- Ambika
Ambika (अम्बिका) was the daughter of King of Kashi and wife of
Vichitravirya , King ofHastinapur .Along with her sisters
Amba andAmbalika , she was taken by force byBhishma from theirSwayamvara . (Bhishma challenged the assembled Kings and Princes and defeated them.) He presented them toSatyavati for marriage to Vichitravirya.After Vichitravirya's death his mother Satyavati sent for her first born,
Rishi Veda Vyasa. According to his mother's wishes, both the wives of Vichitravirya to grant them each a son. When Vyasa visited Ambika, she saw his very dreadful and forbidding appearance with burning eyes. In her frightened state, she closed her eyes and dared not open them. Hence her son,Dhritarashtra , the father of theKaurava s, was born blind.After Dhritarashtra's birth, when Satyavati requested Vyasa to visit Ambika for the 2nd time, she dared not go and sent her maid instead. So the maid gave birth to a son
Vidura , who was raised as a brother of Dhritarashtra and Pandu.External links
* [http://www.mahabharataonline.com/ Persons and Stories from Mahabharata]
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