How can a blind king rule the country? Please bless Ambalike so that she gets a great son" pleaded Satyavathi.Ambalike was also a princess who spent all her days in the gynaeceum, wasn't she? She found tapasvi Vyasa's appearanceterribly frightening. She turned pale as ash when she stood before him.
Again the mother asked him about the kind of child she was going to have. Vyasa said,"She will get a brilliant andcourgeous son, but his skin would be pale"
The mother who was very much distraught, pleaded, "Son why don't you bless Ambalike again?"
Vyasa was sorry at his mother's foolishness. He felt deeply concerned when he thought of her plight. He agreed.Satyavathi asked Ambalike to go to Vyasa again. She did not refuse but she asked one of her trustworthy maids to dothe job for her. She made her up with a beautiful saree, jewells and the like and sent her to the sage. The maid wasmentally more mature and culyured than the two queens. She stood before the sage with folded hands and great devotionand she got blessed by the sage.
Before he left the palace he told his mother what had really happened and the queen resigned herself to her fate.Ambikegave birth to a strong but blind baby boy and the child was named Drithrashtra. Ambalike gave birth to a cute childwith white skin and he was named Pandu. The highly cultured and more matured maid had a son, who later became one ofthe wisest men of his age and he was named Vidura.
Years rolled by and two princes were given good education befitting their position. They grew up to be young men. Bhishmaarranged their marriages. For Dhritarashtra he chose Gandhari, the daughter of the king of Gandhara and Pandu marriedKunti, the daughter of king Kuntibhoja and Madri, daughter of the king of Madradesha. He arranged Vidura's marriage with a girl by name Parasavi who was educated and highly cultered.
As Dhritarashtra was blind, Pandu became king and began to rule the country. He undertook a military campaign andextended his empire in all directions. He would brig rich booty and offer it at the feet of his brother. Once heundertook a pleasure trip on the slopes of the Himalayas. while he was on a hunting expedition he killed a sage by mistaken identity and was subjected to a curse. As a result of the curse, he was reduced to a state in which he couldnot get children. He lost all interest in worldly life and began to live in the forest. When Pandu was in great distressfor he could not get chidren, Kunti revealed to him the boon she had received from sage Durvasa. with the help of themantra, she could call any of the gods she liked and get blessed with a son. She obtained king Pandu's permission andchanted the mantra having Yamadharma, the Lord of Death in mind. She was blessed with a son who was named Yudhishtira.It was during this time that Gandhari was also pregnant. When she heard that Kunti became a mother before she did,she began to burn with jelously and hit her stomach hard with a stone. A lump of flesh come out of her womb. Earliershe had prayed to Vedavyasa and expressed her desire to have a hundered children. she was shocked at the tragedy shehad invited on herself as a result of her jelously. Vedavyasa, came to know about the tragedy by his yogadrishiti and came to Hastinavathi immediately. He stood before her and said,"Dear Gandhari what have you done!"