The Prologue
Shantanu, the ruler of Hastinapura, had a short marriage with the goddess Ganga and had a son, Devavrata (who would later be to be known as Bhishma, a great warrior), and became the heir presumptive. When King Shantanu went hunting several years later, he found Satyavati, the daughter of the leader of the fisherman, and approaches her father for her hand in marriage. Her father will not agree to the marriage if Shantanu vows to make the next son of Satyavati king after his death. To help his father out, Devavrata agreed to give up his right to the crown. Because the fisherman was unsure whether the prince's children will keep the word, Devavrata took a vow of perpetual celibacy to ensure his father's commitment.
Shantanu is the father of two sons by Satyavati: Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Chitrangada became king after Shantanu dies. He died after a relatively brief and unremarkable existence. The younger son, Vichitravirya, rules Hastinapura. At the same time, the King of Kasi organized a Swayamvara (the bride used to choose her own groom in a ceremony) for his three daughters but failed to invite the Hastinapur royal family. Bhishma went uninvited to the Swayamvara of the three princesses Amba, Ambika, and Ambalika in order to arrange the marriage of young Vichitravirya. Ambika and Ambalika both agreed to marry Vichitravirya.
On the other hand, Amba, the eldest princess, informed Bhishma that she wants to marry the king of Shalva, whom Bhishma vanquished at their Swayamvara. Bhishma granted her consent to marry the king of Shalva, but Shalva declines to wed her because he was deeply impacted by Bhishma's humiliation. Amba then went back to marry Bhishma, but he rejected due to his chastity vow. Amba became outraged and became Bhishma's sworn rival, blaming him for her predicament. In her next existence, she vowed to assassinate him. A few years later she was reborn to King Drupada as Shikhandi (or Shikhandini) and, with the assistance of Arjuna, caused Bhishma's fall in the war of Kurukshetra.
Dhritarashtra, Pandu & Vidur
Satyavati ordered her son Vyasa to conceive the two queens so that the family lineage would not die out. Before her marriage to Shantanu, Vyasa was born to Satyavati, the daughter of a famous sage named Parashar. Pursuant to the norms of the time, a child born to an unmarried mother was regarded as the stepchild of the mother's husband; hence, Vyasa has potentially deemed Shantanu's son and utilized for perpetuating the Kuru clan that governed Hastinapur. The two queens each had a son of Vyasa: the elder had a blind son named Dhritarashtra, and the younger had an apparently healthy but exceptionally pale son named Pandu. Vidur, a son of Vyasa, was born to one of these queens' maids. Bheeshm raised these three youngsters with much concern. Dhritarashtra grew up to be the most powerful leader in the land, Pandu was an expert in battle and archery, and Vidur was well-versed in all fields of scholarship, politics, and diplomatic skills.
Now that the boys were adults, it was time to occupy Hastinapur's vacant throne. The oldest, Dhritarashtra, was disregarded due to it being against the law for a person with a disability to be king. Pandu was crowned as the king. Dhritarashtra and Gandhari's marriage, as well as Pandu and Kunti and Madri's, were arranged by Bheeshm. Gandhari, a Gandharan princess who blindfolded herself for the remainder of her life in order to endure the sorrow that her husband undergoes. Her brother Shakuni is furious and pledges vengeance on the Kuru family. By capturing neighboring territories, Pandu helped the kingdom grow and amassed an immense quantity of war treasure. When the country's finances were full and everything was going well, Pandu instructed his elder brother to handle the government's affairs before retiring to the woods with his two wives.
