King Vichitravirya along with his two queens was living comfortably. One day, he died due to consumption without leaving an heir. Satyavati felt worried. So, she asked Bhishma to become king and marry the two widowed queens. But Bhishma had taken a terrible vow. As a result, he refused. When Satyavati was faced with a daunting task, she summoned her first son Vyasa.
When sage Vyasa reached the palace, he paid obeisance to his mother and asked the reason of his mother’s gloom. Thereupon Satyavati told him that there was none left to carry forward the Kuru dynasty. What could be the way-out to avoid this awkward situation? Sage Vyasa told his mother that a woman could be made pregnant without a man. Having known about it in detail Satyavati approved of it. As per the ritual, the first queen Ambika was sent to sage Vyasa. Seeing the sage she closed her eyes. Even then she was blessed to be pregnant.
Now, the second queen Ambalika was sent to sage Vyasa. Seeing the sage she turned pale but she too was blessed to be pregnant. It was necessary that the successor to King Shantanu should be a strong and capable warrior and leader.
So, Satyavati sent Ambalika once more to sage Vyasa. But the frightened Ambalika, instead of going herself, sent her maid to him. The maid respected the sage and served him with humility and reverence. Sage Vyasa, therefore, blessed her to be pregnant.
With the passage of time the two queens and the maid were blessed with one son each. As Ambika closed her eyes, she gave birth to a blind son who was named Dhritrashtra. As the second queen Ambalika turned pale out of fear, she gave birth to a son who was named Pandu. The maid who served the sage with great devotion gave birth to a learned son who was named Vidura. With the blessing of sage Vyasa, Dhritrashtra and Pandu grew to be brave warriors and Vidura to be learned, wise and intelligent.
