Origins

Birth of the Pandavas

Yudhisthira replied, "Forgive me, my dear mother, if I spoke harshly of you. Perhaps the fog of war has clouded my judgement. But what you have told me astonishes the mind. Karna was my brother, begot in secret by the sungod himself. And what of us? What secrets have you withheld about our own births? I have heard strange stories about Arjuna. Some say he is the son of Indra, god of thunder? What of our origins?"

King Yudhisthira, seated, Bhima, left, and Arjuna, right

Kunti lowered her eyes. "As you have ordered me to divulge family secrets, I shall now tell you of your origins and the birth and origins of your brothers, the warriors men call the Pandavas. Some time passed after the birth of Karna. And as I reached the age when women marry, my adoptive father Kuntibhoja held a great swayamvara ceremony. As you know, at this ceremony a girl can pick her suitor from a number of gallant princes who test their strength at arms. 

 Your grandfather Bhishma invited your father Paṇḍu to attend. Your father was a very handsome man in those days and as soon as I saw him I knew he was right for me. When the contests at arms were settled he emerged the champion.  I awarded him the nuptial garland and chose him as my husband. Soon thereafter the wedding was celebrated with great pomp.

Now, Paṇḍu was a great warrior. Almost as soon as he had assumed the throne, he began widely conquering other kingdoms and bringing them under the sway of the great kingdom of the Kurus, Kurujangala. In this way, he advanced the fame of Hastinapura. Now Bhishmadeva was concerned about ensuring the the survival of the dynasty of his father.  He felt that the king would have a greater chance of a healthy succession if he had two wives. And so it was that Bhishmadev looked for another wife for your father. Soon after we were married he a suitable second wife for the great Pandu. He found Madri, the daughter of the great king Madra to be a suitable match. After negotiating the match with the king of Madra, they too were married.

Kunti, Madri, and Pandu

Married to great princesses and ready to rule the throne of all the Indias, the mighty Paṇḍu, your father, was crowned King of Hastinapura. There was a grand coronation ceremony and all the kings and princes of the surrounding provinces came to pay their tribute to the lord of Kurujangala, Hastinapura and the throne of all the Indias, the great Pandu.

After all the celebration, your father wanted to retire to the forest to enjoy the great natural scenery of the woods, to live a simple life, and to hunt the great tigers that maraud the elephants.

Tiger-hunting

Our adventure in the woods led Pandu to the  great curse that would bring misfortune upon our family. 

In those days the kshatriyas could hunt as practice for the work of a warrior. As it is the dharma of a warrior to fight, he must sometimes practice, taking the life of an animal in the hunt. But your father's passion for hunting would lead us all to disaster. We would soon rue the day that your father Paṇḍu drew his arrow against some harmless deer in the woods.

I have never told you this my son, but, since you have cursed me to tell my secretes, now I will describe this terrible curse. 

It so happened that one day when Paṇḍu was hunting he came upon a stag and a doe in the act of mating. The warlike Paṇḍu, your father, drew his arrow and fixed his bow. With one shot he killed the stag. As the stag lay dying, it was transformed into a brahmana. The wounded doe, was transformed into a fine woman of the brahmaṇa class. It seems that these two brahmanas were mystic forest sages who roamed the woods and lived humbly, meditating and seeking the truth, liberating themselves from their material existence by means of yoga.

“She and her husband had taken the form of a deer and a stag in the act of mating - out of shame, that none might see them in the sexual act. As her husband lie dying, the doe looked at the noble Paṇḍu, and cursed him, saying, "Just as you have killed my husband in the sexual act, so you will die when you approach your wife for begetting children. So I curse you. And thus saying, that woman disappered by mystic power."

Grief-stricken by the curse, your father the great king arrived at our camp, his face pallied and ashen. When Madri and I asked him what was the matter, he told us the news of this terrible curse of the brahmanas. We who had so much to celebrate were now heart-broken.

"We who had so much to celebrate, were now heartbroken"