Background of the Story

After the curse of sage Kindama, King Pāṇḍu lived in the forest with his two queens, Kuntī and Mādrī. Though he had renounced the kingdom, the duties of a Kṣhatriya and a householder still weighed heavily on his mind. The king pondered upon the words of the sages: “A man without progeny cannot reach the higher worlds, however many sacrifices he performs.” He requests Kunti to have children as per Dharma. 1

The Story - the Dharmic dilemma of having children with a man other than husband

The thought of lacking progeny was haunting King Pāṇḍu always. The tradition believes that those who don’t have children cannot redeem their debt to their forefathers (pitru rina 2). How can he have children? The curse of the deer (Kindama) is hanging like a Damocles’ sword over his head. One day he took Kunti into confidence and advised her to have children as per dharma since he cannot beget children with her. He explained the nuances of dharma and the twelve types of begetting children 3 as per societal morals prevailing in the times.

Kunti was little perturbed. She believed that a woman’s chastity is her highest ornament. She pleaded as to how a chaste lady can have children with someone other than her husband. Then she narrated a story of one king by name व्युषिताश्व (Vyuṣitāśva), a great king with an Asvamedha credit to illustrate her point that a chaste woman can have children with divine grace.

Story of Vyuṣitāśva & Bhadra

Vyuṣitāśva died at an early age without progeny. His wife Bhadra wept and wept and ultimately hugged the dead body of his husband and refused to leave the place. A celestial voice from the body blessed her that she shall have children; and in due course of time, she gave birth to four children. ‘Just as Bhadra had begotten the children by the dead body due to divine grace and blessings, I also can have children from you without any physical union if you invoke divine blessings while alive’, Kunti argued.

But divine blessings cannot happen for everybody. Having known this limitation, King Pāṇḍu said, ‘Have you not heard the story of the great sage, Svetaketu? One day an old Brahmin wanted to have his mother and held her hand in the presence of his father; and Swetaketu got very angry and restricted and restrained ladies from having an affair with other men. Svetaketu rejected the free sex for ladies and made it a sin”.

King Pāṇḍu continued, “but a lady can have children from other man if she was requested by her own husband. Madayanthi, the wife of king कल्माषपाद (Kalmāṣapāda) had a son, Ashmaka with sage Vasishta on the advice of her husband. My brothers Dhritarashtra and Vidura and I have born to Ved Vyasa in the same way. Having children with the consent of husband by other man is not far from dharma. One should preserve one’s lineage and for this purpose it is necessary to have children by other means by taking the husband into confidence. You please do as I request you to do and preserve our lineage on the planet’. Thus, he entreated Kuntī to consider his request and Kunti could no longer reject the idea of her husband.

Birth of Pānḍavās

Then Kuntī revealed that sage Durvāsā had once given her a divine mantra by which she could summon any God to grant her a son. Hearing this, Pāṇḍu’s face lit with joy: “O auspicious one, you possess the key to our salvation! Invoke the gods for the sake of our ancestors and for dharma!”

The Birth of Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, and Arjuna

King Pāṇḍu had a great belief that the country cannot be ruled righteously with out Dharma. He requested Kunti to invoke Dharmadevatha since he was the embodiment of righteousness

(धर्ममावाहय शुभे सहि लोकेषु पुण्यभाक् 4) – Adi Parva 121.17)

Obeying her husband’s will, Kuntī first invoked Dharma-deva. A son was born — calm, wise, and steadfast. The hermits named him Yudhiṣṭhira, saying, “This child will be the embodiment of truth and justice.”

At Pāṇḍu’s urging, she invoked Vāyu, the God of wind. A mighty child was born, whose first cry shook the trees and frightened the beasts. They named him Bhīma, the formidable. Bhima, while being a kid, was very strong. On the tenth of his birth, he had accidentally fell from the lap of her mother on to a mountain (Satasrunga Parvata- literal meaning is a mountain with a hundred peaks). To the surprise of everyone, nothing happened to his body, but one of the peaks of the mountain had broken into pieces – such was his strength.

Incidentally on the day Bhima’s birth, Gāndhāri had given birth to Duryodhana.

King Pāṇḍu was thinking as to how he can have a son who could be eminent and invincible in all worlds. It could be possible if the God of Gods (Indra) bless Kunti. He requested Kunti to invoke Indra. King Pāṇḍu also performed tapas for a year to please Indra. Indra was satisfied with Kunti and Pāṇḍu for their bhakti and appeared before them.

When that radiant son was born, the heavens resounded with celestial music, and a divine voice proclaimed:

“This child shall be the mightiest archer on earth. He shall restore dharma and bring glory to the Kurus.” Thus was born Arjuna, the peerless hero.

Kuntī’s Refusal for a Fourth Child

Pāṇḍu’s desire for children was endless. He desired more and sons and asked Kuntī to invoke another God. But Kuntī replied:

“O King, enough! Three sons I have borne by three great Gods. Let this not go beyond the bounds of modesty. I am not free to call again upon the celestials. Should I call once more, the world may reproach me for transgressing womanly limits. It may be fine to invoke Gods for two or three children as part of āpaddharma, but inviting a God for a fourth son looks obnoxious and people may call me स्वैरिणी (svairiṇī) - a free for all lady; and if I invoke fifth God for progeny, people may call me बंधकी (bandhaki) - a prostitute. Pāṇḍu could not talk any more.

