In that moment, Duryodhana viciously rebuked Vidura, calling him ungrateful.
Vidura's Role in the Mahabharata īarring Krishna, Vidura was most respected as an adviser by the Pandavas, whom he forewarned on various occasions of Duryodhana's plots to exterminate them, such as Duryodhana's plan to burn them alive in the house of wax.Įxcepting the prince Vikarna, Vidura was the only one who protested against the humiliation of Draupadi in the Kaurava court. Ambalika later was persuaded to present herself to Vyasa, but turned pale and gave birth to Pandu, as recounted above. Contemporary translators, however have ignored this due to transcreations. This event is considered to be a major transition from the Vedic to the Upanishad age. According to this version, Ambika initially sent a maid in her place out of fear of Vyasa, and the sage perceiving an act designed by destiny for some greater purpose, blesses her with a son, making Vidura an incarnation of Dharma instead of the Mitra- Varuna pair. In some versions, it is believed that Vidura is elder to Dhritarashtra and Pandu, for when Bhishma asked Vidura for counsel on the marriages of the three princes, he indicated in order the brides for Vidura - a Yadava girl named Sulabha, Dhritharashtra - Gandhari and Pandu - Kunti, in the order of precedence accorded by age. Upon Pandu's abdication and the blind Dhritarashtra's succession, Vidura took on the reins of government for all practical purposes, guiding his brother's government until Duryodhana came of age, when he was consigned to a secondary role. Despite knowing that he was right, and even agreeing with the verdict, Dhritarashtra held a little bit of resentment towards Vidura for this incident. Vidura then supported Pandu's election to the kingship, much to the relief of Hastinapur's prime minister. When time came for a crown prince to be chosen, it was Vidura who brought up the elephant in the room-namely that despite being older, Dhritarashtra's blindness made him an unfit king. When Satyavati asked about her grandchildren's strengths, Bhishma praised Dhristarashtra's strength, Pandu's military prowess, and Vidura's intellect. However, since neither of his parents were of the royal blood, he was made counselor to his brothers, the kings, rather than a king himself.
Vidura was raised and educated by Bhishma as the half-brother of Dhritarashtra and Pandu. This dutiful lady was not frightened by Vyasa's appearance and bore a normal, healthy, son. Still fearful of Vyasa, Ambika sent the maid, Parishrami, to Vyasa. Vyasa informed his mother that as a result, the sons they bore would respectively be blind (Dhritarashtra), and pale (Pandu).įearing that no such child would be a worthy heir, Satyavati asked Vyasa to grant another son to Ambika. Vyasa, as a hermit practicing severe austerities, was unpleasant and even fearsome in appearance, so much so that Ambika shut her eyes tight when she saw him, and her sister Ambalika went pale with fear. Anxious to ensure the continuation of the royal lineage, Vichitravirya's mother Satyavati called another of her sons, the ascetic Vyasa, to bestow motherhood upon the two widowed queens through niyoga. By some accounts, he was an incarnation of the god of death and justice Yama Dharma Raja, who had been cursed by the sage Mandavya for punishing the latter more harshly than his transgression warranted.īoth Ambika and Ambalika were wives of King Vichitravirya of Hastinapura, who died childless. As per the Mahabharata, Vidura was the half-brother to the kings Dhritarashtra and Pandu of Hastinapura, born the son of the sage Vyasa and Parishrami, the maid to the queens Ambika and Ambalika of the city.
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