Gandhari (Mahabharata)

Gandhari (Sanskrit: गान्धारी, lit. 'of Gandhara', IAST: Gāndhārī) is a prominent figure in the Hindu epic the Mahabharata. She is the daughter of King Subala, the ruler of Gandhara, and becomes the wife of Dhritarashtra, the blind king of Kuru Kingdom. In a remarkable act of solidarity, Gandhari blindfolds herself for life upon learning of her husband’s blindness, choosing to share his condition. Blessed by the god Shiva and the sage Vyasa, she bears one hundred sons through miraculous means, collectively known as the Kauravas, with her eldest, Duryodhana, becoming a key antagonist in the epic. Besides the hundred sons, she also has a daughter, Dushala. Although Gandhari possesses many virtues, she is unable to steer her sons away from their wrongdoings. The rivalry between the Kauravas and their cousins, the Pandavas, culminates in the devastating Kurukshetra war, which results in the destruction of the Kuru dynasty.
After the war, she becomes the voice of women who suffer due to the devastation caused by the conflict. While she refrains from cursing the Pandavas, recognising the righteousness of their victory, her grief leads her to curse Krishna—the avatara of the god Vishnu—holding him accountable for the war’s destruction and foretelling the downfall of his Yadava dynasty. In the aftermath, Gandhari retreats to the forest with Dhritarashtra and Kunti, where she spends her final days in austerity. Her life ends in a forest fire, but her legacy endures as a symbol of maternal love, devotion, sacrifice, and the profound cost of war.
In the Mahabharata, Gāndhārī is referred to by various names, including:
Gandhari is a character of the Mahabharata, one of the Sanskrit epics from the Indian subcontinent. The work is written in Classical Sanskrit and is a composite work of revisions, editing and interpolations over many centuries. The oldest parts in the surviving version of the text may date to near 400 BCE.
The Mahabharata manuscripts exist in numerous versions, wherein the specifics and details of major characters and episodes vary, often significantly. Except for the sections containing the Bhagavad Gita which is remarkably consistent between the numerous manuscripts, the rest of the epic exists in many versions. The differences between the Northern and Southern recensions are particularly significant, with the Southern manuscripts more profuse and longer. Scholars have attempted to construct a critical edition, relying mostly on a study of the "Bombay" edition, the "Poona" edition, the "Calcutta" edition and the "south Indian" editions of the manuscripts. The most accepted version is one prepared by scholars led by Vishnu Sukthankar at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, preserved at Kyoto University, Cambridge University and various Indian universities.
The Mahabharata centres on the intense rivalry between the groups of brothers—five Pandavas and the hundred Kauravas, culminating in the epic Kurukshetra War, which forms the narrative's core. A significant portion of the text is devoted to detailing the battles fought between the warriors of both sides during this conflict. The Mahabharata is structured into eighteen parvas or 'books', starting with the Adi Parva, in which Gandhari is introduced.
Gandhari is introduced in the Adi Parva of the Mahabharata as the daughter of King Subala, the ruler of the Gandhara kingdom and a descendant of Turvasu (son of Yayati) of the Lunar Dynasty. This region spanned from the Sindhu River to Kabul in Afghanistan. Gandhari is regarded as an incarnation of a goddess named Mati ('intellect'). She had several brothers, but she shared a particularly close bond with Shakuni.
The Adi Parva describes Gandhari as a devout worshipper of the god Shiva from a young age. Pleased by her unwavering devotion, Shiva grants her a boon, promising that she will bear one hundred sons. After becoming aware of the divine boon bestowed upon Gandhari, Bhishma, the patriarch of the Kuru dynasty, proposes her marriage to Dhritarashtra, his eldest nephew who is born blind. Subala initially hesitates due to Dhritarashtra's blindness but later agrees to the marriage, prioritizing the prestige of an alliance with the Kuru dynasty. Gandhari’s brother, Shakuni, accompanies her to the capital of Kuru Kingdom, Hastinapura, where the marriage is solemnized. On marrying Dhritarashtra, she blindfolds herself with a silk shawl, choosing to live without sight for the rest of her life. Gandhari is welcomed by the Kuru elders. Shakuni returns to his kingdom, but frequently visits Gandhari to help her and her children.
