Dhṛtarāṣṭra
Sign in to saveAlso known as Dhrutarashtra
Dhritarashtra () was a ruler of the ancient Kuru kingdom, featured as a central character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is also attested in the Yajurveda, where he is acknowledged as the son of King Vichitravirya.
Key facts
- Character.info hdr
- Personal Information
- Character.image
- The blind king Dhrtarastra listens as the visionary narrator Sanjaya relates the events of the battle between the Kaurava and the Pandava clans.jpg
- Character.caption
- The blind king Dhritarashtra listens as the visionary narrator Sanjaya relates the events of the battle between the Kaurava and the Pandava clans.
- Character.weapon
- Gada (mace)
- Character.affiliation
- Kuru dynasty
- Character.spouse
- Gandhari
- Character.family
- Parents: Half - Brother Half-Brother
- Character.relatives
- Half-brother ''''
via Wikipedia infobox
~10 min read
Encyclopedic overview
11 sectionsContents
- Etymology and historicity
- Birth and early life
- Reign
- Bifurcation of the Kuru Kingdom
- The game of dice
- The Kurukshetra War
- Crushing of Bhima's metal statue
- Later years and death
- Assessment
- See also
- References
Dhritarashtra () was a ruler of the ancient Kuru kingdom, featured as a central character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is also attested in the Yajurveda, where he is acknowledged as the son of King Vichitravirya.
According to the Mahabharata, Dhritarashtra’s birth was the result of the ancient practice of Niyoga. After Vichitravirya died childless, his half-brother Vyasa fathered children with Vichitravirya’s widows to continue the Kuru lineage. Dhritarashtra was born blind to Vichitravirya’s elder queen, Ambika. Despite being the eldest, his blindness disqualified him from inheriting the throne, which passed to his younger half-brother, Pandu. However, after Pandu renounced the throne and retired to the forest, Dhritarashtra assumed kingship of the Kuru kingdom, albeit as a nominal ruler heavily influenced by his grandsire, Bhishma, and his eldest son, Duryodhana.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Dhṛtarāṣṭra” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.