Mādrī’s urge for children

Mādrī was the second wife of king Pāṇḍu and she was also longing for children. But due to self-respect, she had a hesitation to approach her fellow-wife (savathi), Kunti for the mantra. She politely expressed her views to king Pāṇḍu. Upon his request Kunti obliged the request of Mādrī, and said, ‘Oh, Madri! You think of any God and I will invoke the mantra for your sake’.

Mādrī thought for a while and wished to have children with Asvin Gods (twin Gods)- the Gods of Handsomeness. When Kunti invoked the mantra for the sake of Mādrī, they blessed Madri with two children who were christened as Nakula and Sahadeva.

Pāṇḍu’s request and Kunti’s refusal

King Pāṇḍu wanted to have more children for Mādrī as well. He requested Kunti to invoke the mantra for her sake. Kunti said, ‘Oh king! When I invoked the mantra for her, I thought she would invite one God. But she deceived me by inviting twin Gods. Now she had two sons. If I invoke mantra again, she may surpass my limit and further deceive me. I cannot invoke mantra anymore’. King Pāṇḍu had no answer and he kept quiet. Thus, Pāṇḍavas remained as Pancha (the five) Pāṇḍavas.

The brought up of Pāṇḍavas by Pāṇḍu and his eventual death will be discussed in our next episode.

Points to Ponder

  1. Pitru rin and the importance of children in Mahabharata times - see 2
  2. Twelve types of begetting children - see 3
  3. Issues of jealousy among fellow wives - the issue of jealousy among fellow wives is not unnatural in Mahabharata times and also in the present-day society. The self-respect was the barrier for Mādrī and she goaded her husband instead of directly approaching Kunti. Kunti did not initiate the mantra to Mādrī but kept it with her only. She was apprehensive that Mādrī might exceed the child limit and thus surpass her. Those were the days when society respected a lady who had more children.
  4. Dharma occupied the pivotal position in ancient civilizations, especially in Bharat. The king was not expected to be irresponsible tyrant but a benevolent ruler abiding the rules and regulations and he cannot exceed Dharma. It was but natural that king Pāṇḍu requested Kunti to initially invoke Dharmadevatha. Dharma needs strength to rule the country. Hence, Kunti invoked Vāyu and Indra to support the cause of Dharma. The birth of Pāṇḍavas herald the birth of Dharma ably supported by power and strength.
  5. Was a husband supreme and authoritative over his wife? The answer is no. In the families, a healthy discussion used to take place between a husband and wife to decide important issues. When king Pāṇḍu desired for children, it was for a dharmic cause and Kunti could not refuse. She gave the freedom to her husband to select the God of his choice before invoking mantra, thereby exhibiting her chastity. But when the king wanted more and more children, she cited dharmic principles and politely denied his request. She also denied the request of her husband and did not invoke mantra for the sake of Mādrī for a third child. When the wife is strong on dharmic ground, the husband used to listen and never tried to dominate her. The wife used to enjoy all freedoms with in the boundary of family life.

  1. This story is taken from Adi Parva of Mahabharata written by sage Ved Vyasa ↩︎

  2. In Hindu tradition there are three debts for every one born in the society:

    1. Pitru rin (debt to parents and fore fathers) - Since parents are responsible for our birth and upbringing, it is obligatory to take care of them when they are old. To have children and perpetuate the lineage is the tribute that we can do to our fore fathers. (For elaborate details of these three debts one should read the basic tenets of Hinduism).
    2. Dev rin (debt to gods) - This is the debt to the one who creates and sustains the universe for us. This can be discharged by abiding in prayer and living in harmony with cosmic forces.
    3. Rishi rin (debt to the sages) - The sages have transmitted knowledge to us through Vedas and Upanishads. The debt is discharged by reading and teaching and spreading the gospel of righteousness to all people.
     ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. Twelve types of begetting children - Maha Bharata discusses the ways of begetting sons. They are as follows:

    1. Svayaṃjāta - स्वयंजात - (also known as Aurasa - औरस) - a son begotten by the man himself from his legitimate wife.
    2. Kshetraja - क्षेत्रज (Also called Niyoga - नियोग) On the advice of husband, a son born to his wife by others
    3. Dattaka - दत्तक - a son born to other parents but given as a gift to a person
    4. Kritrima - कृत्रिम - Someone who was brought out of affection and reared up as son.
    5. Gudotpanna - गूढोत्पन्ना - a son born from the legally wedded wife by someone without one’s knowledge.
    6. Apaviddha - अपविद्धा - a child deserted by some parents and reared up as son by a person
    7. Kānīna - कानीन - Son secretly born to an unmarried woman. The secretly born child to a maiden in her father’s house is known as the Kānīna son of the one who marries her.
    8. Sahodha - सहोढ - a son born to the wife who by the time of marriage was pregnant by some other man.
    9. Kreetha - क्रीत- a child born to other parents and bought for money by a person
    10. Paunarbhava - पौनर्भव - the son born to a woman deserted by her husband or a remarried widow by a person
    11. Svayamdatta - स्वयं दत्त - a boy comes on his own pleading to take him up as a son
    12. Jjñāta - ज्ञात - a child of same gotra (In Hindu culture, the term gotra is almost akin to clan. It refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor.

    There are different versions in the order of social acceptability as per Ved Vyasa, Manu and other later law givers of Hindu code of Personal Law. In this the first two types- Aurasa and kshetraja are of higher social order. ↩︎ ↩︎

  4. dharmamāvāhaya śubhe sahi lokeṣu puṇyabhāk (Adi Parva 121.17) ↩︎