Vicitravīrya

Vicitravīrya was the younger son of Śāntanu and Satyavatī. He became king of Hastināpura after the death of his elder brother Citrāṅgada. Bhīshma married him to Ambikā and Ambālikā, the two surviving princesses of Kāśī. The eldest, Ambā, had been released.

He loved his wives, but his body was frail. He died of kshaya (consumption, a wasting disease) after seven years of marriage, without having fathered a single child.

His death without an heir brought the crisis of the Kuru succession. It led Satyavatī to arrange niyoga (a union to raise children for a childless husband) through Vyāsa. From that arrangement Dhṛtarāshṭra, Pāṇḍu and Vidura were born.

Reign and marriage

Vicitravīrya became king of Hastināpura after Citrāṅgada died in battle with a Gandharva. Bhīshma served as his regent and protector.

When Vicitravīrya came of age, Bhīshma went to the svayaṃvara (the ceremony where a princess chooses her husband) of the daughters of the king of Kāśī. They were Ambā, Ambikā and Ambālikā. Bhīshma challenged the assembled kings and carried off all three by force to Hastināpura.

Ambā was released when she told Bhīshma of her earlier attachment to Śālva. The other two, Ambikā and Ambālikā, became Vicitravīrya’s queens.

Death and the succession crisis

Vicitravīrya was devoted to his wives, but he suffered from kshaya. He died after seven years of marriage without having had a child.

The Kuru line had come down from all the great kings from Pūru onward. Now it faced extinction. Bhīshma refused to step in and father sons on the widows, because his vow of lifelong brahmacarya (celibacy) was absolute.

This refusal led Satyavatī to reveal her earlier son Vyāsa and to arrange the niyoga.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Sambhava Parva, Chapters 100–103