A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.1017

c5.1017

Pāndu had two wives, Kuntī or Prithā, daughter of Sūra, king of the Sūra-senas, and Mādrī, sister of the king of the Madras; but either through disease or the curse passed upon him, he did not consort with his wives. He retired into solitude in the Himālaya mountains, and there he died; his wives, who accompanied him having borne him five sons. The paternity of these children is attributed to different gods, but Pāndu acknowledged them, and they received the patronymic of Pāndava. Kuntī was the mother of the three elder sons, and Mādrī of the two younger. Yudhi-shthira (firm in fight), the eldest, was son of Dharma, the judge of the dead, and is considered a pattern of manly firmness, justice, and integrity. Bhīma or Bhīma-sena (the terrible), the second, was son of Vāyu, the god of the wind. He was noted for his strength, daring, and brute courage; but he was coarse, choleric, and given to vaunting. He was such a great eater that he was called Vrikodara, ‘wolf’s belly.’ Arjuna (the bright or silvery), the third, was son of Indra, the god of the sky. He is the most prominent character, if not the hero, of the poem. He was brave as the bravest, high-minded, generous, tender-hearted, and chivalric in his notions of honour. Nakula and Saha-deva, the fourth and fifth sons, were the twin children of Mādrī by the Aswinī Kumāras, the twin sons of Sūrya, the sun. They were brave, spirited, and amiable, but they do not occupy such prominent positions as their elder brothers.