandara , and the wife of Dhritarashtra, the blind king of Hastinapur . She expresses her bond with her husband by always wearing a blindfold and thus being unable to see anything. Her father-in-law, the Rishi Vyasa , offers her a blessing, after which she wishes a hundred sons. Soon after, she becomes pregnant. Her pregnancy lasted over two years and eventually she gave birth to a large lump of meat. Vyasa has them break up the lump and put the pieces in 101 jars of ghee that are sealed and buried for a year. When the first vessel is opened, there is Duryodhana in it , the rest of the sons in the other. The only daughter Dushala is found in one of the vessels .
After Duryodhana has usurped the throne, he starts a war with the Pandavas , the nephews of Gandhari. All Kauravas are killed in the battle of Kurukshetra . Gandhari retreats to the forests with Dhritarashtra, his half-brother Vidura and Kunti , the mother of the Pandavas, where she dies in a forest fire after six years.
literature
- Gandhari . In: John Dowson : A classical dictionary of Hindu mythology and religion, geography, history, and literature. Trübner & co., London 1879, p. 105 ( Text Archive - Internet Archive ).
- James Lochtefeld: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism , Volume 1. Rosen, New York 2002, ISBN 9780823931798 , p. 233.
