Pandu
has two wives, Kunti and Madri. With Kunti, he has three sons, namely
Yudhishthira, Bhima and Arjuna. And with Madri, he has two sons, namely Nakula
and Sahadeva. One day, Pandu was roaming in the forest for hunting. He saw a deer coupling with his
mate. Without knowing the real identity of those deers, he shot them with his
arrows. In reality, they were Rishi Kindama and his wife coupling with
each other in public in the form of deers.
Rishi
Kindama was enraged with Pandu, not because he pierced both of them with his
arrows as he (Pandu) doesn’t know their real identity. But because he has
waited until the completion of their intercourse and was not sorry for his wrongdoing.
Enraged
Rishi Kindama cursed Pandu, saying,
Cruel as you have been to a
couple, death shall
certainly overtake you as soon as you will feel the influence of desire…
When you go to your dear one, full of
desire as was the case with me, you will at that time, certainly go to the land
of the dead.
Your wife, with whom you will join at
your last moments will also go with you with
reverence and affection to the ever unavoidable land of the dead.
It
simply means that Pandu will die the moment he engaged in intercourse with any
woman. Also, the woman also dies with him out of love and affection. During his wanderings in the forest, Pandu met some sages. While discussing the concept of
heaven and salvation with them, he was appalled to learn that a man without
children could never aspire for heaven. He then sought their blessings, and
they blessed him, saying, "You will have many worthy and illustrious
sons." After this
incident, Pandu began to think of ways by which he
might obtain children. He spoke to Kunti about it, and suggested her that she
beget children by suitable, illustrious men. At this point Kunti narrated an incident that occurred when she was a
girl.
Kunti
an adopted daughter of KuntiBhoja was appointed by her father to serve sage
Durvasa, who was known for his extreme tempers and spiritual powers. Kunti
served the sage with reverence and discipline, pleased by her devotion the sage
granted her a boon, he taught her a mantra to invoke any of the heavenly gods
and get a powerful son from him, and the mantra was only valid for 5 times.
The
Pandavas are the five sons of Pandu, a king of the Kuru dynasty. Yudhishtra,
Bheema and Arjuna were born to Kunti, his first wife. The twins Nakula and
Sahadeva were born to his second wife Madri. Each of the Pandavas has a divine
father, as Pandu was incapable of fathering a child as a result of a curse.
1. Yudhishtra
The father of Yudhishtra is Yama.
The eldest Pandava brother. His name means one
who is steadfast even during war. He is the son of Kunti and Dharma, god of
virtue, justice and morality. Though he lacked the characteristic combat
prowess of a Kshatriya, Yudhishthira was one of the most virtuous men, skilled
in the duties of a king, and was steadfast in the path of Dharma. He was a good
king who along with his brothers, founded the prosperous city of Indraprastha.
In consequence of Krishna's machinations and also by the conquest of the world
by his brothers, Yudhishthira became the Emperor of the world. He performed two
Ashwamedha and one Rajasuya sacrifice. Yudhishthira learnt to control the dice
from the Sage Brihadaswa and became good at playing chess. His other names are
Ajatshatru and Dharmaraja.
2. Bheema
The father of Bheema is Vayu.
The second Pandava brother. His name means
"of terrible might". He is the son of Kunti and Vayu, the god of air
and wind, who is known for his might. Bhima has the physical strength and
prowess equal to 10,000 powerful bull elephants and very athletic. Bhima was
very aggressive and prone to anger. Of all the brothers, he opposes
Yudhishthira for his questionable decisions opposing common sense in the name
of Dharma, although Bhima is very loyal to him. Bhima was devoted to his family
and was the natural protector. He was a master in wielding the mace. Bhima was
also a powerful archer, having fought Drona and Ashwatthama and even defeated
Karna on several occasions. Additionally, Bhima was also very skilled in
diverse areas of warfare, including wrestling, charioteering, riding elephants
and sword fighting. Along with Arjuna, he went on expeditions to conquer the
kingdoms in eastern and southern directions. During the Rajasuya Yagna, Bhima
subjugated the kingdoms of the eastern direction completely. Bhima slew
Krishna's most dangerous enemy, Jarasandha in a wrestling bout and the Matsya
commander, Kichaka for molesting Draupadi. During the war, Bhima was most
famous for slaying the hundred Kauravas and King Duryodhana himself. He was
also skilled in chopping wood, cooking, culinary arts and sciences. Bhima's
other name is Vrikodara.
3. Arjuna
The father of Arjuna is Indra.
The third Pandava brother. His name means
"of stainless deeds". Arjuna is the son of Kunti and Indra, King of
the gods and the god of the sky and war. He was very virtuous and avoided
unjust acts. He is known for his singleminded concenteration and his devotion
towards Krishna. Arjuna was more fortunate than his brothers as he was the
favourite of Bhishma, popular among people, famous among the gods and
attractive to women. Arjuna was the favorite disciple of his Guru Dronacharya,
who taught weapons. Arjuna is perhaps the greatest and ambidextrous archer and
had mastered archery to the highest possible level. He was rivalled by Bhishma,
Drona, Karna and Krishna. In those days, archery was considered to be the
foremost of all fighting discipline, and Arjuna's mastery over it contributed
to his popularity. Arjuna was a complete master archer, a supreme chariot
warrior and had also obtained near perfect mastery over almost all divine,
celestial and esoteric weapons, along with their secrets of invoking and
recalling them. Arjuna spent five years acquiring and mastering divine weapons
from Indra and the other gods. Arjuna also acquired the mastery over the rarest
and the most powerful weapon, the Pashupata, from Lord Shiva himself. Arjuna
and Bhima had conquered the eastern and southern kingdoms. During the Rajasuya
Yagna, Arjuna subjugated the northern kingdoms. He defeated the Asura tribes of
Nivatakavachas, the Kalakeyas and the Paulomas. Along with Krishna, Arjuna
burnt down the Khandava forest. During the Ashwamedha Yagna, Arjuna conquered
the entire world. According to Yudhishthira, of all the Pandavas, Draupadi
loved Arjuna the most. During the Kurukshetra War, Arjuna slew Bhagadatta,
Susharma, Sudakshina, Jayadratha, Shrutayu and Karna. He was the only Pandava
brother to know the secret of the Chakravyuha military formation. Arjuna was
also skilled in playing musical instruments, singing, dancing and poetry. He
taught these skills to his daughter-in-law, Uttara. Arjuna's grandson,
Parikshit, succeeded the Pandavas as king. Arjuna's names include Gudakesha,
Krishna, Shwetavahana, Sabyasachin, Kiritin, Vijaya, Jaya, Bibhatsu, Dhananjaya,
Phalguna, Jishnu and Partha (son of Pritha a.k.a Kunti).