Gandhari's husband, Dhritarashtra, is denied the throne due to his blindness, despite being the eldest son. The throne is instead given to his younger brother, Pandu, but he later renounces the kingdom. As a result of these events, Dhritarashtra is crowned King of Kuru kingdom, and Gandhari becomes queen.
Gandhari's children were born in a miraculous manner. According to the Adi Parva, once when the sage Vyasa visits Hastinapura, Gandhari serves him with great respect and care. Impressed by her hospitality, Vyasa blesses her, reaffirming Shiva’s boon. Shortly after, Gandhari conceives, but her pregnancy lasts two years without delivery. During this time, Kunti, the wife of Pandu, gives birth to her first son, Yudhishthira. Overwhelmed by frustration and envy upon hearing this, Gandhari strikes her womb, but instead of a child, a "hard mass of flesh" like an "iron ball" emerges from it. When the Kuru elders were about to discard the mass of flesh, Vyasa intervenes and instructs that the lump be divided into one hundred pieces and placed in jars of ghee for incubation. At Gandhari’s request, an additional piece is prepared to produce a daughter, resulting in 101 jars. In due time, the jars yield one hundred sons collectively referred to as the Kauravas, and a daughter named Dushala. During Gandhari's prolonged pregnancy, Dhritarashtra had fathered another son, Yuyutsu, through a maidservant of Gandhari in fear of not having a child.
As queen in the Kuru court, Gandhari witnesses many pivotal events leading to the Kurukshetra War, the central plot of the epic. Although she remains largely silent, Gandhari exerts moral influence in critical moments. For instance, during the infamous dicing match narrated in the Sabha Parva, she intervenes after Draupadi's attempted disrobing, compelling Dhritarashtra to grant Draupadi a boon that ultimately secures the freedom of the Pandavas.
Despite her quiet demeanor, Gandhari does not shy away from speaking against injustice. She advises her son, Duryodhana, against his warmongering and criticizes Dhritarashtra for failing to curb their son’s reckless ambitions. Her attempts to avert the war, however, prove futile. Gandhari attended the discussions and negotiations that preceded the war, hoping for peace, as mentioned in the Udyoga Parva.
Gandhari remains a notable presence throughout Sanjaya’s recounting of the war to Dhritrarashtra, as evidenced by several clear references to her and the other women of the Kuru court. All of Gandhari's sons were killed in the war against their cousins, the Pandavas, at Kurukshetra, specifically at the hands of the second Pandava, Bhima. In popular folklore, during this period, Gandhari makes a single purposeful exception to her blindfolded state, when she removes her blindfold to shield her eldest son Duryodhana. She poured all her yogic power accumulated by her sacrifice of sight and devotion into her son's body in one glance, rendering Duryodhana's entire body, except his loins, as strong as a thunderbolt. Krishna, the counsellor of the Pandavas, had foiled Gandhari's plan to make her son invincible by asking Duryodhana to cover up his loins before meeting his mother. On their decisive encounter on the eighteenth day of the war, Bhima smashed Duryodhana's thighs, a move both literally and figuratively below the belt. Despite its popularity the story is not mentioned in the original version of the Mahabharata. As per the Shalya Parva of the Mahabharata, Duryodhana, while fighting against Bhima, displayed his superior mace skills, due to which Bhima could not defeat him and had to break rules to kill him.
Gandhari assumes the central role in the Stri Parva (The Book of Women), the eleventh book of the epic, which portrays the aftermath of the Kurukshetra War. After winning the war, the Pandavas visit Gandhari to seek her blessings. By this time, Gandhari has lost all her sons, including Duryodhana, and is overwhelmed with grief and anger. As the Pandavas stand before her, she considers cursing them. However, Vyasa reminds her of her earlier declaration that righteousness would prevail in the war. Gandhari accepts this truth and acknowledges that the destruction of her sons and the Kuru dynasty is the result of the misdeeds of Duryodhana, Shakuni, Karna, and Dussasana. Calming herself, she refrains from cursing the Pandavas, but when Yudhishthira bows at Gandhari’s feet, her grief and wrath manifests physically. Tears fall from her eyes onto his toenails, causing them to burn black. Gandhari later accepts them.
