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There are those precious
times in our lives when everything seems
perfect; there is nothing in wanting. Happiness
is absolute and we cherish each moment. We think
not of the past or the future. We do not, so
much as pause to even wish for this happiness to
last - we are, at such times, part of time
itself. Such times, alas, often foretell an
imminent change in fortune. Nevertheless, it is
these times that give meaning to our otherwise
anxiety-filled lives.
When King Pandu ascended the
throne, he went on a campaign and conquered many
a kingdom. This, apart from relieving the burden
off the shoulders of Bheeshma, restored the
supremacy of the Kuru house over Bharatavarsha,
as India was then known. At the end of the
conquest, the young king with his two queens,
Madri and Kunti, resorted to the forest. They
lived a life of immense happiness and endless
pleasure.
It so happened that there
was a sage living with his wife in the forest.
They were so much in love with each other that
they, for freedom's sake, took on the form of
deer and played about. King Pandu, an excellent
huntsman, came by the pair and shot an arrow at
one of them. The deer regained their human forms
and the sage, who had been shot, said: Do you
not know, oh king, that it is a sin to kill
animals that are a-courting? You shall die the
moment you seek to satisfy your
love-urge!
The sage, having cursed
Pandu thus, died and his grief-stricken wife,
unable to bear the separation from her beloved,
fell dead beside him.
The guilt of having killed
two innocent souls weighed heavily on Pandu's
shoulders. He returned to the camp and told his
wives of the fateful happening and of the curse
incurred by him. Having lost all interest in
worldly desires, he chose not to rule any more.
He sent his retinue back to inform of his
decision to Bheeshma and to the people of the
kingdom, and also sent with them all his
valuables. Madri and Kunti too, gave up their
royal raiment and put on humble
clothes.
The three, then, settled to
a life of austerities in the forest. Sometime
later, the king felt guilty of not being able to
beget an heir. Kunti, coming to know his mind,
told him of the sacred hymn taught her by sage
Durvasa while she was still a maiden. This hymn,
when uttered in obeisance to any god, had the
power to yield a child endowed with the
qualities of that god. Happily, the king
consented to have godly children through this
means.
Thereafter, Kunti prayed to
Lord Dharma, and Yudhishtira was born. Of the
Wind god, Pavan, Bhima was born. Arjuna was born
of Indra, the king of gods. Having learnt the
hymn from Kunti, Madri gave birth to Nakula and
Sahadeva, the sons of the Ashwin twins, the
physicians of gods.
The princes grew well under
the tutelage of the sages of the forest. Though
not a princely life, it was happy times for all
of them. Again, such times were not to last for
ever. And, it happened that once, when the king
was alone with beautiful Madri, the environs
were so beckoning that the king, despite the
curse and despite Madri's earnest entreaty, gave
in to his love-urge. He died.
When Kunti returned, Madri
related to her the sad happenings and, holding
herself solely responsible for the demise of the
king, committed Sati, entrusting to Kunti the
burden of all five children.
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