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{{short description|Blind ruler of Kuru kingdom in Indian epic Mahabharata}}
{{about|the figure in the Hindu epic Mahābhārata|the figure in Buddhist mythology|Dhṛtarāṣṭra}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox character
| info-hdr = Personal Information
| image = The blind king Dhrtarastra listens as the visionary narrator Sanjaya relates the events of the battle between the Kaurava and the Pandava clans.jpg
| caption = The blind king Dhritarashtra listens as the visionary narrator Sanjaya relates the events of the battle between the Kaurava and the Pandava clans.
| weapon = [[Gada (mace)]]
| affiliation = [[Kuru dynasty]]
| spouse = [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]]
| family = '''Parents''':{{bulleted list|[[Ambika (Mahabharata)|Ambika]] (Mother)|[[Vichitravirya]] (Adoptive father)| [[Vyasa]] (Biological father)}}
'''Half - Brother''' {{bulleted list|[[Pandu]] by [[Ambalika]]}} '''Half-Brother''' {{bulleted list|[[Vidura]] by [[Characters in the Mahabharata#Ambika's maid|Parishrami]]}}
| children = {{ubl|[[Kauravas|100 Kauravas]] including {{hlist||[[Duryodhana]]|[[Dushasana]]|[[Vikarna]]}} (sons)|[[Dushala]] (daughter)|[[Yuyutsu]] (son)}}
| relatives = '''Half-brother''' ''{{small|see [[Niyoga]]}}''{{bulleted list|[[Shuka]] (from Vatikā)}}
}}

'''Dhritarashtra''' ({{langx|sa|धृतराष्ट्र|Dhr̥tarāṣṭra}}) was a ruler of the ancient [[Kuru kingdom]], featured as a central character in the [[Hindu]] epic ''[[Mahabharata]]''. He is also attested in the ''[[Yajurveda]]'', where he is acknowledged as the son of King [[Vichitravirya]].

According to the ''Mahabharata'', Dhritarashtra’s birth was the result of the ancient practice of ''[[Niyoga]]''. After Vichitravirya died childless, his half-brother [[Vyasa]] fathered children with Vichitravirya’s widows to continue the Kuru lineage. Dhritarashtra was born blind to Vichitravirya’s elder queen, [[Ambika (Mahabharata)|Ambika]]. Despite being the eldest, his blindness disqualified him from inheriting the throne, which passed to his younger half-brother, [[Pandu]]. However, after Pandu renounced the throne and retired to the forest, Dhritarashtra assumed kingship of the Kuru kingdom, albeit as a nominal ruler heavily influenced by his grandsire, [[Bhishma]], and his eldest son, [[Duryodhana]].

Dhritarashtra married [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]], a devoted wife who, in a gesture of solidarity, blindfolded herself for life to share in her husband's blindness. Together, they had one hundred sons, known as the [[Kauravas]], and a daughter, [[Dushala]]. Throughout his reign, Dhritarashtra struggled with the conflicting roles of father and king. His deep affection for Duryodhana, often clouded his judgment, leading him to overlook his son's misdeeds and fail to curb the injustices inflicted upon their cousins, the [[Pandavas]]. His hundred sons, led by Duryodhana, became the antagonists in the Mahabharata, opposing the Pandavas in the [[Kurukshetra War]]. Dhritarashtra also fathered a son, [[Yuyutsu]], through a maid, who later sided with the Pandavas during the war.

During the Kurukshetra War, Dhritarashtra depended on his charioteer [[Sanjaya]], who had divine vision, to learn about the entire details of the war, the deaths of the prominent warriors, and the profound teachings of the [[Bhagavad Gita]]. After the war, which resulted in the fall of the Kauravas, a grief-stricken Dhritarashtra withdrew to the forest with Gandhari, [[Kunti]], and [[Vidura]]. He spent his final years in asceticism and meditation, ultimately passing away in a forest fire, attaining liberation.

