Editing Mahabharata (section)

=== The Pandava and Kaurava princes ===
[[File:Draupadi and Pandavas.jpg|thumb|[[Draupadi]] with her five husbands – the [[Pandavas]]. The central figure is [[Yudhishthira]]; the two on the bottom are [[Bhima]] and [[Arjuna]]. [[Nakula]] and [[Sahadeva]], the twins, are standing. Painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]], {{Circa|1900}}.]]

When Vichitravirya dies young without any heirs, Satyavati asks her first son [[Vyasa]], born to her from a previous union with the sage [[Parashara]], to [[niyoga|father children with]] the widows. The eldest, Ambika, shuts her eyes when she sees him, and so her son [[Dhritarashtra]] is born blind. Ambalika turns pale and bloodless upon seeing him, and thus her son [[Pandu]] is born pale and unhealthy (the term Pandu may also mean 'jaundiced'<ref>{{cite web |url=http://webapps.uni-koeln.de/tamil/ |title=Sanskrit, Tamil and Pahlavi Dictionaries |language=de |publisher=Webapps.uni-koeln.de |date=11 February 2003 |access-date=9 February 2008 |archive-date=26 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080126035307/http://webapps.uni-koeln.de/tamil/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>). Due to the physical challenges of the first two children, Satyavati asks Vyasa to try once again. However, Ambika and Ambalika send their maid instead, to Vyasa's room. Vyasa fathers a third son, [[Vidura]], by the maid. He is born healthy and grows up to be one of the wisest figures in the ''Mahabharata''. He serves as Prime Minister (Mahamantri or Mahatma) to King Pandu and King Dhritarashtra.

When the princes grow up, Dhritarashtra is about to be crowned king by Bhishma when Vidura intervenes and uses his knowledge of politics to assert that a blind person cannot be king. This is because a blind man cannot control and protect his subjects. The throne is then given to Pandu because of Dhritarashtra's blindness. Pandu marries twice, to [[Kunti]] and [[Madri]]. Dhritarashtra marries [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]], a princess from Gandhara, who blindfolds herself for the rest of her life so that she may feel the pain that her husband feels. Her brother [[Shakuni]] is enraged by this and vows to take revenge on the Kuru family. One day, when Pandu is relaxing in the forest, he hears the sound of a wild animal. He shoots an arrow in the direction of the sound. However, the arrow hits the sage [[Kindama]], who was engaged in a sexual act in the guise of a deer. He curses Pandu that if he engages in a sexual act, he will die. Pandu then retires to the forest along with his two wives, and his brother Dhritarashtra rules thereafter, despite his blindness.

Pandu's older queen Kunti, however, had been given a boon by Sage [[Durvasa]] that she could invoke any god using a special mantra. Kunti uses this boon to ask [[Dharma]], the god of justice, [[Vayu]], the god of the wind, and [[Indra]], the lord of the heavens for sons. She gives birth to three sons, [[Yudhishthira]], [[Bhima]], and [[Arjuna]], through these gods. Kunti shares her mantra with the younger queen [[Madri]], who bears the twins [[Nakula]] and [[Sahadeva]] through the [[Ashvins|Ashwini]] twins. However, Pandu and Madri indulge in lovemaking, and Pandu dies. Madri commits suicide out of remorse. Kunti raises the five brothers, who are from then on usually referred to as the [[Pandava]] brothers.

Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons, and one daughter—[[Duhsala]]—through [[Gandhari (Mahabharata)|Gandhari]],<ref>{{cite book|last = Mani|first = Vettam|title = Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary With Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature|url = https://archive.org/details/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft|publisher = Motilal Banarsidass|year = 1975|location = Delhi|isbn = 978-0-8426-0822-0|authorlink =Vettam Mani|page=263}}</ref> all born after the birth of Yudhishthira. These are the [[Kaurava]] brothers, the eldest being [[Duryodhana]], and the second [[Dushasana]]. Other Kaurava brothers include [[Vikarna]] and Sukarna. The rivalry and enmity between them and the Pandava brothers, from their youth and into manhood, leads to the [[Kurukshetra]] war.