Kuntibhoja

Kuntibhoja

In Mahabharata, Kuntibhoja was the cousin of Shurasena and adoptive father of Kunti. He was the ruler of the Kunti kingdom. Kunti was a daughter of King Shurasena but was later given to Kuntibhoja since he was devoid of children. Kuntibhoja raised her as his own daughter and loved her. She was very beautiful and intelligent and later married Pandu. When Kunti was a young girl, the sage Durvasa visited Kuntibhoja one day and sought his hospitality. The king entrusted the sage to Kunti's care and tasked Kunti with the responsibility of serving the sage and meeting all his needs during his stay with them. Eventually, the sage was gratified. Before departing, he rewarded Kunti by teaching her Atharvavedamantras which enabled her to invoke any deva of her choice to beget children by them. His son Visharada succeeded him who was killed by Duryodhana on the eighth day.