The Birth of the Pandavas and Pandu's Fate

After Kunti told Pandu about Rishi Durvasa's boon, he began to smile. He saw new rays of hope and understood that, with the help of Kunti's boon, he could obtain godly children. Pandu advised Kunti to summon Dharmaraj, the Wind god, and Indra. The gods appeared as soon as they were summoned.

The son born due to Dharmaraj's blessings was named Yudhishthir. A voice from the sky declared to Pandu, "Your son will be extremely virtuous and rule the earth. He will never tell a lie." A similar voice declared during the birth of their second child, "This boy will be exceedingly strong. He will be called 'Bheem.'"

When Bheem was a young boy, he once jumped out of his mother's lap onto a rock. His mother rushed to pick him up but found that Bheem's body wasn't even scratched. He kept giggling while the rock broke into pieces.

Kunti's third son was born with the blessings of Indra, the king of Svarg. The child was born during the rise of the Phalgun Nakshatra and was named Phalgun, Arjun, or Parth (son of Pritha). As clouds thundered, a voice declared from the sky, "This son of yours will be undefeatable in war, like Indra. He will vanquish all his enemies."

Madri also wished to have children. However, she felt that Kunti, being her co-wife, would not fulfill her desire. So, she requested Pandu to convey her wish to Kunti. Pandu told Kunti to help Madri bear children. Kunti taught Madri the mantra to summon the gods. Madri summoned the twin gods of medicine, the Ashwini Kumaras. The Ashwini Kumaras' blessings caused Madri to bear twin sons named Nakul and Sahadev.

Pandu was overjoyed to have five children. He lived happily with his wives and sons in the forest, where they spent a total of sixteen years. Pandu's third son, Arjun, had become a handsome young lad of fourteen. On his birthday, Brahmins were invited to the forest for a feast. Both queens wore beautiful dresses, and the younger queen, Madri, looked especially attractive that day. Pandu could not control himself and began to make love to her. Madri tried her best to resist, but it seemed that fate had other plans. Rishi Kindam's curse came true, and Pandu died in Madri's arms. She started sobbing uncontrollably.