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For the Tamil actor, see Pandu (actor). For the locality in Guwahati, see Pandu, Guwahati. For the 2021 film, see Pandu (film).

Pandu (Sanskrit: पाण्डु, romanized: Pāṇḍu, lit. 'pale') was the king of Kuru Kingdom, with capital at Hastinapur in the epic Mahabharata. He was the foster-father of the five Pandavas, who are the central characters of the epic.[1]

Pandu was born pale, to Vichitravirya's second wife, Ambalika. Pandu married to Kunti. Following sage Kindama's curse, his sons were born through the boons bestowed upon his wife Kunti by a number of deities, owing to his inability to bear children.[2]

Birth and early life

When Vichitravirya died due to sickness, Bhishma was unable to ascend the throne because of his vow, and Bahlika's line was unwilling to leave the Bahlika Kingdom.[3] There ensued a succession crisis in Hastinapura. Satyavati then invited her son Vyasa to impregnate the queens Ambika and Ambalika under the Niyoga practice. When Vyasa approached Ambalika, she was frightened by his scary appearance, and she had become pale in disgust; hence, her son was born pale. Thus, Pandu's name means pale.[4][5]

Pandu along with his elder half-brother Dhritarashtra, was trained in the military arts by Bhishma and Kripacharya.[6] Bhishma also taught Pandu in the fields of archery, politics, administration and religion. He was an excellent archer and Maharathi (warrior).[7]

Reign and marriage

When it came time to nominate an heir, Vidura suggested that Pandu would be a better fit because he was not blind, like Dhritarashtra. Pandu became the successor to his kingdom and was crowned King of the Kuru Kingdom, with capital at Hastinapura.[8] Pandu conquered the territories of the Sindhu Kingdom, Kashi, Anga, Trigarta Kingdom, Kalinga, Magadha, etc., and thus re-established their supremacy over all the kings and increased the span of his empire.[9]

Pandu was married to Kunti,[10] the adoptive daughter of Kuntibhoja and the daughter of Shurasena (father of Vasudeva and grandfather of Krishna). [11]

Later Pandu got married to Madri who was the sister of Shalya, the king of the Madra Kingdom. The Adi Parva of the Mahabharata states that Bhishma, a statesman of Kuru Kingdom and the grandsire of the royal family, travelled to Madra and asked for the hand of Madri for Pandu, the ruler of the kingdom.[12] Shalya assented, but according to their family custom, he was unable to 'bestow' his sister to the Kurus. So, Bhishma presented him with wealth, gold, elephants, and horses, and took Madri with him to Hastinapura, the capital of Kuru, and got her married to Pandu.[13]

Kindama's curse

Pandu shoots Kindama, who is disguised as a deer.
Pandu shoots Kindama, who is disguised as a deer.

While hunting in a forest (looking from a distance, his vision partially obscured by plants and trees), Pandu saw a couple of deer in the process of coitus, and shot arrows at them; he later discovered that it was the sage Kindama and his wife who were making love in the form of deer. The dying sage placed a curse on Pandu, for not only had he killed them in the midst of lovemaking, but was not remorseful for his actions either. King Pandu argued with sage Kindama by misquoting sage Agastya's ruling on the right of Kshatriyas' on hunting. Sage Kindama then cursed Pandu that were he to approach his wife with the intent of making love, he would die.[14][15]

Exile and Pandavas birth

Upset and seeking to repent his deed, Pandu handed his kingdom to Dhritarashtra and left for exile in the forest. There, he started to lead the life of an ascetic with his wife.[14]

Birth of Pandu's foster sons

As a consequence of Kindama's curse, Pandu became incapable of fathering any children. One day, Pandu was regaling the story of his birth and his wish of becoming a father to his wife, Kunti. Kunti told him about the child-bearing mantra taught to her by the sage Durvasa. Pandu was overjoyed and told Kunti to use it to gain sons from suitable deities.[16] He wanted his son to be righteous, and so he suggested Dharmaraja, the deity of death and righteousness. Kunti chanted her mantra and the deity granted her Yudhishthira. Later, Pandu expressed his desire for a powerful son. This time, Kunti invoked Vayu and Bhima was born. Pandu suggested Kunti to invoke Indra and a valiant son, Arjuna, was born. Kunti, later shared the boon with Madri, who invoked the divine Ashvin twins, to beget Nakula and Sahadeva.[17][18]

Death

One day, Pandu becomes captivated by the beauty of Madri and engages in intercourse with her. Madri, despite her best efforts, is unable to fend him off from the act. As a result of the sage's curse, Pandu dies. Attributing her husband's death to herself, Madri takes her own life.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (21 February 2020). "Pandu, Pāṇḍu, Paṇḍu, Pandū, Pamdu, Pamde: 38 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide", by Roshen Dalal, p. 230, publisher = Penguin Books India
  3. ^ "The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section CII". Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  4. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (28 January 2019). "Story of Ambālikā". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  5. ^ Bhanu, Sharada (1997). Myths and Legends from India - Great Women. Chennai: Macmillan India Limited. pp. 35–6. ISBN 0-333-93076-2.
  6. ^ "The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section CV". Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  7. ^ "The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section CVI". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  8. ^ Witzel, Michael (1995). "Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state" (PDF). EJVS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2007.
  9. ^ Menon, [translated by] Ramesh (2006). The Mahabharata : a modern rendering. New York: iUniverse, Inc. ISBN 9780595401871.
  10. ^ "The Mahabharata, Book 1: Adi Parva: Sambhava Parva: Section CXII". www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  11. ^ Debalina (20 December 2019). Into the Myths: A Realistic Approach Towards Mythology and Epic. Partridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5437-0576-8.
  12. ^ Uberoi, Meera (1996). The Mahabharata. ISBN 9788170702313.
  13. ^ Debalina (20 December 2019). Into the Myths: A Realistic Approach Towards Mythology and Epic. Partridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5437-0576-8.
  14. ^ a b Ramankutty, P.V. (1999). Curse as a motif in the Mahābhārata (1. ed.). Delhi: Nag Publishers. ISBN 9788170814320.
  15. ^ Uberoi, Meera (1996). The Mahabharata. ISBN 9788170702313.
  16. ^ "Pandava". Puranic Encyclopedia: a comprehensive dictionary with special reference to the epic and Puranic literature. Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi. 1975. p. 562.
  17. ^ "The five pandavas and the story of their birth". aumamen.com. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  18. ^ Williams, George Mason (2003). Handbook of Hindu Mythology. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-106-9.
  19. ^ Fang, Liaw Yock (2013). A History of Classical Malay Literature. Institute of Southeast Asian. ISBN 978-981-4459-88-4.

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