| Madri | |
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| File:Pandu at Shatasrunga Hill.jpg Madri, Kunti and Pandu at Shatasrunga hill. | |
| Personal Information | |
| Family | Brothers |
| Spouse | Pandu |
| Children | Sons
Step Sons
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In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Madri is the princess of Madra Kingdom and the second wife of the king Pandu. She is the mother of the youngest Pandavas - the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva. The word Mādrī means 'she who is the princess of Madra kingdom'.[1]
Marriage
In the epic Mahabharata, Madri is the sister of Shalya, the king of Madra Kingdom. Once Hastinapur's Kuru king Pandu encounters the army of Shalya. Very soon, Pandu and Shalya become friends. The Adi Parva of the Mahabharata says that Bhishma goes to Madra and asks for the hand of Madri for Pandu. Shalya assents, but according to their family custom he cannot 'bestow' his sister to the Kurus. So Bhishma gives him wealth, gold, elephants, horses etc. and takes Madri with him to Hastinapur.[2]
Pandu's curse
While hunting in a forest, Pandu sees a couple of deer in the process of coitus, and shoots arrows at them; only to find out that it was a sage named Kindama and his wife who were making love in the form of deer. The dying sage curses Pandu, that if he would approach his wives with the intent of making love, he would die. Upset and seeking to repent his action, Pandu renounces his kingdom and lives as an ascetic with his wives.[3]
Birth of Nakula and Sahadeva
Due to Pandu's inability to bear children, Kunti uses a boon by Sage Durvasa to give birth to her three children Yudhisthira, Bhima and Arjuna from divine fathers. She shared the boon with Madri, who invoked the divine twins Ashwini Kumaras to beget Nakula and Sahadeva.[4]
Death
One day, Pandu becomes captivated by the beauty of Madri and embraces her. As a result of the sage's curse, Pandu dies. In grief that her husband died because of her, Madri commits suicide before handing her children to Kunti.[5] It is believed that Madri committed sati, in which a woman self immolates on her deceased husband's pyre. However this is believed to be a later addition to the epic.[6]
References
- ↑ www.wisdomlib.org (15 June 2012). "Madri, Mādrī, Mādri, Madrī: 14 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ↑ Debalina (20 December 2019). Into the Myths: A Realistic Approach Towards Mythology and Epic. Partridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5437-0576-8.
- ↑ Ramankutty, P.V. (1999). Curse as a motif in the Mahābhārata (1. ed.). Delhi: Nag Publishers. ISBN 9788170814320.
- ↑ Williams, George Mason (2003). Handbook of Hindu Mythology. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-106-9.
- ↑ Fang, Liaw Yock (2013). A History of Classical Malay Literature. Institute of Southeast Asian. ISBN 978-981-4459-88-4.
- ↑ M. A. Mehendale (1 January 2001). Interpolations In The Mahabharata.