Bhishma and Dhritarashtra

Bhishma raises the three princes as his own, training them to excellence. But when the time comes to choose a king, Dhritarashtra's blindness and Vidura's birth bar them from the throne, leaving Pandu to be installed as lord of the earth.

Bhishma, hearing a prophecy that Subala's daughter Gandhari is destined to bear one hundred sons, secures her marriage to the blind Dhritarashtra. Upon learning of her husband's condition, Gandhari makes a radical vow of devotion, blindfolding herself for life.

Pandu returns from his conquests laden with the wealth of defeated kings. Acting on his elder brother's command, he must now distribute the spoils, a delicate task that will define the family's harmony and future.

Vaishampayana begins the detailed tale: Gandhari, granted a boon for a hundred sons, endures a two-year pregnancy before delivering a mass of flesh. The sage Vyasa intervenes, dividing the flesh into parts that become the Kauravas, with the first-born Duryodhana arriving amid terrible omens that the blind king chooses to ignore.

With Pandu and Madri dead in the forest, Dhritarashtra orders a royal funeral from the capital. Vidura and Bhishma lead a vast, sorrowful procession to the Ganga, where the king and his wife are cremated with full honors, leaving their five young sons to begin twelve days of public mourning.

Following the king's command, Drona and Vidura prepare a vast arena for a martial exhibition. On the appointed day, the entire city assembles—the royal family, the preceptors, and thousands of citizens—filling the stands with anticipation and noise as Drona performs the opening rites.

Duryodhana and his brothers begin to win over the people of Hastinapura with gifts and honors. Then, Dhritarashtra’s ministers start describing the wonders of the distant city of Varanavata and its great festival, sparking the Pandavas' curiosity. When Dhritarashtra himself invites them to go and enjoy themselves, Yudhisthira understands the true nature of the request and agrees.

Ordered to Varanavata, the Pandavas prepare to leave Hastinapura. They pay their respects to the elders and bid a painful farewell to the citizens. A group of Brahmanas, outraged by the injustice, declare they will abandon the city to follow Yudhishthira into exile.

With war against the returned Pandavas being considered, Bhishma speaks plainly to Dhritarashtra and Duryodhana. He declares his equal love for all his grandsons, asserts the Pandavas' rightful claim to their paternal kingdom, and warns that dishonor awaits the path of conflict. His counsel is clear: give half the kingdom to the Pandavas, for the good of all.

To prevent further strife in the Kuru court, the blind king Dhritarashtra summons the Pandavas. He offers them a solution: half the kingdom, to be ruled from the distant and wild territory of Khandavaprastha, where their safety will be assured by Arjuna's might.