4. Nakula
The fathers of the twins Nakula and
Sahadeva are the divine Ashwini twins.
The fourth Pandava brother. His name means
"the charming one". Nakula is the son of Madri and the Ashwin twin Nasatya.
He was attractive, humble, diplomatic and helpful. During the Rajasuya Yagna,
Nakula conquered the Western direction. During the Kurukshetra War, Nakula slew
many warriors including many sons of Karna. Nakula and his younger twin
brother, Sahadeva, were excellent sword fighters. Nakula was also a master of
equastrian arts and sciences, skilled in wielding unusual weapons, in chariotry
and in riding horses.
5. Sahadeva
The
fifth and the youngest brother of the Pandavas. His name means "equal to a
thousand gods". Sahadeva is the son of Madri and the Ashwin twin Dasra.
Sahadeva was the wisest and the most mysterious and introverted of all Pandava
brothers. Along with Nakula, Sahadeva was also a master in sword fighting. He
was also skilled in fighting and taming wild bulls. Additionally, he was a
skilled cowherd, capable of maintaining cattle, treating their diseases,
assessing their health, milking them and in producing milk products. Sahadeva
acquired mastery over the science of Dharma, religious scriptures and other
branches of knowledge under the tutelage of the Sage Brihaspati, the preceptor
of the gods. During the Rajasuya War, Sahadeva conquered the southern
direction, up to the kingdom of Lanka. During the Kurukshetra War, Sahadeva
slew the wicked Shakuni and his son, Uluka.
6. Karna
The
unknown Pandava. His name refers to his congenital earrings when he was born.
Karna is the son of Kunti and Surya, the god of the Sun. He was born when many
years ago before Kunti's marriage to Pandu and the subsequent birth of the
Pandavas. When she was unmarried, Kunti rashly tested the power of Durvasa's
mantra, invoking Surya. Bound by the power of Durvasa's mantra, Surya sired Karna
with Kunti. Karna was born with congenital armour and earrings, which granted
him some immunity to divine weapons. Kunti abandoned Karna, who was found and
raised by a family of charioteers. Though Karna was wealthy, he was never given
the status of a Kshatriya and was ridiculed by people for his desire of being a
warrior. Karna was known to be charitable, firm in his principles and his
unswerving loyalty. In his childhood, he befriended Duryodhana which lasted
into a strong and enduring friendship and brotherhood. However, this resulted
in Karna supporting Duryodhana's evil schemes against the Pandavas. Along with
the royal princes, Karna learnt to wield weapons from Drona. When Karna desired
to learn divine weapons and advanced archery lessons from Dronacharya, the
latter rejected him for not being a Kshatriya and for having bad company with
Duryodhana. Humiliated, Karna swore revenge on Drona and decided to study from
Drona's own martial guru, the legendary Parashurama, who also happened to be
Bhishma's martial guru as well. Fearing Parashurama's wrath, Karna lied his
identity of being a Brahmana. Parashurama welcomed Karna and rigorously trained
him in martial disciplines. Guru Parashurama himself declared Karna to be his
own equal. However, Parashurama discovered Karna's lies and cursed him to
forget the Brahmastra when he needed it the most. Karna returned to Hastinapur,
much to everyone's surprise. Duryodhana crowned Karna as the King of Anga and
knew him to be a powerful ally against the Pandavas. Despite Karna's initial
defeats and failures against the Pandavas, he did achieve many accomplishments.
Karna helped Duryodhana kidnap the princess of Kalinga in her Swayamvara and he
singlehandedly defeated all the kings in battle. When criticized by Bhishma,
Karna pointed out that Bhishma too had done the same thing in the past. Karna
was the only warrior to defeat and humble the powerful Jarasandha in battle.
Jarasandha for the first time and only time, surrendered to Karna and made an
alliance with him. When Bhishma ridiculed Karna for his pathetic combat
prowess, Karna single handedly conquered the entire world and made Duryodhana
the emperor. During the Kurukshetra War, Bhishma declared that the Pandavas
were invincible. Karna proved him wrong by vanquishing Yudhishthira, Bhima,
Nakula and Sahadeva on many occasions during the battle. Yudhishthira was
mortally afraid of Karna. Despite Parashurama's curse, Karna was able to invoke
the Brahmastra albeit with great difficulty. Urged by Krishna, Arjuna beheaded
Karna when he was trying to pull his chariot wheel from the mud. Karna
possessed the might of 10,000 elephants and was a great master in archery,
surpassing even Dronacharya. When Kunti revealed Karna's true origin to the
Pandavas, they were completely devastated. Yudhishthira nearly lost the will to
rule the kingdom after finding the truth about Karna.
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