Queen Gandhari

Quick Facts

About Queen Gandhari

Princess of Gandhara who married the blind Dhritarashtra. Out of devotion to her husband, she blindfolded herself for life. Mother of the Kauravas.

In Their Words

She tied up her eyes with this, deciding resolutely that she would never experience more than what her husband could.

Queen Gandhari

Traits

• Devoted
• Righteous
• Blindfolded

Stories Featuring Queen Gandhari

71 tales on this site name Queen Gandhari, in canonical reading order.

• The Niyoga of VyasaThe Birth of the KurusAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Birth of the PrincesChildren of the Gods and the Iron WombAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Ascetics at the GateThe morning five orphans were handed to HastinapuraAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Weighing of the BharataThe gods put the epic in a balance against the four Vedas, and Sauti recites the eighteen booksAdi Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Birth of DuryodhanaA doom announced and ignoredAdi Parva
• The Blindfold of GandhariA vow read as devotion and as protestAdi Parva
• Gandhara, Land Beyond the IndusThe kingdom that sent a queen and a gamblerAdi Parva
• The Infinite SariIn our darkest hour, when all worldly help fails, surrender to the Divine is our last and most powerful refuge...Sabha Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Second ThrowOne cast of the dice for thirteen yearsSabha Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Errand Vidura Did Not WantCarrying the invitation to the dice game he had begged the king not to sendSabha Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Kingdom Given BackDhritarashtra releases the Pandavas and returns everything they lostSabha Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Uncle Who StayedShakuni of Gandhara, without the legendsSabha Parva
• The Cow Who Wept for the Weaker CalfIndra learns why a mother's love is not divided equallyVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Curse on Duryodhana's ThighA sage asks politely once, and is answered with a scratched footVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Golden PloughThe sacrifice a king held because the one he wanted was forbidden himVana Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Messenger of PeaceThe Divine Revelation in HastinapuraUdyoga Parva ‧ 21 min
• How a Charioteer Came to Know GodThe blind king asks why the sight was given to a sutaUdyoga Parva ‧ 17 min
• Arjuna's Message to the KurusSanjaya recites the message in open court, and names every man who will dieUdyoga Parva ‧ 21 min
• The March to KurukshetraDuryodhana walks out on the last counsel and orders the host to move that same dayUdyoga Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Kings Who Were Passed OverDhritarashtra reads his son the family's own record of elder sons who never got the throneUdyoga Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Eighteen DaysWar spares no one - neither the righteous nor the wicked. The Mahabharata war ended with Pandava victory, but the price...Bhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• Eighteen Days of DestructionThe Kurukshetra War teaches that there is no such thing as a 'clean' war. Even a war fought for the most righteous...Bhishma Parva ‧ 31 min
• The Walk Across the FieldThe king who laid down his armour before the first arrowBhishma Parva ‧ 20 min
• Shveta Against the GrandsireThe Matsya prince who broke Bhishma's bow again and againBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• Kurukshetra Day 8: The Rakshasa's HourIravan falls and Ghatotkacha answers for himBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Seventh Day After NoonBhima and Duryodhana wound each other twice, Sanjaya tells the blind king whose fault the war is, and Satanika kills DushkarnaBhishma Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Three ColumnsAt midday on the eighth day the Pandava army splits into three attacking bodies, Arjuna's son Iravan is killed, and Bhishma sends twelve warriors to pull Duryodhana out of the fire.Bhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• Ghatotkacha and the Javelin of BhagadattaDuryodhana asks to kill a Rakshasa, and a Rakshasa breaks a javelin on his kneeBhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Word Brought to HastinapuraSanjaya rides through the night with the news of KarnaKarna Parva ‧ 21 min
• A Thousand Lamps Around KarnaYudhishthira rises from his bed to look at his enemyKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• Sahadeva Against DushasanaThe quiet twin puts one arrow through the man Bhima had sworn to killKarna Parva ‧ 11 min
• Where the Carnage Did Not CeaseArjuna counts every point at which the war should have stoppedShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Verdict at the Fallen KingBalarama's plough, Duryodhana's indictment, and the flowers that fell from the skyShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Errand Before the GriefKrishna drives to Hastinapura to reach a mother before her curse doesShalya Parva ‧ 16 min
