by Deeksha Holla
Today
in class we had an expanded discussion on Kunti. She was originally Sura's
daughter, with the name of Pritha, but his cousin, Kuntibhoja, was so depressed
with the absence of children that Sura decided to let his cousin adopt his
daughter. Pritha then started to be called by Kunti. Kunti was sent to take
care of Sage Durvasa, and he was so pleased by her efforts that he granted her
a boon that would allow her to have a son through the invocation of any deity.
Out of curiosity, Kunti gave the boon a try and did, in fact, receive a child
from the sun god, Surya. Not wanting to give a bad impression to the people
around her, she sends the baby, Karna, off in a basket and floats it down the
river. Karna is eventually found by a charioteer and his wife, and is
immediately taken care of. As time goes on and Karna is forgotten, Kunti
marries Pandu. The second wife of Pandu is Madri. Both wives are aware of
Pandu's curse of not being able to touch either of his wives or have kids.
Since they need an heir to the throne, however, Kunti decides to use her boon,
and the five Pandavas are born. Yudishthira, from Lord Dharma, Bhima, from Lord
Vayu, and Arjuna, from Lord Indra are Kunti's sons. Nakula and Sahadeva are
sons of the Ashwini-Kumaras and Madri, Pandu's second wife.
They
live peacefully in the forest for years together. One spring, however, Pandu
forgets about his curse. He touches his wife, and as expected, he dies. Madri,
feeling guilty and responsible for Pandu’s death jumps into the pyre at Pandu's
funeral. Now, Nakula and Sahadeva are both orphans.
Facts about the Five Pandavas:
1)
Arjuna
represents the Jiva (individual), and his weapon is the bow and arrow.
2)
Yudishthira
represents dharma (doing good) and moksha (enlightenment), and he prefers
using a spear as his weapon.
3)
Bhima
represents artha (wealth, such as goods, material possessions, knowledge, and
money), and his weapon of choice is the gada (mace).
4)
Nakula
and Sahadeva represent kama (love/desire), and they use the sword as their
weapon.
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