The story of the birth of Kauravas is very interesting, and there could be some hidden science in it. Some scholars believe that Kauravas’ birth could have been possible with the help of stem-cell and/or test-tube baby technology because it is not possible for a human being to give birth to 100 (actually 101) children even in a lifetime.
The story of the birth of Kauravas is found in the Sambhala Parva, Section CXV of the Adi Parva of the epic Mahabharata by Sage Vyasa.
Background of Birth of Kauravas:
Gandhari, the mother of Kauravas, in her maiden days, did severe penance to please Lord Shiva, who gave her a boon of having 100 sons per her demand. This boon actually proved to be a curse for her because Bhishma forced her father to marry her with blind Dhritarashtra because of this boon. When she found that her would-be husband was blind, she decided to blindfold herself. It is debatable whether she did this for the love of her husband or it was an act of protest against Bhishma.
Gandhari gets pregnant:
One day, Sage Vyasa, also known as Krishna Dvaipayana, came to her palace exhausted and hungry. As per the tradition, Gandhari entertained her with respectful attention. It pleased the sage, and he told her to ask a boon. She demanded 100 sons with each one as powerful as her husband (It is not clear why did she ask the same boon that she had asked Lord Shiva. It seems she wanted to modify the boon after her marriage and wanted her sons to be equal in strength to her husband).
Adultery of Dhritrashtra:
Gandhari became pregnant, but her happiness did not last long. Generally, delivery happens after nine months in humans, but she did not deliver a baby even after two years had passed. To add to her miseries, Kunti, the wife of her brother-in-law, gave birth to a son. This incident infuriated Dhritrashtra, and he blamed her for this. It seems he was worried whether Gandhari would be able to give him an heir. Therefore, he copulated with a maidservant named Sugadha.
Gandhari Gives Birth But….?
When Gandhari heard this, she struck her womb violently. This brought up pregnancy pain, and she delivered. But what she delivered was beyond imagination. She had delivered a hard mass of flesh like an iron ball.
Vyasa removes Gandhari’s Confusion:
Confused and scared Gandhari was about to throw it away when Sage Vyasa came there knowing what had happened by his spiritual powers. She complained to him about the failure of his boon. Then he told her that that was not true. He ordered her to arrange for 100 pots full of clarified butter and place them in a concealed place, and in the meantime, to sprinkle some cold water over the ball of flesh.
Gandhari wishes for a daughter other than 100 sons:
As Vyasa was dividing it into parts, a nurse was putting each pot in a separate pot filled with clarified butter. Gandhari now knew that she was going to have 100 sons, but she thought, “Would it not be great if she has a daughter also? Would it not be a perfect family? Sage Vyasa understood what she was desiring and divided the ball into 101 parts instead of 100, each about the size of the thumb. Then, he brought another pot filled with clarified butter and placed that extra part into it. He then told her to open these spots only after full two years. After this, the great sage went to Himavat mountain to practice austerity.
Birth of Kauravas:
After full two years, Duryodhana was the first to born from those pots. As soon as he was born, he began to cry and bray like a donkey. Hearing that sound, donkeys, vultures, crows, and jackals uttered their respective cries responsively. Violent winds began to blow, and fires erupted in various directions. The scared Dhritrashtra called some astrologers and his advisory committee. They all advised him to abandon this son of him as there were many omens visible after his birth. He was certainly an exterminator of the Kuru race. But blindfolded by the love of his son, he decided against it.
Then within a month, other 99 sons and a daughter were born to him.
Other than those 101 kids, the maidservant with whom he had copulated gave birth to a son, Yuyutsu.
Were the Kauravas born by artificial fertilization?
According to Dr. B. G. Matapurkar, a famous surgeon, Kauravas’ birth noted in the Mahabharata is a highly advanced kind of artificial fertilization. It could have been a sort of generating new life from stem cells and/or growing fetus outside of the human body. It is something that even modern science has not accomplished yet.
Andhra University Chancellor G. Nageshwar Rao claimed that Kauravas were born due to stem cell and test tube technologies, and India also possessed knowledge about guided missiles thousands of years ago. He also claimed the “Dashavtar,” ten avatars of Lord Vishnu, predate the Theory of Evolution given by English naturalist Charles Darwin.
What do we learn from the story of the birth of Kauravas?
This story sheds light on the unstable nature of Gandhari, especially when it comes to her kids. She modified her boon two times. It shows how badly she loved her family and why she was so upset with Lord Krishna and cursed him.
Science in the story of Kauravas’ birth:
I really wonder when some people say that the Mahabharata is a work of fiction. How could someone write a story like this without any background in science? We see in the movies how clones are made in hanging glass pots filled with sticky liquid. Nowadays writers have knowledge about scientific things that is why they could imagine such things, but how could a man imagine it thousands of years ago?
Sage Vyasa was a highly intelligent person, and he knew the Vedas and Puranas. It is highly likely that he had decoded the Vedas successfully. He also wrote the original Puranasamhita upon which all the 18 Puranas are based.
What I think is in the time of the Mahabharata, only a few people might have had this knowledge, and their technology was different than that of current technology. That is why we are not able to understand it.
Reference: https://www.vyasaonline.com/2017/01/13/the-birth-of-kauravas-and-the-pandavas/mahabharata/