• Duryodhana Rises from the LakeTaunted in the water, the last Kaurava comes up armed and asks for one man at a timeShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Last Words of DuryodhanaBroken-thighed on the field, the Kuru king laments his dead, sends his last words home, and names a general with a dying man's hand.Shalya Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Plunder of the Kaurava CampThe victors ride into Duryodhana's empty tents, and Arjuna's chariot turns to ashShalya Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Owl in the Banyan TreeWhat three beaten men argued about in the darkSauptika Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Last ReportThree men bring good news to a dying kingSauptika Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Aftermath of WarThe Night Massacre, the Women's Lament, and a Curse on KrishnaStri Parva ‧ 25 min
• The Lament of the WomenStri Parva - The Field of WidowsStri Parva
• Gandhari's CurseThirty-Six Years HenceStri Parva
• The Queen Asks Her QuestionsGandhari puts the victors on trial, and Vyasa stands in the wayStri Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Queens Who Came a Long WayWhat the Kuru quarrel cost the kingdoms that were only alliesStri Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Count of the DeadKrishna's blunt answer, and a king who could see where they had goneStri Parva ‧ 16 min
• Gandhari Shows Krishna the FieldWith the sight Vyasa gave her, the blindfolded queen walks Krishna through the dead of KurukshetraStri Parva ‧ 21 min
• What Gandhari SawThe blind queen, given sight for one afternoon, walks Kurukshetra naming the dead of both armiesStri Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Secret of the GodsVyasa tells the blind king why the war was ordained before his eldest son was bornStri Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Iron EmbraceDhritarashtra's grief given a bodyStri Parva
• Charvaka the False BrahminThe Curse at the CoronationShanti Parva ‧ 5 min
• Bhishma on the Bed of ArrowsFifty-Eight Days of Teaching, and a King Crowned at His FeetShanti Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Crowning of YudhishthiraA king anointed by the man he could not saveShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Departure of BhishmaThe sun turns north, and the grandsire lets goAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min
• Arjuna's Hymn at PartingOn the road to Hastinapur, Arjuna praises Krishna and gives him leave to go homeAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Forest RetreatBook 15 - How the Blind King Walked Into the Woods to DieAshramavasika Parva ‧ 26 min
• The Wordy DartsFifteen Years of Bhima's UnforgivenessAshramavasika Parva ‧ 19 min
• The King Asks Leave of His PeopleAn Assembly Absolves the Man Who Ruined ItAshramavasika Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Gift SacrificeTen Days of Giving for the Enemy DeadAshramavasika Parva ‧ 17 min
• Satayupa and the Forest KingsNarada Names the Rulers Who Chose the WoodsAshramavasika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Court Comes to the ForestAn Army Marches Out to Visit Two Old AsceticsAshramavasika Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the GangaAshramavasika Parva ‧ 20 min
• Vyasa Brings Back ParikshitA Son Bathes His Dead Father at the Snake SacrificeAshramavasika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Fire That Was Not UnholyYudhishthira Accuses Agni of IngratitudeAshramavasika Parva ‧ 16 min
• Kunti's Last FireRenunciation after the victoryAshramavasika Parva
• The Last WitnessSanjaya after the divine eyeAshramavasika Parva
• The Iron MacesBook 16 - The Curse That Destroyed Krishna's PeopleMausala Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Omens of DwarakaA City Watches Its Own Death ApproachMausala Parva ‧ 17 min
• Balarama Returns to the SeaThe Serpent Leaves by the Mouth It Came FromMausala Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Death of VasudevaKrishna's Father Outlives EveryoneMausala Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Great DepartureKrishna's Death, the End of the Yadavas, and the Pandavas' Climb to HeavenMahaprasthanika Parva ‧ 26 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Places in Queen Gandhari's Story

Drawn from the stories Queen Gandhari appears in.

• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Gandharaगान्धार
• Mount Shatashringaशतशृङ्ग
• Dwarakaद्वारका
• Prabhasaप्रभास
• Varanasi (Kashi)वाराणसी (काशी)
• Badarikashramaबदरिकाश्रम
• Indraprasthaइंद्रप्रस्थ
• Forest Hermitageवन आश्रम
• Himavatहिमवत्
• Takshashilaतक्षशिला

Related Characters

Others counted among the Kuru Dynasty.

• ✦Pritha (Kunti)
• ✦King Dushyanta
• ✦Shakuntala
• ✦Emperor Bharata (Sarvadamana)
• ⚔︎Bhishma
• ∵Drona