Who was Gandhari?
The princess of Gandhar, Gandhari, is well known for having given birth to 100 males and one girl. She was the Queen of the Kuru Kingdom, which is said to have lived in the area of present-day Delhi and Haryana, and was married to Dhritarashtra.
It is said that Bhishma set up her marriage to Dhritarashtra in exchange for her father’s kingdom, whose army he had routed in a conflict. The epics don’t go into much detail on how Gandhari felt about her partnership, but some academics contend that she was so incensed by the injustice meted out to her that she blind-folded herself for the rest of her life in protest.
Gandhari was a faithful wife who, upon finding that her husband was blind, opted to forgo the pleasure of sight herself, according to some, more orthodox Christians. Like Kunti, Gandhari had many miracles in her life, but they also brought about difficulties for her.
According to local legend, Gandhari performed penance when she was younger and asked Lord Shiva for the blessing to have 100 sons. Some claim Ved Vyasa granted her the wish of 100 sons after observing her love for her husband. Gandhari’s story appears to provide some credence to the Hindu belief that a lady who has a son has more virtue. Gandhari was a kind, compassionate, and powerful figure in the royal court. Draupadi tries to flee to Gandhari’s chambers since she is the only one who can stop Dushasan when she tries to drag her to the room where the Pandavas lost their freedom due to the dice game on Duryodhana’s orders. Unfortunately, Gandhari is not in her room and the events that follow lead to the Kuru clan’s demise.
Gandhari, it is believed, was a just woman who pleaded with her sons to make peace with the Pandavas. At the conclusion of the Mahabharata battle, Gandhari was left widowed and distraught after discovering that all of her sons had died. According to legend, Gandhari curses Krishna, without whose cunning tactics the Pandavas would not have prevailed, that his entire tribe would perish in civil war just like her sons perished. However, as soon as she realises what she has spoken in her wrath, she desires to retract it. However, since words cannot be changed, Krishna takes her curse politely since he respects the wisdom of such a wonderful woman.
Death of Gandhari and her sons
Sage Narada informs Yudhistira that Dhritarashtra, along with Gandhari and Kunti, perished in a forest fire around two years after Gandhari first met her boys in this manner. Sanjaya also died in the Himalayas after getting lost there. The funeral obsequies are conducted in Gangadwar by Yudhistira and Yuyutsu, the sole surviving son of Dhritarashtra.
During this trip, Yudhistira encounters Vidura wandering through the jungle nude and covered in ashes. Vidura imparts his spirit to Yudhistira before sacrificing himself. The older characters leave the scene as a result, eighteen years after the battle.
The Vrisnis and Yadavas did kill themselves exactly as Gandhari had cursed them to die eighteen years later, or 36 years after the Great War. Krishna also passes away shortly after at the hands of a hunter due to Gandhari’s curse.
The Pandavas likewise leave for their heavenly home feeling somewhat dejected. Their victory had ended up being joyless and pointless. Curiously, some 36 years before the battle, Karna had told Krishna about a horrifying dream he had seen in which “Powerful Yudhistira ascended a mound of human bones, grinned, and ate delectable ghee-curd from a golden cup.” Similarly, Vyasa finishes the Epic’s Fifteenth Book on a depressing note: “Without his family and friends, monarch Yudhistira, suffering from mental instability, governed the country.
Kurukshetra war
The Mahabharata describes the Kurukshetra War, often known as the Mahabharata War. The battle for Hastinapura’s crown between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, two sets of relatives, emerged from a hereditary succession dispute. The Bhagavad Gita’s basis was set by the conflict.
Scholars continue to debate whether or not the conflict was historically accurate. The account of the Kurukshetra battle may have been centred on the Battle of the Ten Kings, which is described in the Rigveda. It is questionable since the Mahabharata’s description of the conflict was extensively altered and enlarged. The Kurukshetra War has been attempted to be historically dated; research suggests that it occurred about 1000 BCE.
Popular myth, which dates the fight to around 3102 BCE, asserts that it heralds the beginning of the Kali Yuga.
Kurukshetra was the scene of the conflict. The Mahabharata is taken up by the conflict, even though it only lasts for eighteen days. Individual fights, the deaths of several heroes on both sides, war diplomacy, character encounters and conversations, military formations, and weaponry are all described in the story. The Mahabharata’s war-related chapters are regarded as some of its earliest.
The Mahabharata is a history of the Kuru clan, a reigning dynasty, that spans multiple generations. A narrative of a conflict between two competing families in this clan serves as the epic’s main plot point. The Kurukshetra War was fought in Kurukshetra, which means “field of the Kurus’ ‘ in Sanskrit. Dharmakshetra, or the “field of Dharma,” or the “field of righteousness,” was another name for Kurukshetra. According to the first Mahbhrata, this location was chosen because a sin committed on the land was pardoned due to its holiness.
Why did Gandhari curse Lord Krishna after the Kurukshetra war?
Gandhari, who had one hundred boys, cherished her offspring dearly. She cursed Shri Krishna after she lost all of her sons in the battle of Kurukshetra.
One of the finest epics ever read by humans is the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata, a work attributed to the scholar Vyasa, describes an epic conflict between the Pandavas and Kauravas, cousins, to maintain the cause of dharma. It narrates the stories of the good, the evil, and the ugly and serves as a warning to future generations about the negative effects of adharma (adversity), greed, and hate. Strangely, it’s a common misconception that Shri Ganesha recorded the Mahabharata for posterity while Sage Vyasa spoke the story.
Among the numerous people that make up this tale, Gandhari deserves special attention. The princess of the Kingdom of Gandhar later rose to power as the ruler of Hastinapur’s blind monarch, Dhritarashtra. Gandhari was a devoted wife who decided to live her entire life with her eyes covered. She didn’t want to enjoy the benefits of the eyesight that her spouse had been denied from the start. Gandhari had 100 boys, and they were the only thing that made her happy. She eventually had none, though. Unfortunately for her, the battle that saw a furious clash between the Pandavas and the Kauravas resulted in the deaths of all her sons.
Shri Krishna was the one who most likely made sure the war happened. Although there were some terrifying moments throughout the conflict, it was necessary for future generations to learn a number of valuable lessons.
When the brutal fight was over on day eighteen, Shri Krishna went to Gandhari to get her blessing before he left for his home country of Dwaraka. But instead of receiving her blessings, he ended himself with a curse. Yes, Shri Krishna was cursed by Gandhari, the mother with a broken heart, who said that he would suffer the same pain of losing his whole clan as she did. She predicted the end of the Yadu dynasty, and 36 years after the conflict, her prophecy came true. But she was aware that Krishna had the power to end the battle. But Krishna, who was with the Pandavas during the battle, remarked that he tried several times to stop it, but her eldest son Duryodhana refused to listen. Thus, the conflict. Krishna, however, respectfully accepted her curse and left without asking for her blessings. He was aware that she would have to lift her curse if he touched her feet to ask for her blessings.
Conclusion
Gandhari cursed Krishna after the Mahabharata War, saying that his tribe, the Yadavas, would perish in the same manner as her children. When the Yadavas were drinking and having a good time 36 years after the conflict, Krishna happily accepted the curse, and it came true. They began making fun of the rishis, who then cursed Krishna’s son into giving birth to an iron club. The iron club was disassembled, cast into the sea, but it eventually made its way back to shore and was incorporated into the weapons that killed each member of the clan, including Krishna.
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