The three children were reared by Bhishma, who was regent over the kingdom, and was yet subject to Queen Satyavati. He taught them the laws and trained them as warriors. When the time came to select a king, Dhritarashtra[213] was passed over because that he was blind, and Vidura because of his humble birth, and Pandu, “the pale one”, was set upon the throne.
FOOTNOTES:
[189] Pron. bah´ra-ta or bhah´ra-ta.
[190] The Indian cuckoo.
[191] Pron. vish-wah-mit´ra.
[192] The Gandharva marriage was legalized by Manu, but only for members of the Kshatriya (kings and warriors) caste.
[193] A sign of martial and royal origin.
[194] Pron. Gaj-as-ah-va´ya.
[195] Queen.
[196] This story is the plot of “Shakuntala”, the Sanskrit drama of the poet Kalidasa, who lived in the fifth century A.D. He makes the king give the heroine a ring, which she loses while bathing. A fish swallows the ring, and it is found by a fisherman, who delivers it to the king. Then suddenly His Majesty remembers his bride, whom he had forgotten and already denied. The misfortunes of the monarch and maid resulted from the curse of the sage Durvasas. Pron. Sha-koon´-ta-lah.