Kunti
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In Hinduism, Princess Kunti is the mother of the eldest three of the Pandava brothers, and raised all five of them.
Her father was Śũrasena of the Yadu clan, and she was named Pritha (Pŗtha). She was thus the sister of Vasudeva, father of Krishna. She was given in adoption to the childless King Kuntibhoja, after which she became known as Kunti. After her arrival, King Kuntibhoja produced children. He considered Pritha his lucky charm and took care of her until her marriage.
When she was young, the rishi Durvasa told her a mantra with which Kunti could summon any god and have a child by him without a pregnancy. When Kunti asked why he gave her this mantra, he told her that it would be useful to her later in life.
Kunti could not believe the mantra, so she tried to use it. The god Surya, appeared. She asked him to go back, but Surya said he was compelled to fulfill the mantra before returning. Kunti then abandoned the child in a basket in a river. This child was later found and adopted by a chariot driver and his wife, and was named Karna. He went on to become an important character in the Mahabharata. The ambiguous emotions Karna felt about his birth mother play an important role in the Mahabharata.
Later on, Kunti married Prince Pandu of Hastinapura. He took a second wife Madri, but was unable to father children. Grief-stricken, he left for the forest with his wives, to live in self-imposed exile. Then, Kunti revealed her secret mantra. She used it three times, first receiving a son Yudishtira from god Yama, next for Bhima from god Vayu, and third for Arjuna, from god Indra. Kunti revealed the mantra to Madri, who bore two twin sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, from the twin gods the Asvins. The five together are known as the Pandavas.
After the death of Pandu and Madri, Kunti was left to tend for all five sons.
After the great battle and in her old age, she goes in exile to the forest, with her brothers-in-law Dhritarashtra and his wife Gandhari. They die together in a forest fire.
| The Mahabharata by Vyasa | |
|---|---|
| Characters | |
| Kuru Dynasty | Others |
| Santanu | Ganga | Bhishma | Satyavati | Chitrāngada | Vichitravirya | Ambika | Ambalika | Vidura | Dhritarashtra | Gandhari | Shakuni | Subhadra | Pandu | Kunti | Madri | Yudhisthira | Bhima | Arjuna | Nakula | Sahadeva | Duryodhana | Dushasana | Yuyutsu | Dushala | Draupadi | Hidimbi | Ghatotkacha | Ahilawati | Uttara | Ulupi | Chitrāngadā | Amba > Barbarika | Babruvahana |Iravan | Abhimanyu | Parikshita | Virata | Kripa | Drona | Ashwatthama | Ekalavya | Kritavarma | Jarasandha | Satyaki | Mayasura | Durvasa | Sanjaya | Janamejaya | Vyasa | Karna | Jayadratha | Krishna | Balarama | Drupada | Hidimba | Dhristadyumna | Shalya | Adhiratha | Shikhandi |
| Other | |
| Pandava | Kaurava | Hastinapura | Indraprastha | Kurukshetra war | Bhagavad Gita | |
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