The Divine Birth of the Pandavas: Tales of Gods and Kings – 9
The story of the birth of the Pandavas is an interesting one, full of twists and turns. It all started with the King of Hastinapur, Pandu, who had two wives – Kunti and Madri.
One day, while Pandu was out hunting, he accidentally shot and killed a sage who was with his wife. The sage cursed Pandu that he would die if he ever tried to be intimate with any woman. Pandu was very sad and decided to leave his kingdom to live in the forest as a hermit.
Pandu, unable to father any children, shared his kingdom with his brother Dhritarashtra and retired to live in the forest as a hermit with his two wives, Kunti and Madri.
Kunti was the daughter of King Shurasena and was given in adoption to her uncle King Kuntibhoja. When she was young, she was granted a boon by the sage Durvasa, which allowed her to invoke any god she desired and have a child with them.
Curious about the boon, Kunti tested it by invoking the Sun God, Surya. The god appeared before her and bestowed upon her a son, who she named Karna. Afraid of the consequences of having a child out of wedlock, Kunti placed Karna in a basket and set him afloat in the river. He was later found by a charioteer who raised him as his own son.
Kunti then married King Pandu, who was cursed to die if he ever tried to have a child. So, Kunti used her boon again and gave birth to three sons, Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna, through the gods Dharma, Vayu, and Indra, respectively.
One day, Kunti shared the boon with her co-wife, Madri, who gave birth to twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, through the Ashwini Kumaras, the twin gods of medicine and healing.
Each of the Pandavas was blessed with unique qualities. Yudhishthira was known for his honesty, Bhima for his strength, Arjuna for his archery skills, Nakula for his good looks and knowledge of horses, and Sahadeva for his intelligence and prophetic abilities.
These five Pandavas were the sons of different fathers but were born to Kunti and Madri, the wives of Pandu. They were raised together as brothers and were known as the Pandavas. They were the heroes of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata, and were known for their courage, bravery, and righteousness.