At the end of the 18-day war in the Kurukshetra in
Mahabharata, all the 100 Kauravas were killed. Gandhari the mother of the 100
sons wept inconsolably. She then wanted to know what bad Karma she had done in
her previous life to undergo such suffering. A sage then explained to her that
in her previous life she had accidentally crushed 100 turtle eggs.
Queen Gandhari in her previous birth sat on a stone beneath
which was hidden the eggs of a turtle. When she sat on the stone, it crushed
the turtle eggs. The mother turtle who witnessed this heartbreaking scene
cursed Gandhari that she too will suffer the loss of 100 children.
This story is not part of the Mahabharata but is folk story
associated with the epic in the eastern parts of India .
The story is also an example of the core teaching of
Hinduism that all karma has results and one will have to face it in this life or
next life. Good karmas bring good results and bad karma brings bad results.