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| Vyasa speaking to Gandhari Image Source: Wikipedia |
Her wedding was tomorrow night. What would her husband be like? Would he be kind? Strong? A thousand questions ran through her head. She spent a sleepless night tossing and turning. Gandhari remembered the day Bhishma went and spoke to her father. He brought her back to this palace to marry a stranger. But he was a king none the less and that should be its own reward. This marriage would unite two kingdoms. Gandhara would gain another ally and she would sustain her duty to her kingdom and her father. Her maidservant entered her room as soon as the sun rose to begin preparing the anxious and pensive bride. Once Gandhari arose from bed, King Dhritarashtra became the primary topic of conversation.
"Do you know much about your future husband Lady Gandhari?" she asked.
Gandhari sat in deep thought for a minute and slowly replied, "No I do not. One does not usually know much about their future spouse when it comes to arranged marriages like these".
The maid adverted her eyes and remained silent for an unusual amount of time. This struck Gandhari as odd and she demanded to know why she was so quiet.
"I have roamed the halls of this palace. I have asked the servants. Gandhari, King Dhritarashtra is blind. He only knows darkness."
Visibly stunned, Gandhari softly uttered "That cannot be possible. A king cannot possibly be blind! Who could give the throne to a blind man?".
Gandhari sat in deep thought and she could not even feel time passing by. She slowly stood and said, "Come now, I must get dressed. I will stand by my husband. I will be with him and my loyalty will never falter. We will share the same condition. I have decided to place a veil over my eyes and see nothing but darkness as he does. We are to be one. I will never remove this veil from my eyes as long as I may live". And with that, she strode over to her belongings and picked up a black veil. She looked over to her maidservant and stared,
"You will be the last image my eyes see".
Gandhari fastened the veil tightly over her eyes and proceeded to prepare for the wedding that lay ahead. Was she scared? Yes, of course she was. But, she was prepared to face anything that was placed in her path. She was prepared to face her destiny beside he husband, for whom she had decided to give up her sight. As she felt the final touches being added to her robes and jewels being placed in her hair and upon her neck, she reached out for her servant's hand.
"Lead me to my future husband..."
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Author's Note:
In both the reading and in Peter Brook's film Muhabharata, I noticed that there was not much background to Gandhari and her marriage to King Dhritarashtra. Mainly the wedding and the day leading to the wedding itself. I figured it would be interesting to try to mold a story from Gandhari's point of view. I wondered what she could possibly be thinking before her wedding. How did she feel knowing that she was destined to spend her days with a husband who could not see?
Bibliography:
- Narayan, R. K. The Mahabarata. London: Mandarin, 1991. 7. Print.
- The Mahabharata. Dir. Peter Brook. Parabola Video Library, 1989. Film. Youtube.
Pita, I really enjoyed your story about Gandhari's wedding! It really is something that's brushed over in the books, but the choice to remain sightless forever is not only a big one, but it's scary! I also think that you showed Gandhari's apprehensiveness very well, as she was about to marry a man she had never met, and didn't know anything about. I love it when the writers in this class take the time to do a story that's a little different, and I think that's exactly what you did! Great story, Pita!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting interpretation of the story of the wedding, I feel that you encompassed the emotional strain that would have been exhibited on such a situation. In my mind many arranged weddings can only be finalized in a very fixed number of ways one, they hate each other, two, they dont marry, three they tolerate each other, or four they love each other. Obviously my favorite ending is the fourth.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way you wrote abot Gandhari's thoughts on her night before her wedding. When I first read about her sacrifice for her husband, I thought that it was such a deep and loving notion that proved how loyal she was to her husband. I can't imagine being in an arranged marriage. I feel like I'd be really nervous! You did a great job depicting this perspective!
ReplyDeletePita,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your version of the story "The Bride from Gandhara". You had me hooked from the very beginning of the story when you described the thoughts of Gandhara. She was contemplating her marriage that was happening the next day and I just felt the reality of the moment. It was a beautiful description of how I would imagine a bride feeling on the day before her wedding when shhe has never met her husband.