The Mahabharata was created to tell the story of a great war that happened in India. King Shantanu meets a beautiful woman by the river. She promises to marry him if he never questions her actions. As the years went on, Ganga would drown their newborns into the river. Keeping his promise, Shantanu didn’t question his wife until the eighth child was born. When asked, she said that she was allowing these cursed children to return to peace. With that, she left with Shantanu’s youngest child.
Sixteen years later, Shantanu’s son Devavrat, finds his way back to the king. The king returns to the kingdom with his son. Later, Shantanu falls in love with Satyavati. In order for the king to marry her, Prince Devavrat gave up his heir to the throne and said that he would never marry or have children so his father could marry Satyavati. Because of this vow, Shantanu allowed his son to choose his own death.
As the years went on, Shantanu passed away, leaving the kingdom to the hands of his two sons. Chitrangada dies in a battle and Vichitravirya becomes sick. Bhishma decides to take the princesses Amba, Ambika and Ambalika as wives for his half-brother. Amba asks to leave so she can marry the king she loved, but when she got there, the king rejected her. She returned to ask Bhishma to marry her, but he rejected her as well. Broken hearted, she swore she would be Bhishma’s demise.
Vichitravairva dies, leaving the kingdom with no heir. Satyavati tells Bhishma to marry and father children but he remains true to his vow. Satyavati then tells Bhishma about another son she had before she married the king. Satyavati calls Vyasa, her first son, to come and father children with Ambika and Ambalika. Vyasa agreed, but the two princesses were horrified at the sight of Vyasa. Eventually, the two princesses and a servant girl were able to conceive Vyasa’s sons. Ambika’s son, Dhritarashtra was born blind, Ambalikas’s son Pandu was born pale and weak, and the third son, Vidura, was born healthy, strong and one of the wisest men.
As the boys grew older, there was a rivalry between Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Bhishma never saw this but Vidura did. The time came for Dhritarashtra to ascend the throne and rule but he was only king in name. Pandu was the one who actually ruled the kingdom. Bhishma went to a kingdom to find a wife for Dhritarashtra. He met Gandhari who blindfolded herself for life since her husband was blind. Gandhari and Dhritarashtra married and the kingdom rejoiced. The second son, Pandu also married two women. However, he learned that his older queen was keeping a secret. A secret that would change everything.
Bibliography: Epified: Mahabharata Videos
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