Dhritarashtra means the one who bears or supports the nation. In the Mahabharata, Hindu epic, Dhritarashtra is the King of Kuru Kingdom. Hastinapur is the capital of the Kuru Kingdom. Veda Vyasa and Ambika, the first wife of Vichitravirya are his parents. Right from birth, Dhritarashtra was blind. The scary appearance of Vyasa scared Ambika, at the time of impregnation. During their union she closed her eyes after which she gave birth to a blind son, Dhritarashtra. Kripacharya and Bhishma trained Dhritarashtra and Pandu his younger half brother in military arts. Granted with Vyasa’s boon to have strength of 100,000 elephants, the blind Dhritarashtra is bestowed immense strength to crush iron with his hand.
His wife Gandhari bore one daughter and one hundred sons. He fathered Yuyutsu a son from his wife’s maid named Sughada. All his offsprings including Duryodhana, his eldest son, came to be known as the Kauravas. Dhritarashtra was aware of the fact that destiny was not in favor of Durodhana. Accordingly he requests his son to arrive at a compromise with the Pandavas just in case he commits a breach of Dharma.
After the Great War, the blind and grief stricken Dhritarashtra left for penance to Hastinapur along with Gandhari, his wife, Vidura his half brother and Kunti, his sister-in-law. In the forest fire, all of them except for Vidura are believed to have perished and achieved Moksha.
In Yajurveda’s Kathaka Samhita, there is mention of Dhritarashtra Vaichitravirya, the historical Kuru King as descendent of Sudas, the Rigvedic-era king.
