Gandhari

A character in the Mahabharata, the
later of the two great Hindu epics.
Gandhari is the wife of the blind king
Dhrtarashtra and the mother of the
Kauravas, a group of boys who are the
epic’s antagonists. Gandhari shows her
devotion to her blind husband by always
covering her eyes with a blindfold, thus
sharing his sightlessness. As is often the
case in Hindu mythology, her sons are
born in an unusual manner. Gandhari
receives a blessing (ashirvad) from the
sage Vyasa that she will give birth to one
hundred sons. Soon after, she becomes
pregnant. However, her pregnancy lasts
for more than two years. When she
grows impatient and tries to hasten the
delivery, she gives birth to a great lump
of flesh. Vyasa advises Gandhari to
divide the lump and place each piece in
a pot of clarified butter (ghee).
Eventually the pots break open, revealing one hundred handsome boys and a
single daughter, Dussala.
All of Gandhari’s children are killed
by her nephews the Pandavas in the
Mahabharata war. Just as Gandhari is
about to curse the Pandavas, Vyasa
reminds her that her sons’ deaths are
the result of their own misconduct. After
the war, Gandhari retires to the forest
with her husband and a few others. They
live in retirement for six years before
they are killed in a forest fire.