Dhṛtarāshṭra (Gandharva)
Dhṛtarāshṭra the gandharva was a messenger sent by Indra to King Marutta. The account is in the Aśvamedhika Parva of the Mahābhārata. He gave Indra’s ultimatum. Marutta must accept Bṛhaspati as his yājaka (priest for his yajña), or Indra would strike him down with the vajra (thunderbolt).
He has the same name as the blind Kuru king Dhṛtarāshṭra of Hastināpura, the father of Duryodhana and the Kauravas. The Aśvamedhika Parva gives no sign that the two are related.
His part in the Aśvamedhika Parva
Indra first sent Agni as his messenger to Marutta, and Agni failed twice. The second time, Agni refused to go back. He was afraid of the fiery śāpa (curse) of Saṃvarta. Indra sharply scolded him for this fear.
So Indra sent a gandharva named Dhṛtarāshṭra in Agni’s place. The gandharva came to King Marutta and gave Indra’s message exactly as it was: “Rājā, accept Bṛhaspati as your yājaka, or I will hurl the terrible vajra upon you.”
Marutta refused. He said that mitra-droha (betraying a friend) is an unforgivable pāpa (sin), equal to brahmahatyā (killing a brāhmaṇa). Saṃvarta had come to him for refuge, and Marutta would not betray him. The gandharva then heard the roar of Indra’s vajra already coming through the sky. He urged the king to look at once to his own safety. (Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 10)
The gandharva’s part in the account ends here. The vajra is stopped and Indra and Marutta are reconciled by Saṃvarta’s tapo-bala (power of tapas), not by any further act of the gandharva.
The name Dhṛtarāshṭra in the Āśramavāsika Parva
The Āśramavāsika Parva has a statement about the name Dhṛtarāshṭra in a different account. At the Gaṅgā, Vyāsa told Gāndhārī about her husband, the king Dhṛtarāshṭra of Hastināpura. Vyāsa said: “Dhṛtarāshṭra, the wise gandharva-king, may be heard of. He is the very one who, in the world of men, is your own husband.” So this parva speaks of a gandharva-king named Dhṛtarāshṭra and says that the human king is that being in his true nature. (Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapter 31)
The Aśvamedhika Parva names the messenger only as a gandharva named Dhṛtarāshṭra.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhika Parva, Chapter 10
- Mahābhārata, Āśramavāsika Parva, Chapter 31