The Untold Story of Gandhari's Marriages

Gandhari's Unique Marital Journey

Traditionally, it is known that Gandhari was married to Dhritarashtra, the king of Hastinapur. However, few are aware that she had a prior marriage, which is often overlooked. Surprisingly, Gandhari's first marriage was not to Dhritarashtra but to a goat.

Gandhari was the daughter of King Subal of Gandhar, which is how she got her name. As the wife of Dhritarashtra, she became the mother of the Kauravas, including Duryodhana.

When Bhishma, the son of Ganga, proposed the marriage of Gandhari to the blind Dhritarashtra, King Subal accepted the proposal.

However, after the marriage, when Dhritarashtra learned about Gandhari's previous marriage and her widowhood, he became furious and launched an attack on the entire Gandhar kingdom.

It is said that when Gandhari was born, her horoscope revealed a flaw. The astrologers warned her father, Subal, that his daughter would become a widow after marriage, as her husband was destined to die. To avert this fate, Subal followed the astrologers' advice and married her to a goat, which was then sacrificed.

This act removed the widowhood curse from Gandhari's horoscope. Later, she was married to Dhritarashtra, unaware of his blindness. Out of respect for her parents, she agreed to the marriage.

Upon discovering that her husband was blind, Gandhari, who had a deep devotion to Lord Shiva, decided to blindfold herself as well, believing that if her husband could not see, she should not have the privilege of sight either.

However, this decision did not sit well with her brother, Shakuni, who opposed the marriage, not wanting his sister to wed a blind man.