The Stri Parva further narrates that Gandhari visits the battlefield of Kurukshetra, accompanied by Krishna and other family members. Gandhari emerges as a central voice among the bereaved women, expressing her sorrow and outrage over the destruction wrought by the war. Granted divine vision to see through her blindfold, Gandhari witnesses the mourning of the Kuru women on the battlefield, their cries and lamentations contrasting sharply with the earlier songs of praise for the fallen warriors. Seeing the vast destruction and the lifeless bodies of the Kaurava warriors including her sons, Gandhari, despite her earlier reverence for Krishna, holds him accountable for the destruction, accusing him of failing to prevent the war despite his divine powers. In a moment of profound emotional anguish, she curses Krishna, foretelling that thirty-six years from then, he will witness the destruction of his Yadava dynasty and die a lonely death, killed by trickery. This curse is pivotal in leading to the eventual downfall of Krishna’s lineage and his departure from the mortal world.
The Ashramavasika Parva recounts that fifteen years after the war, Gandhari, along with Dhritarashtra, Kunti, her brother-in-law Vidura, and aid Sanjaya, retires to the forest near the ashram of Shatayupa, on the banks of the Ganga. The Pandavas, deeply affected by the separation, visit them after six years. At Gandhari and Kunti’s request, Vyasa uses his yogic powers to enable them to briefly see the spirits of their deceased relatives. Shortly afterward, a wildfire engulfs the forest, consuming Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and Kunti.
The Svargarohana Parva mentions that Yudhishthira performs the final rites for those who perish in the forest fire. After their deaths, the souls of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari ascend to Kuberaloka, the celestial realm associated with wealth and contentment.
According to scholar James L. Fitzgerald, who translated the The Book of the Women (Stri Parva), Gandhari is a poetic creation of Vyasa, representing an ideal of unwavering devotion, distinct from other women like Draupadi. Unlike Draupadi, who is drawn into conflicts between men, Gandhari exemplifies the faithful and ascetic wife, akin to Sita from the Ramayana. Her self-imposed suffering and ascetic dedication (ugra tapas) accumulate spiritual power over time, giving her a formidable presence in the epic. This power becomes evident after the Kurukshetra War, when the Pandavas approach Gandhari and Dhritarashtra for reconciliation. Gandhari, overcome with grief and anger, contemplates cursing Yudhishthira. Fitzgerald highlights that Vyasa intervenes to prevent this, though Yudhishthira, wracked with guilt, later requests her curse as an act of atonement. Gandhari’s power also manifests physically: when her blindfolded eyes momentarily release a glance toward Yudhishthira’s feet, her energy disfigures his nails, prompting Arjuna to hide behind Krishna. This moment underscores the latent, dangerous potency of Gandhari’s asceticism.
Despite her anger, notes Fitzgerald, Gandhari consoles the Pandavas, shifting from rage to compassion. She empathises deeply with Draupadi, who has also lost her sons, and their shared grief, mediated by Kunti, reflects the immense emotional toll of the war on women. Gandhari’s lament—“It was my wrong that brought this eminent family to extinction”—reveals her sense of moral responsibility for the Kuru tragedy. Fitzgerald also examines Gandhari’s sudden acquisition of divya chakshus (divine vision), which Vyasa grants, enabling her to see the battlefield and mourn the fallen warriors. This vision, Fitzgerald suggests, is rooted in her asceticism, raising questions about whether Vyasa’s intervention diminishes her autonomous power. He posits that the epic’s attribution of her clairvoyance to Vyasa may reflect the discomfort of the Brahminical tradition with the spiritual power of non-Brahmins, especially women.
Gandhari has been adapted as a major character in the Sanskrit play Urubhanga by Bhasa. In Hebbya village, Nanjangud, Mysore, India, there is a temple called Gāndhārī temple dedicated to her. This temple honours her devotion and loyalty as she epitomized the goodness of a mother and a loving wife. The foundation stone of the temple was laid on June 19, 2008.
Rabindranath Tagore wrote a Bengali poetic play about her, named Gandharir Abedon (Bangla: গান্ধারীর আবেদন, Translation: Supplication of Gandhari). Gandhari, her husband Dhritarashtra and their son Duryodhana are central characters in the play. Aditi Banerjee wrote a novel named The Curse of Gandhari, which depicts the story of the Mahabharata through the perspective of Gandhari.