Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Epified, Part B

In this episode, Kunti's secret is revealed to us. She was kind to a grand sage, Durwasa, and thus he granted her a mantra to summon any god she wanted. She decided to test this boon and summoned the son god, Suryadev. He arrived, as bright as the sun, and he gave her a child. The child was more beautiful than anything Kunti had ever seen before. However, Kunti was unmarried at the time and thus feared what would become of her and her child. So, she put him in a basket and let him float down the river, hoping he will have a better life with someone else.

Kunti used her mantra and called upon several gods. First was Yama, god of truth and death, who gave her a son, Yudhishthira, "who would be the very embodiment of virtue and patience." Next was Vayu dev, god of wind, who gave her another son, Bheem, "who would be as strong and fast as the wind itself." Lastly was Indra, kind of the devas, who gave her a son, Arjun, who was "destined to be one of the greatest warriors the world has ever known." However, Kunti had provided Pandu with three sons while Madri, Pandu's other wife, had no children. So, Kunti said the mantra once more to summon the Ashwin twins for Madri. They gave Madri two beautiful sons, Nakul and Sehdev. Pandu forgot his sorrow amidst all the joy of having five sons. In his forgetfulness, and in a moment of passion, Pandu lusted after Madri and thus died as per his curse. Upon his cremation, Madri herself joined him and shared his fate.

Back in Hastinapura, Gandhari, Dhritarashtra's wife, was pregnant with his child. However, the pregnancy was a terrible one, and upon entering labor, a child was not birthed but rather a lump of flesh. This shocked Gandhari because she was informed by Ved Vyasa that she would mother 100 sons. Ved Vyasa took the flesh, partitioned it into 100 smaller lumps, and submerged each into a vat of oil. Out of these vats was born her 100 sons, the eldest being Duryodhana. However, there was something wrong in these sons. They were demonic, but since Gandhari and Dhritarashtra were both blind, they could not see this. Kunti and her 5 sons returned to Hastinapura.

There was a great rivalry between Duryodhana and the sons of Pandu, particularly with Bheem. His mother's brother, Shakuni, became a mentor to Duryodhana and informed him that he should get rid of the sons of Pandu so that his right to the throne was secured. So, Duryodhana invited the sons of Pandu to a lake retreat, where he fed them a grand feast laced with a sleeping herb. Bheem ate the most at the feast and thus fell asleep quickly next to a river. Duryodhana took this opportunity, bound Bheem's arms and legs together, then pushed him into the river.

Bheem drifted to the depths of the river. Here, poisonous snakes found and bit Bheem. This would have killed him, however, but the venom countered the sleeping herbs he had unintentionally consumed beforehand and thus he woke up. He killed the snakes biting him. At the depths of the river, he found himself in the palace of Vasuki, ruler of Naag Lok, home of the most powerful serpents. Turns out, Vasuki and Bheem are related, and thus Vasuki treated Bheem well. He granted Bheem a potion that gave him "the strength of a thousand elephants" and the power to defeat many foes. Bheem left this world and returned to Hastinapura a man.

The five Pandavas brothers. Source: Wikimedia

Epics of India