In the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

epic '' Mahabharata'', Pandu ( sa, पाण्डु, Pāṇḍu, pale) was a king of the Kuru Kingdom. He was the foster-father of the five Pandava brothers, who were the boons bestowed upon his wife

Kunti Kunti ( sa, कुन्ती, ), named at birth as Pritha ( sa, पृथा, ), is one of the prominent characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. She is best known as the mother of the Pandavas and Karna, the main protagonists of the epi ...

by a number of deities, owing to his inability to bear children following sage Kindama's curse. He belonged to the lunar dynasty of the

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of Kshatriyas.

Birth

When Vichitravirya died of a sickness,

Bhishma Bhishma (Sanskrit: भीष्‍म, , ), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, played an integral role in Mahabharata. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War mentioned in the Hindu epic M ...

was unable to ascend the throne because of his vow, and Bahlika's line was unwilling to leave the Bahlika Kingdom. There ensued a succession crisis in Hastinapura.

Satyavati Satyavati ( sa, सत्यवती, ; also spelled Satyawati) was the queen of the Kuru. She is the wife of king Shantanu of Hastinapura, and the great-grandmother of the Pandava and Kaurava princes (The principal characters of the Hindu ...

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.

Reign and marriage

Pandu was taught in the fields of archery, politics, administration and religion by

. He was an excellent archer and Maharathi (warrior). He became the successor to his kingdom and was crowned King of the Kuru Kingdom. He was married to

, the adoptive daughter of Kuntibhoja and the daughter of

Shurasena Shurasena ( sa, शूरसेन, ) was an ancient Yadava ruler of Mathura. He was married to a Nāga (or serpent) woman named Marisha. She bore all of his children and was the cause for Vasuki’s boon to Bhima."''Surasena or shoorsaini was ...

(father of

Vasudeva Anakadundubhi According to Hindu scriptures, Vasudeva (Sanskrit: वसुदेव, IAST: ''Vasudeva''), also called Anakadundubhi, (''anakas'' and ''dundubhis'' both refer to ''drums'', after the musicians who played these instruments at the time of his b ...

and grandfather of Krishna). His second wife was the princess of the Madra kingdom Madri. The marriage was proposed by Bhishma. Pandu later conquered the territories of the Sindhu Kingdom,

Kashi Kashi or Kaashi may refer to: Places * Varanasi (historically known as "Kashi"), a holy city in India **Kingdom of Kashi, an ancient kingdom in the same place, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas **Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Varanasi * Kashgar, a cit ...

, Anga, Trigarta Kingdom, Kalinga, Magadha, etc., and thus re-established their supremacy over all the kings and increased the span of his empire.

Kindama's Curse

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 wives with the intent of making love, he would die.

Exile and death

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 wives.

Birth of Pandu's foster sons

One day, Pandu was regaling the story of his birth and his wish of becoming a father to his first wife,

. 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. 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 In Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima ( sa, भीम, ) is the second among the five Pandavas. The ''Mahabharata'' relates many events that portray the might of Bhima. Bhima was born when Vayu, the wind god, granted a son to Kunti and Pandu. Af ...

was born. Pandu suggested Kunti to invoke

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

and a valiant son,

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

, was born. Pandu felt bad for Madri's childlessness, and thus requested Kunti to share her mantra with her. Heeding his request, Kunti revealed her mantra once to Pandu's younger wife. Madri invoked the Ashvin twins, and then gave birth to Nakula and Sahadeva.

Death

One day, Pandu forgot about the curse and was suddenly filled with lust for Madri. Despite her pleas, he proceeded to engage in sexual intercourse with her. After the act, his curse was fulfilled and he died. His body was cremated within the forest. Attributing her husband's death to herself and swept by remorse, Madri took her own life (possibly through self-immolation) after handing her children over to Kunti.

References

{{Mahabharata Characters in the Mahabharata Mythological kings