The birth of the Pandavas

After Pandu was cursed by rishi Kindam, he took up vanvas. Along with his wives Kunti and Madri he moved to the forests. Pandu was also forced to lead a life of celibacy as rishi Kindam had cursed him that if he would die if he ever mated with his wives. Pandu was troubled as of the four duties entrusted to a man, he would not be able to fulfil his duty to his forefathers. He had accomplished his duty to God by performing yagyas, he had been trained in the arts and sciences and undergone penance to fulfil the duty towards the rishis. Pandu had also fulfilled his duty towards humanity by leading a selfless life and helping others. But he had been unable to fulfil the duty towards his fore fathers as he did not have any sons. When Pandu told Kunti about his plight, Kunti remembered the boon given to her by rishi Durvasa. Pleased with her hospitality and respect for elders, Rishi Durvasa had granted Kunti a mantra and if she uttered the mantra to invoke any of the Gods she could have a child from that God. A happy Pandu asked Kunti to invoke Dharmraj and the son Yuddhistra was born. He was prophesied to become a great king who would rule the world. His understanding of law and justice would also be unsurpassed. After that Pandu wanted a son who would be the strongest among all the kshatriyas. Kunti then invoked Vayudev, the wind god with the strength of her mantra and Bhima was born. A strange event occurred when Bhima was still a baby. A ferocious tiger came near Kunti while Bhima was sleeping in her lap. Frightened out of her wits, Kunti jumped up and ran. The sleeping infant fell off his mother's lap and landed on a huge rock. The rock broke into a thousand pieces from the impact of the fall. This was a foretaste of the strength of Bhima who was to be second to none in strength and bravery. Pandu now wanted a son who would be unsurpassed in the whole world. So he along with Kunti invoked Indra the king of gods and Arjun was born. Arjun was to be as strong as Shiva and unbeatable as Indra. When Madri, the second wife of Pandu also expressed the desire to have sons of her own, Kunti asked her to invoke any god. Madri invoked the Ashwinikumars, the twin gods. In this way madri gave birth to the twins Nakul and Sahdev. The twins were prophesied to be of unsurpassed beauty and strength. The five children of Pandu were born within a year of each other and they came to be known as Pandavas. And on the day Bhima was born, Duryodhan the eldest son of King Dritrashtra and Gandhari Gandhari was also born. With this almost all the important characters of Mahabharata were born.