Pandu (mythology)
Pandu ( Sanskrit पाण्डु, Pāṇḍu m .) Was king of Hastinapura , where the great conflict described in the Mahabharata broke out between two related families. He was the son of Vyasas , brother of Dhritarashtra and father of the five Pandavas .
birth
A king named Vichitravitya once lived in ancient India, but he died childless at a young age. His mother Satyavati therefore asked her illegitimate eldest son Vyasa , on behalf of Vichitravirya, to father a child with his widow Ambalika. Vyasa, however, approached her with the unkempt appearance of an ascetic, which is why Ambalika turned ashen with disgust. This hurt Vyasa deeply and he cursed her that her son would be born pale (Sanskrit pāṇḍu ), as it happened.
Youth and education
Pandu, along with Dhritarashtra and half-brother Vidura, was tutored by the family elder Bhishma. He studied the scriptures, was trained in horse riding, club and sword fighting, elephant science, and governance. He excelled especially in archery and was considered the best archer in his family. Since Dhritarashtra was born blind, Pandu was made king.
Campaigns
Pandu married Kunti and Madri, and then began a series of conquests to reclaim territory that was lost to other kings in the past and expand his empire. He went to the field against Darva, the ruler of Magadha, and also defeated the Videhas in Mithila as well as many other tribes. So his reputation in the family and with the population grew and he was valued as a successful king and ruler.
The curse
Once, while hunting in a large forest, Pandu saw two deer mating and shot five arrows at them. But as it turned out, it was the Rishi Kimdama who had assumed an animal form with his wife in order to love her in this way unrecognized and in the wild. Before the rishi died, he made serious charges against Pandu. He couldn't have known that he was shooting at humans, but he should have waited for the pairing to take place. Pandu justified himself by saying that he had only acted according to the laws of the hunt and did not feel guilty. Thereupon the Rishi cursed him that one day he would die himself if he unite with a woman in love, and that she would follow him into death. Pandu then renounced the kingdom to live as a hermit in the forest and left Dhritarashtra to rule. But one day when he was walking in the forest with Madri, he was overwhelmed by irresistible desire, hugged her and died, whereupon Madri, as a widow, followed him to suicide.
literature
- JAB van Buitenen, Mahabharata , Book 1, The Book of the Beginning, Chicago 1973, pp. 239-260
Individual evidence
- ^ Monier Williams Online Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 616, col. 1
- ↑ Lexicon of Eastern Wisdom , Munich 1994, p. 282
- ↑ MMS Shastri Chitrao, Bharatavarshiya Prachin Charitrakosha (Dictionary of Ancient Indian Biography, in Hindi), Pune 1964, p. 410
- ↑ Mbhr. 1.102.15-19. JAB van Buitenen, Mahabharata Book 1, Chicago 1973, p. 239
- ↑ Mbhr. 1.105. Van Buitenen (1973), pp. 242-43
- ↑ Mbhr. 1,109; 1,116. Van Buitenen (1973), pp. 246-47; 259-60