Ambika Ambika was the daughter of King of Kashi and wife of Vichitravirya , King of Hastinapur . Along with her sisters Amba and Ambalika , she was taken by force by Bhishma from their Swayamvara . ( Bhishma challenged the assembled Kings and Princes and defeated them. ) He presented them to Satyavati for marriage to Vichitravirya . After Vichitravirya 's death his mother Satyavati sent for her first born , Rishi Veda Vyasa . According to his mother 's wishes , he visited both the wives of Vichitravirya to grant them each a son . When Vyasa visited Ambika , she saw his very dreadful and forbidding appearance with burning eyes . In her frightened state , she closed her eyes and dared not open them . Hence her son , Dhritarashtra , the father of the Kauravas , was born blind . After Dhritarashtra 's birth , when Satyavati requested Vyasa to visit Ambika for the 2nd time , she dared not go and sent her maid instead . So the maid gave birth to a son Vidura , who was raised as a brother of Dhritarashtra and Pandu . The Mahabharata by Vyasa Characters Kuru Dynasty Others Santanu | Ganga | Bhishma | Satyavati | Chitrāngada | Vichitravirya | Ambika | Ambalika | Vidura | Dhritarashtra | Gandhari | Shakuni | Subhadra | Pandu | Kunti | Madri | Yudhisthira | Bhima | Arjuna | Nakula | Sahadeva | Duryodhana | Dushasana | Yuyutsu | Dushala | Draupadi | Hidimbi | Ghatotkacha | Ahilawati | Uttara | Ulupi | Chitrāngadā Amba | Barbarika | Babruvahana | Iravan | Abhimanyu | Parikshita | Virata | Kichak | Kripa | Drona | Ashwatthama | Ekalavya | Kritavarma | Jarasandha | Satyaki | Mayasura | Durvasa | Sanjaya | Janamejaya | Vyasa | Karna | Jayadratha | Krishna | Balarama | Drupada | Hidimba | Dhristadyumna | Shalya | Adhiratha | Shikhandi Other Pandava | Kaurava | Hastinapura | Indraprastha | Kurukshetra war | Bhagavad Gita Hinduism | Hindu mythology | Itihasa Female Deities : Gayatri | Saraswati | Lakshmi | Dakshayani | Parvati | Durga | Shakti | Kali | Sita | Devi | Radha | Mahavidya | more ... Male Deities : Vishnu | Shiva | Rama | Krishna | Ganesha | Kartikeya | Hanuman | Lakshmana | Indra | Surya | more ... Texts : Vedas | Upanishads | Puranas | Ramayana | Mahabharata This box :   view • talk • edit  This Hindu mythology-related article is a stub . See the WikiProject Hindu mythology for article coordination . You can help Wikipedia by expanding it . Categories : Hindu mythology stubs | Characters in Mahabharata In other languages : தமிழ் 