Gandhari
Gandhari (Sanskrit: गांधारी, lit. A girl from Gandhara) was a princess of Gandhara (modern day Kandahar) and the wife of Dhritarashtra, the blind king of Hastinapura, and the mother of a hundred sons, the Kauravas, the eldest of whom was Duryodhana.
As a maiden, Gandhari is noted for her piety and virtuous nature. Gandhari is regarded as an incarnation of Mati, the goddess of wisdom. She was born on earth as the daughter of Subala, king of Gandhara and was named 'Gandhari' by her father. She is always referred to as Gandhari and no other names are mentioned (unlike those of Satyavati, Kunti or Draupadi) of her in the epic symbolizing her identity in the epic being reduced to just 'the daughter of the Gandhara kingdom'. Prior to being wed to Dhritarashtra, she is referred to as Gandhara-raja-duhita (daughter of the Gandhara king), Saubaleyi, Saubali, Subalaja, Subala-putri and Subalatmaja (all meaning 'daughter of Subala'). She was younger to her brother Shakuni.
Gandhari's marriage was arranged to Dhritarashtra, the eldest prince of the Kuru kingdom. The Mahabharata depicted her as a beautiful and virtuous woman and a very dedicated wife. Their marriage was arranged by Bhishma. When she found out that her would-be husband was born blind, she decided to blindfold herself in order to be like her husband. What went through the young girl's mind when she found out that she was to marry a blind man is not depicted in the epic. Popular narration said that the act of blindfolding herself was a sign of dedication and love. On the contrary, Irawati Karve and many modern scholars debated that the act of blindfolding was an act of protest against Bhishma, as he intimidated her father into giving away her hand in marriage to the blind prince of Hastinapur.
During her maiden days, she is said to have impressed Lord Shiva through penance and received a boon to bear 100 children. However, the reason for her penance and her receiving such boon is unknown. One of the main reasons of Bhishma choosing Gandhari to be the elder daughter-in-law of the Kuru kingdom is said to be this boon, which would put an end to his worry of the throne remaining vacant.
Some folklore and many modern versions of the Mahabharata depict her marriage as a major reason for the story's central conflict. Her brother, Shakuni, was enraged that Hastinapur, already having humiliated Gandhar in a war of conquest where all of Shakuni's brothers were killed, would offer for his prized sister a blind man. Shakuni swore to destroy the Kuru dynasty and played an instrumental role in fueling the flames of conflict between the cousins.
Vyasa is impressed with Gandhari's devotion to her husband and gives her a boon to have 100 sons. She gets pregnant but carries the child for an unusually long period of 2 years. Later, when she hears that Kunti (queen of king Pandu, younger brother of Dhritarashtra) has given birth to the eldest of the Pandavas, she pounds on her stomach in frustration and helplessness only to result in the birth of a grey mass and not her sons. Veda Vyasa divides this into 101 parts and stores them in earthen pots to incubate for another 2 years. First to be born among these is Duryodhana, followed by 99 brothers and one sister, Dushala.
In other versions, it is said that Gandhari birthed 100 children as she was destined - 99 sons and 1 daughter, among who Duryodhana was the oldest and Dushala the only girl. The 101st boy was not Gandhari's but of a maid with who Dhritarashtra has intercourse out of his frustration on Gandhari as he wanted his first born and not Pandu's to inherit the throne, but due to Gandhari's prolonged pregnancy, Dhritarashtra grows impatient. This son born to the maid was named Yuyutsu and grew up alongside his Kaurava brothers.
During the birth of her first son Duryodhana, many ill omen occur, worrying Satyavati, Vyasa, Bhishma and Vidura. They foresaw that the child might cause great destruction to their kingdom, and advised Dhritrashtra and Gandhari to either release him onto the waters of river Ganga or kill him, but Dhritarashtra and Gandhari rejected the idea.
Some folk lores narrate that Gandhari made a single exception to her blindfolded state, when she removed her blindfold to see her eldest son Duryodhana. She poured all her power into her son's body in one glance, rendering Duryodhana's entire body, except his loins, as strong as thunderbolt. Krishna foiled Gandhari's plan by asking Duryodhana to cover up his privates before meeting his mother. On their decisive encounter on the eighteenth day of the Kurukshetra battle, Bhima smashed Duryodhana's thighs, a move both literally and figuratively below the belt. Coincidentally, Bhima made a vow to smash Duryodhana's thighs when the latter outraged Draupadi by pulling her saree. This story is not mentioned in the original version of the Mahabharata which was written by Veda Vyasa. As per Vyasa's 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.
All of Gandhari's sons were killed in the war against their cousins, the Pandavas, at Kurukshetra, specifically at the hands of Bhima. Upon hearing the news, it is said that through a small gap in the blindfold, her gaze fell on Yudhishthira's toe. His clean toe was charred black due to her wrath and power. When she heard the news of the death of all the sons of Pandavas (Upapandavas), she embraced the Pandavas and consoled them for their losses. Later her wrath turned to Krishna for allowing all this destruction to happen. She cursed that he, his city and all his subjects would be destroyed. Krishna accept the curse. Her curse took its course 36 years after the great war when Yadu dynasty perished after a fight broke out between Yadavas at a festival. Lord Krishna ascended to his heavenly abode after living for 126 years. The golden city of Dwaraka drowned exactly seven days after his disappearance. Gandhari along with her husband Dhritarashtra, brother-in-law Vidura and sister-in-law Kunti, left Hastinapur about 15 years after the war to seek penance. She is said to have died in the Himalayas in a forest fire along with Dhritarashtra, Vidura and Kunti and attained moksha.
The Mahabharata attributes high moral standards to Gandhari, although her sons are portrayed as villains. She repeatedly exhorted her sons to follow dharma and make peace with the Pandavas. Gandhari fostered a big-little sister relationship with Kunti. Famously, when Duryodhana would ask for her blessing of victory during the Kurukshetra war, Gandhari would only say "may victory find the side of righteousness". Gandhari's major flaw was her love for her sons, especially her first born, Duryodhana, which often blinded her to his flaws.
Most retellings of the story praise Gandhari for her act of blindfolding herself, whereas some criticize her for taking this extreme step without considering the result it would have on the future. Duryodhana's behaviour is said to have been a result of this where he is a child of 'blind' parents - one who cannot see (Dhritarashtra), and one who does not want to see (Gandhari).