FOURTEEN
When he was born, Vyasa's third son had a long, grave face from which soulful eyes gazed with an intuition and humor that bespoke intelligence far beyond the ordinary. They called him Vidura.
It fell once more to their uncle Bheeshma, who was no blood of theirs, to raise those princes. He also ruled the kingdom with wisdom and inspiration. Bheeshma became the boys' surrogate father and taught them everything they learnt as they grew. The princes were as different from one another as could be and they were, each in his way, remarkably gifted.
Dhritarashtra, the oldest, was as strong as a lion. Pandu, the albino, was a master of archery when he was ten. And Vidura, the maidservant's son, was a prince of the intellect. He was serene and his insight into men and the world was swift, deep and unerring. When they reached their youth, Bheeshma crowned Dhritarashtra yuvaraja of the Kurus. He had raised Pandu to become the Senapati of the Kuru army and Vidura would be the king's main minister and counselor. Slowly, Bheeshma began to entrust more and more power to the princes. Blind Dhritarashtra would never really reign because he could not see. So white Pandu gradually began to rule in his older brother's name and to rule ably with the sage counsel of his brother Vidura.
The time came and Bheeshma turned his attention to the marriages of his wards. Subalu, the Gandhara king, had a lovely daughter who was a pious Siva-bhakta as well. The king of Madra also had a daughter of exceptional beauty. Bheeshma called Vidura and said to him, "The lineage of Gandhara and Madra are equal to ours, as no other line of these times is. Their princesses are fine girls. We must ask their fathers for their hands for Dhritarashtra and Pandu."
Bheeshma sent a messenger to the Gandhara king, who was reluctant because Dhritarashtra was blind. But when the princess Gandhari heard of the proposal, the God-fearing girl told her father she had had a dream in which Siva came to her and said she would marry a sightless king. She had no objection to marrying Dhritarashtra.
Escorted by her brother Shakuni, Subalu sent Gandhari to Hastinapura to become Dhritarashtra's queen. Her arrival in the Kuru capital created a stir among the people and not only because she was so beautiful. Before she entered that city, the princess bound her eyes with a square of dark silk and swore never to remove that cloth as long as Dhritarashtra lived.
The wedding of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari was celebrated in Hastinapura. Then Shakuni returned to his father in Gandhara.
Some years after Dhritarashtra's marriage, the king of Madra held a swayamvara for his daughter Madri, to which a thousand kshatriyas came. But the moment pale Pandu stalked into the enclosure of that swayamvara the causes of all the rest were lost. The princess' eyes never left his face: she had been struck by the subtle lightning of the heart. When she was handed the garland of wildflowers with which to declare her choice, without a moment's hesitation she crossed the marble floor and draped it around Pandu's neck.
Bheeshma was pleased the Kuru household had been enriched by these two princesses, Gandhari and Madri. After the years of lonely trial, he felt gratified. But Madri was not Pandu's first wife.