== Etymology and historicity ==
''Dhṛtarāṣṭra'' means "He who supports/bears the nation".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Apte|first1=Vaman Shivaram|title=A practical Sianskrit-English Dictionary|date=1957|publisher=Prasad Prakashan|location=Poona|url=http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.3:1:1060.apte |chapter=धृतराष्ट्र}}</ref>

A historical [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru King]] named Dhr̥tarāṣṭra Vaicitravīrya is mentioned in the ''[[Kāṭhaka]] Saṃhitā'' of the [[Yajurveda]] ({{circa}} 1200–900 BCE) as a descendant of the [[Rigveda|Rigvedic]]-era King [[Sudas]] of the [[Bharatas (tribe)|Bharatas]]. His cattle was reportedly destroyed as a result of the conflict with the [[Kóryos#Indian tradition|''vrātya'']] ascetics; however, this Vedic mention does not provide corroboration for the accuracy of the Mahabharata's account of his reign. Dhritarashtra did not accept the vratyas into his territory, and with the aid of rituals, the vratyas destroyed his cattle. The group of vratyas were led by Vaka Dālbhi of [[Panchala]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Witzel |first=Michael |year=1995 |title=Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state |journal=EJVS |volume=1 |issue=4 |url=http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0104/ejvs0104article.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070611142934/http://www.ejvs.laurasianacademy.com/ejvs0104/ejvs0104article.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2007 |pages=17, footnote 115}}</ref><ref>Michael Witzel (1990), [http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/vamsa.pdf "On Indian Historical Writing"], p.9 of PDF</ref>

== Birth and early life ==
With [[Vichitravirya]] having died of sickness, [[Bhishma]] unable to take the throne because of his vow, and [[Bahlika (Mahabharata)|Bahlika]]'s line unwilling to leave the Bahlika Kingdom, there was a succession crisis in [[Hastinapur]]a. [[Satyavati]] invites her son [[Vyasa]] to impregnate the queens [[Ambika (Mahabharata)|Ambika]] and [[Ambalika]] under the [[Niyoga]] practice. When Vyasa went to impregnate Ambika, his appearance was scary and frightened her, so she closed her eyes during their union; hence her son was born blind.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Sacred books of the Hindus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=12kSkNpBx-sC|publisher=Genesis Publications|page=94|year=2007|isbn = 9788130705439}}</ref>

Dhritarashtra, along with his younger half-brother [[Pandu]], was trained in the military arts by [[Bhishma]] and [[Kripacharya]]. Hindered by his handicap, Dhritarashtra was unable to wield weapons, but had the strength of one hundred thousand elephants due to a boon given by [[Vyasa]], and was said to be so strong that he could crush iron with his bare hands.<ref name=" Ganguli">Ganguli, Kisari Mohan. The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose by Kisari Mohan Ganguli. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web.</ref>
When it came time to nominate an heir, [[Vidura]] suggested that Pandu would be a better fit because he was not blind. Though bitter about losing his birthright, Dhritarashtra willingly conceded the crown, though this act would seep into the obsession he would have over his crown later in life.<ref>Kalyāṇakara, Bā Ha. Dhr̥tarāshṭra. Nāgapūra: Ākāṅkshā Prakāśana, 2007.</ref> Dhritarashtra married [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]] of Hastinapura's weakened and lowly vassal [[Gandhara]]; After their marriage, Gandhari covered her eyes with a blindfold in order to truly experience her husband's blindness.<ref>Suri, Chander Kanta. The Life and times of Shakuni. Delhi: for All, 1992. Print</ref> Gandhari and he had one hundred sons, called the [[Kauravas]], and one daughter [[Dushala]]. He also had a son named [[Yuyutsu]] mothered by a maid.

== Reign ==
After the incident with [[Kindama|Rishi Kindama]], Pandu retired to the forest. Hence, Dhritarashtra was offered the crown. Through the blessings of [[Vyasa]], he and Gandhari had one hundred sons and a daughter, with his eldest son, [[Duryodhana]], becoming his heir. Upon Duryodhana's birth, ill omens appeared; many sages and priests advised Dhritarashtra and Gandhari to abandon the baby. But they refused to do so; Duryodhana grew up with a princely education and his parents believed that he would be a great heir.

