Beginning of ConflictĪll said and done, this event of Kunti’s return marks the beginning of enmity between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. This is an important point because Kunti is often painted as an ambitious woman who wants her sons to be kings – but this may just be a case of a dutiful widow putting into action her husband’s dreams. In any case, by returning with the Pandavas back to Hastinapur after the death of Pandu and Madri, Kunti is only fulfilling her dead husband’s wish. Of course, whether he would have reared the Pandavas to adulthood in the forest and then sent them to Hastinapur, or he would have taken them back as children – one can only guess. So we can safely surmise that Pandu’s wish for Yudhishthir was for the boy to claim his royal right. We do know for certain that his intention to have sons is to have them one day become kings. In other words, if Pandu had not died, would he had have brought the Pandavas and his wives back to the palace at some point? Or would he have been content with life as an ascetic? The Return of the PandavasĪt the death of Pandu, one wonders if Kunti spends any time considering the option of staying at the Gandhamadana indefinitely, and leaving it up to the princes to decide – after they have grown into adults – whether or not they want to stake a claim for the throne in Hastinapur. She keeps the Pandavas united for long enough until Draupadi steps into the fold. In the future, Kunti proves herself worthy of such a title. She also is unassuming enough to appreciate that Kunti is more dutiful a mother than she ever can be. In predicting this dynamic among the Pandavas, Madri shows remarkable foresight. Kunti performs the role of the first, Draupadi is the second, and Duryodhana the third. They need some unifying factor to bind them – be it a mother, a common wife, or a common enemy. Indeed, in moments of strife, one would expect these five men to fall out and quarrel. The five men are known by the moniker of ‘Pandavas’ only due to social conventions followed by practitioners of niyoga. They’re not born of the same father or the same mother. Strictly speaking, there is no blood relationship at all between the first three Pandavas and the last two. After all, Yudhishthir, Bhimasena and Arjuna are only half-brothers (because they share a mother, Kunti), and Nakula and Sahadeva are half-brothers to each other (because they have the same mother in Madri). This theme of keeping the Pandavas united recurs throughout the story. Perhaps a part of her is glad to have the option of being alive – albeit as a single mother to five princes that are brothers only in name. However, we must also remember that we have no way of divining her actual thoughts. It needles Kunti that it was Madri and not her that Pandu approached to have sex with, and now she feigns envy that it is Madri who is getting to go to the other world with their husband. Nor is this suggested to them by any of the attending wise men.) (Interestingly, the option of neither of them ascending Pandu’s pyre does not strike them. I am not as conversant as you in scripture and due practice, Sister, but these two reasons suggest to me that it is I who should ascend Pandu’s funeral pyre. It is my duty as wife, therefore, to follow him where he goes so that I might have an opportunity to satisfy him. ‘Then, too, consider that our king approached me with a wish to satiate his desires, and has left for the other world unfulfilled. ‘Under me, these sons of Pandu of different fathers will divide, quarrel and fight but with you, I am certain that they shall remain united until their deaths. You possess a nobility of heart, Sister, that I do not. ‘But if I were to leave them in yours, I have no doubt that you will care for my sons as deeply as you care for your own. If you were to leave them all in my care, I shall not be able to love your sons as mine. She says, ‘Sister, think of the children. So Madri, do not stop me from giving up my life on our king’s funeral pyre.’ Madri’s Decisionīut Madri is adamant to be the wife who accompanies Pandu to heaven. ‘I am to be his companion through all journeys, and this one is no exception. Then arises the point of who among them should give up her life to follow Pandu into the world of the dead. ‘I tried to resist him, Sister, I truly did,’ says Madri tearfully.
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