| Great Kings & Queens |
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| Biographies of Great Indians & Hindus |
YUDHISHTIRA |
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| The Prayers Bhishma had given his word to his father Shantanu that he would never marry, and also that he would give away the kingdom to his stepbrother Vichithravirya. But unfortunately Vichithravirya died young. Thus it fell to the lot of Bhishma to take Pandu and Dhritharashtra under his protection and bring them up. He got them married in good time. Dhritharashtra's wife was Gandhari. Pandu had two wives - Kunthi and Maadri. Dhritha- rashtra was born blind; so Pandu became the king. Before Kunthi was married, she played hostess to Sage Durvasa; he was immen- sely pleased with her hospitality,and taught her five 'mantras' or powerful prayers. Pandu ruled the kingdom for a number of years; he went to a forest to spend the last years of his life in prayer and meditation. His two wives accompanied him to the forest. But Pandu had no peace of mind. His only regret was that he had no sons; he told Kunthi of his sorrow. She related to him all about the mantras she had learnt from Durvasa.With his consent, she bore Yudhishtira by offering prayers to Yama- dharma, and Bhimasena and Arjuna by offering prayers to Vayudeva, the God of Winds, and to Indra respectively. She taught the remaining mantra to Maadri, who, in turn, gave birth to twin babies by the grace of the Ashwinis, the twin gods. |
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