However, when Pandu died, Kunti and her sons returned to Hastinapura, living alongside Dhritarashtra's children. [[Yudhishthira]], Pandu's eldest son, was older than Duryodhana. Given that Pandu was the king and that Yudhishthira was [[divine filiation|the son of the god]] of [[Dharma]] (Dharmaraja, also known as [[Yama]]) he had a strong claim to the throne. A succession crisis began; though recognising Yudhishthira's merits, Dhritarashtra favoured his own son, blinded by affection. Upon much pressure from the Brahmins, [[Vidura]], and [[Bhishma]], Dhritarashtra reluctantly named Yudhishthira as his heir.<ref name="Vyas 1992">{{Cite book|last=Vyas|first=Ramnarayan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fmYAdJHqd3cC&q=crowning+of+Yudhishthira&pg=PA29|title=Nature of Indian Culture|date=1992|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-388-7|language=en}}</ref>

=== Bifurcation of the Kuru Kingdom ===
After the [[lakshagraha|House of Lac]] incident, in which the Pandavas are believed to have been immolated, Dhritarashtra mourns, but was able to finally name Duryodhana as his heir. When the Pandavas are revealed to have survived, Duryodhana refuses to cede his title as heir when the sour relations between the [[Kauravas]] and the [[Pandavas]] simmer. On Bhishma's advice, Dhritarashtra bifurcates the kingdom, giving Hastinapura to Duryodhana and [[Khandavprastha|Khandavaprastha]] to Yudhishthira.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Valmiki|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qj9bDwAAQBAJ&q=Dhritrashtra+khandavaprastha&pg=PT2606|title=Delphi Collected Sanskrit Epics (Illustrated)|last2=Vyasa|date=2018-05-19|publisher=Delphi Classics|isbn=978-1-78656-128-2|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Vyas 1992"/>

=== The game of dice ===
[[File: Disrobing of Draupadi.jpg|thumb|Draupadi disrobed in Dhritarashtra's assembly. Dhritarashtra seated in the centre.]]

[[Shakuni]], [[Gandhari (character)|Gandhari]]'s brother, was a master of dice as he could load them without his opponents having a clue. He, along with his nephew [[Duryodhana]], conspired in a game of dice and invited the Pandavas to gamble. The Pandavas eventually lost their kingdom, wealth, and prestige and were exiled for thirteen years. [[Draupadi]], the wife of the Pandavas, was humiliated in court after [[Dushasana]] tried to disrobe her. The blind king only intervened after counselling with Gandhari when Draupadi was going to curse the [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]] dynasty. Though notables like [[Vikarna]] and [[Vidura]] objected to the sins of Duryodhana, most of the spectators were helpless due to their obligations to [[Hastinapur]]a; Dhritarashtra could have spoken out, but did not.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

== The Kurukshetra War==
[[File: Krishna Pleads with Dhritarashtra to Avoid War.jpg|thumb|Krishna requests Dhritarashtra to avoid war.]]
[[Krishna]], as a peace emissary of the Pandavas, travelled to Hastinapura to persuade the Kauravas to avoid the bloodshed of their own descendants. However, Duryodhana conspired to arrest him, which resulted in the failure of the mission. After Krishna's peace mission failed and a war seemed inevitable, [[Vyasa]] approached Dhritarashtra and offered to grant him a divine vision so that Dhritarashtra could see the war. However, not willing to see his kin slaughtered, Dhritarashtra asked that the boon be given to [[Sanjaya]], his charioteer. Sanjaya dutifully narrated the war to his liege, reporting how [[Bhima]] killed all his children. Sanjaya would console the blind king while challenging the king with his own viewpoints and morals. When Lord Krishna displayed his [[Vishvarupa]] (True form) to [[Arjuna]] on the battlefield of [[Kurukshetra]], Dhritarashtra regretted not possessing the divine sight.<ref name="Ganguli"/>
[[File:The_mourning_of_Dhritarashtra.jpg|thumb|Dhritarashtra mourns the death of his sons.]]
Dhritarashtra was confident that Bhishma, [[Drona]], [[Karna]] and the other invincible warriors would make the [[Kaurava]] camp victorious. He rejoiced whenever the tide of war turned against the Pandavas. However, the results of the war devastated him. All of his sons and grandsons but one were killed in the carnage. Dhritarashtra's only daughter [[Duhsala]] was widowed. [[Yuyutsu]] had defected to Pandava side at the onset of the war, and was the only son of Dhritarashtra who had managed to survive the Kurukshetra War.<ref>[http://www.storypick.com/yuyutsu-moral-kaurava/ Yuyutsu was one of the 11 who managed to survive the war].</ref>

