Shloka 56
आदि पर्व, अध्याय 96 — काश्यकन्याहरणं, शाल्वसमागमः, अम्बावचनं च
Kāśī princesses taken; encounter with Śālva; Ambā’s declaration
तत्र धृतराष्ट्रस्य राज्ञ: पुत्रशतं बभूव गान्धार्या वरदानाद् द्वैधायनस्थ,उनमेंसे राजा धृतराष्ट्रके गान्धारीके गर्भसे व्यासजीके दिये हुए वरदानके प्रभावसे सौ पुत्र हुए
tatra dhṛtarāṣṭrasya rājñaḥ putraśataṃ babhūva gāndhāryā varadānād dvaidhāyanāt
There, King Dhṛtarāṣṭra came to have a hundred sons through Gāndhārī, as a result of the boon granted by Dvaidhāyana (Vyāsa). The narrative underscores how extraordinary outcomes in royal lineages are often framed as arising from ascetic power and divine favor, setting the stage for the moral weight and consequences that such a vast progeny will later bring upon the Kuru house.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring idea that dynastic events are not merely biological or political but are also shaped by tapas and boons; such extraordinary gifts carry ethical and karmic implications that later unfold in the Kuru family’s moral crisis.
Vaiśampāyana states that Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Gāndhārī had one hundred sons, and that this was made possible through a boon given by the sage Dvaidhāyana (Vyāsa), introducing the origin of the Kaurava brothers.