Madri

From Bharatpedia, an open encyclopedia
Information red.svg
Scan the QR code to donate via UPI
Dear reader, We need your support to keep the flame of knowledge burning bright! Our hosting server bill is due on June 1st, and without your help, Bharatpedia faces the risk of shutdown. We've come a long way together in exploring and celebrating our rich heritage. Now, let's unite to ensure Bharatpedia continues to be a beacon of knowledge for generations to come. Every contribution, big or small, makes a difference. Together, let's preserve and share the essence of Bharat.

Thank you for being part of the Bharatpedia family!
Please scan the QR code on the right to donate.

0%

   

transparency: ₹0 raised out of ₹100,000 (0 supporter)


Madri
File:Pandu at Shatasrunga Hill.jpg
Madri, Kunti and Pandu at Shatasrunga hill.
Personal Information
FamilyBrothers
SpousePandu
ChildrenSons Step Sons Daughter
  • Shashwathi

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 and Shashwathi. The word Mādrī means 'she who is the princess of Madra kingdom'.[1]

Marriage[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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]Meanwhile, She invoked Goddess Saraswati to beget a daughter, Shashwathi.

Death[edit]

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.[5] A stanza in the Mahabharata states that Madri committed suicide by sati. However this account is contradicted by the very next stanza, which states that her dead body and that of her husband were handed over by sages to the Kaurava elders in Hastinapur for the funeral rites.[6]

Madri committed sati (see pannel corner) , from Birla Razmnama

References[edit]

  1. ↑ www.wisdomlib.org (15 June 2012). "Madri, Mādrī, Mādri, Madrī: 14 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  2. ↑ Debalina (20 December 2019). Into the Myths: A Realistic Approach Towards Mythology and Epic. Partridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5437-0576-8.
  3. ↑ Ramankutty, P.V. (1999). Curse as a motif in the Mahābhārata (1. ed.). Delhi: Nag Publishers. ISBN 9788170814320.
  4. ↑ Williams, George Mason (2003). Handbook of Hindu Mythology. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-106-9.
  5. ↑ Fang, Liaw Yock (2013). A History of Classical Malay Literature. Institute of Southeast Asian. ISBN 978-981-4459-88-4.
  6. ↑ M. A. Mehendale (1 January 2001). Interpolations In The Mahabharata. pp. 200–201.
Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/index.php?title=Madri&oldid=231069"