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Over the course of the next month, all the pots were opened and one hundred boys and one girl were brought All the boys bore the signs of being great warriors and rulers. The king and queen rejoiced in their good fortune. Dismissing the evil omens, they dwelt contentedly in Hastināpura, attended by Bhīṣma and Vidura.

The kingdom flourished and the citizens had everything they desired. They were devoted to virtue, sacrifice and truth. Bearing love and affection for one another, they grew in prosperity. There were golden arches and crystal fountains everywhere. The clatter of horses’ hooves and chariot wheels mixed with the trumpeting of elephants and the blare

He sported with the boys in the hills, scaling rock faces and challenging lions in their caves. They dived and played in mountain pools and climbed tall trees. Wrestling and laughing together, they rolled about the soft grassy slopes.

The frightened King Dhṛtarāṣṭra summoned the Brahmins, Bhīṣma, Vidura and other ministers and counselors “The eldest of the princes is undoubtedly Yudhiṣṭhira and he should inherit the kingdom. O wise ones, please tell me what is right and lawful.”

When the ṛṣi stopped speaking he, along with all the other ṛṣis and celestial beings, vanished. Bhīṣma then led Kuntī and the boys into the city and arranged for their accommodation in a royal palace Dhṛtarāṣṭra ordered the funeral rites to be performed and declared a state of mourning in the city for

The large number of ṛṣis, Siddhas and Cāraṇas formed a procession, walking ahead of Kuntī and her sons Kuntī then presented herself at the northern gate and messengers ran swiftly to inform the king.

Bhīṣma and the others also offered their obeisances to the sages and, after offering them seats, they When the crowd was finally settled, Bhīṣma went forward and worshipped the ṛṣis by bathing their feet and offering them arghya. Then one of the leading ṛṣis stood up and addressed the Kuru elders. Somehow by the Lord’s inscrutable plan and the arrangement of the gods, his five sons were born.”

Vyasa advised his mother to immediately retire to the forest rather than staying to witness the pain and She should devote herself to yoga practice and meditation.

One evening Pāṇḍu went into the woods with Mādrī to fetch roots and fruits for their evening meal. As they strolled, they saw countless varieties of blossoming trees and bushes. The air was heavy with scent and the sounds of cuckoos and other birds filled the air. It was a hot day and Mādrī was clad in a long silk robe. The soft breeze made her dress cling to her body, revealing her slender waist and firm, round breasts

They ran crying to where he lay and fell to the ground, like powerful lions rolling on the earth. Mādrī blessed them tearfully and told them that she would be ascending the pyre with her husband. She asked her two sons to remain with Kuntī and to serve her steadfastly. The prince, blinded by tears, set fire to the pyre and stood back. Within minutes both she and Pāṇḍu were gone.

The ṛṣi then introduced each of Pāṇḍu’s sons and revealed the identities of their divine fathers. He told them how the boys had been trained in Vedic knowledge and had grown to youthhood in the company of ṛṣis and Siddhas. large concourse of men who had assembled outside the city, the ṛṣi said, “Steadily adhering to virtue, and

At the moment he was brought out of the pot the sound of braying asses and screaming vultures was heard Jackals howled and the wind blew fiercely. Without any apparent cause, fires sprang up all around the city and raged in all directions.

He shook his head slowly and said nothing in reply. As the nurse stood by holding the baby, the king waved her toward Gāndhārī and the child was handed to Bhīṣma and Vidura looked at one another but said nothing.

He spoke privately to the bereaved and sorrowful Satyavatī. “O Mother, fearful and terrible times lie ahead. The dark age of Kali now approaches. Soon, by the evil acts of the Kurus, your race will be destroyed and a great havoc will be wrought in

At once the sage appeared before her and said, “What have you done?”

“Here are the remains of Pāṇḍu and his wife. Perform the funeral rites and accept his sons as if they were your own. We shall now depart.”

It once came to pass that Vyāsadeva arrived hungry and thirsty at Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s palace. Vyāsadeva was pleased with the girl and blessed her, “You shall soon have one hundred sons as powerful Out of frustration and anger at her own excessively long gestation, she struck violently at her womb. As her nurses informed her of the stillbirth, she was afflicted by grief and thought of Vyāsadeva and

She gently stroked the head of her younger co-wife and said, “O Mādrī, there is only one recourse for Rise up and raise our children. Give me the body and, tightly embracing it, I shall enter fire.”

They distributed vast amounts of food and wealth to the Brahmins on behalf of the departed souls. Then life returned to normal in Hastināpura and Pāṇḍu’s sons took their place in the royal family.

Gāndhārī told him how she had become overwhelmed with envy and frustration when she had heard of Kuntī With tears in her eyes she said, “I struck my womb and this lump of flesh came out.