=== Crushing of Bhima's metal statue ===

After the war ended, the victorious Pandavas arrived at Hastinapura for the formal transfer of power. The Pandavas set forth to embrace their uncle and offer him their respects. Dhritarashtra hugged [[Yudhishthira]] heartily without a grudge. When Dhritarashtra turned to Bhima, Krishna sensed his intentions and asked Bhima to step back and placed Bhima's iron statue in his place. Dhritarashtra crushed the statue into pieces and then broke down crying, his rage leaving him. Broken and defeated, Dhritarashtra apologised for his folly and wholeheartedly embraced Bhima and the other Pandavas.<ref>[[Bhima|During the Kurukshetra War]]</ref>

== Later years and death ==
15 years after the great war of ''[[Mahabharata]]'', the grief-stricken blind king along with his wife [[Gandhari (character)|Gandhari]], sister-in-law [[Kunti]], and half brother [[Vidura]] left [[Hastinapur]]a for [[penance]]. It is believed that all of them (except Vidura who predeceased him) perished in a forest fire and attained [[moksha]].<ref>[http://mahabharata-resources.org/mbtn/MBTN_4_harshala.pdf Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Kunti proceed to the forest]</ref>

==Assessment==
Throughout his reign as King of Hastinapura, Dhritarashtra was torn between the principles of [[dharma]] and his love for his son Duryodhana. He often ended up endorsing his son's actions merely out of fatherly love.<ref>{{Cite web|title=12_chapter 6'|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G9ZxOEksx_s68Ift_xUquiW0FJ0DZGKE/view?usp=drivesdk&usp=embed_facebook|access-date=2020-09-29|website=Google Docs}}</ref>

Dhritarashtra is physically strong, yet psychologically weak, easily manipulated by his brother-in-law, Shakuni.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nanda|first=Rishi Nanda, Mehak Mahajan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h1DPDwAAQBAJ&q=was+dhritarashtra+strong&pg=PT130|title=Break Your Leadership Chakravyuh: Stories and Learnings from Indian Mythology|date=2020-02-10|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-64678-700-5|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Guha|first=Soma|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9OdrQGX1QA8C&q=Dhritarashtra+manipulated+by+Shakuni&pg=PA188|title=Mahabharata: The Game Vol - 1|date=2007|publisher=Scholastic India|isbn=978-81-7655-816-7|language=en}}</ref> Dhritarashtra appears in ''[[Mahābhārata|Mahabharata]]'' sections that have been circulated as separate scriptures, most notably the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'', whose dialogue was narrated to him.
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}

== See also ==
{{Commons category|Dhritarashtra}}
*[[Gandhari (character)]]
*[[Kauravas]]
*[[Duryodhana]]
*[[Historicity of the Mahabharata]]
*shakuni

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Mahābhārata}}
{{HinduMythology}}

[[Category:Mythological kings of Kuru]]
[[Category:Blind royalty and nobility]]
[[Category:Characters in the Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Ancient Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Vedic period]]
[[Category:People related to Krishna]]
[[Category:Mythological blind people]]

Dhritarashtra - Revision history

imported>Seyamar: Reverted 1 edit by 2402:8100:2717:CF90:94D2:36FF:FE99:76E4 (talk)