Sun TV Mahabharatham

Scene 1 Dhritarashtra and Gandhari in their private chamber. Dhritarashtra asks Gandhari if she married him willingly. Gandhari : Yes, I did marry you willingly. But why did you get such a doubt? Dhritarashtra : Which girl would want to marry a blind person like me?. That's why. Gandhari : You should never entertain such doubts in the future. Henceforth, I will be forever your eyes to the world. Dhritarashtra : What you say sounds good to hear; but any girl would want her beauty to be appreciated by her husband. And I don't even know what beauty is. Gandhari : True beauty lies in our heart. You don't need eyes to appreciate that. True love is enough. Dhritarashtra : You talk beautifully. You must therefore be beautiful indeed. Gandhari : Did the girls in the palace never tell you how handsome you are? Dhritarashtra : That's ok. Do you know what my ambitions and dreams are? Gandhari : I know. You want to be the emperor of this country.

Scene 1 Kunti and her companion. Kunti looks distressed after Kuntibhoja tells her about the proposal for marriage from Hastinapur. Her friend asks her why. Kunti reminds her that she gave birth to a child on the day of her coming of age or attaining menarche. The flashback takes us to the day Kunti's (called Pritha) attaining maidenhood is celebrated in a grand manner. Soon after Pritha is seen chasing flocks of sheep and geese. The queen objects to her running around uninhibitedly and the king too joins her in the gentle admonition. When the queen says she knew Pritha wouldn't listen to her, Pritha is hurt and tells the king and the queen that she would do whatever they tell her and she realized that they loved her as though she was their own child and not like an adopted daughter. (Surasena is the father of Vasudeva and the grandfather of Sri Krishna. Pritha was his daughter (thus she is aunt to Krishna). Kuntibhoja is Surasena's cousin. Since he was childless, Sura gav...

Scene 1 This is the continuation of one of the scenes in the previous episode. Sulabha is narrating to her mother how she met Vidura, and Vidura is narrating the same to Bhishma. Vidura notices Sulabha folowing and watching him from a distance at a temple. He corners her and asks her why she was doing so. She reveals she has lost her heart for him. Vidura shakes his finger at her and warns her she ought to realize that he was from the royal family of Hastinapura and that she should find someone more worthy of her. Vidura now tells Bhishma that the pride of belonging to the royal family had gotten to his head, but now he knows his real standing. He tells him that he has decided to accept Sulabha's love. Sulabha tells her mother she did not know about the background of Vidura when she expressed her love for him. Though Sulabha's mother fears the royal wrath, she tells her daughter to seek Bhishma's forgiveness for her audacity. Sulabha does so, but Vidura asks her to join ...

Scene 1 Queen Ambika brings her son Dhritarashtra before the sanctum of Durga. She asks him to pray to the goddess as it is his 8th birthday. Dhritarashtra asks his mother how he looks in his new royal silk suit. Ambika tells her son he looks like a king. Dhritarashtra repeats the question a couple of times, and finally his mother, realizes the subtle meaning of 'like a king' and tells her delighted son he is indeed the king. Vidura and Pandu enter the scene. Dhritarashtra once again asks them how he looks in his new silken robes. Pandu replies that Dhritarashtra looks like 'Yuvaraja' a crowned prince, but Dhritarashtra isn't satisfied. When he repeats the question in an angry tone, Vidura instinctively understands what Dhritarashtra wants to hear. He signals to Pandu, who gestures his acquiescence. Dhritarashtra is happy to hear Vidura say that he is the future emperor of Hastinapura.

Scene 1 Eight years later... on the banks of the river, the royal guru is teaching the three royal princes: Dhritarashtra, Pandu and Vidura. Bhishma is standing near them and queens Satyavati, Ambika and Ambalika are sitting and watching the proceedings. Sivai(Vidura's mother) is also present there. Guru : Today Bhishma is going to test your intelligence. All of you are no doubt intelligent; but I believe Bhishma won't test merely your bookish knowledge but your out-of-the-box thinking. Bhishma : Dear children, I have no doubt about your skills in education. But presence of mind, independent and lateral thinking are factors that distinguish one person from the other. I am going to begin the test: are you all ready? The princes chorus their readiness. Bhishma (Holding a sieve in his hands): This vessel will help only the person shrewd enough to understand the subtleties and nuances of the situation. Who will come first? Dhritarashtra : I am the eldest and so I will come fir...

Scene 1 Princess Ambika is seated on her bed, anxious and dressed in her bridal finery. Vyasa approaches her. Ambika is appalled by Vyasa's hideous and unkempt appearance and closes her eyes in fright. The next day, Vyasa is seen approaching Ambalika, dressed similarly for her nuptial night. Ambalika too is horrified by Vyasa's appearance and she turns pale. The next day, Vyasa is offering the prayers to the goddess, when the maids bring two babies and lay them in front of the sage. Queen Satyavati is delighted to see the babies and asks Vyasa to name them. Vyasa, with his Yogic insight is able to see their future and names them Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Queen Satyavati wants to know about the future of the two new born babies, but Vyasa is reluctant to reveal it. Upon Queen's insistence, he tells her that Ambika had closed her eyes, disgusted by Vyasa's looks and so her son was born blind. Ambalika's face had turned sallow and hence her son would have short life. ...

Scene 1 Bhishma tells Chief Physician about the prince's death and commands him to embalm the body. The news of the prince's death is to be a secret, he warns the physician. Queen Satyavati is pacing up and down, looking at the embalmed body of her son. Then she resolutely walks out. Bhishma is deep in thoughts in his chamber when Queen Satyavati comes in. Queen : I wanted to see and talk to you. That's why I have come. Bhishma : Tell me. Queen : Bhishma, I do not know what you think about me, but I can tell you what I think about myself. There are two Satyavati's inside me. One is a mother who cannot cry aloud or perform the final rites of her son. The other is the queen of Hastinapura who believes she has to even lay her life for protecting her country. Your father has entrusted the care of this country to you and to me. Both of us share this responsibility. Your brother is being preserved by floating him in medicated oils. If I do his final rites, both Ambika ...