The '''Pandavas''' were the five sons of the king [[Pandu]]. They are among the main protagonists of the [[Mahabharata]]. Pandu inherited his father's kingdom, despite being the younger of the two brothers, because his elder brother [[Dhritarashtra]] was born blind.
Pandu took two wives: [[Kunti]] and [[Madri]]. Kunti, originally named Pritha, was the sister of [[Vasudeva]] who was the father of [[Krishna]]. She was informally adopted by her paternal uncle Kuntibhoja, whereupon she was renamed Kunti. Madri was a princess of the Matsya kingdom.
[[Pandu]] accidentally killed a [[deer]] who was in the very act of copulation. The deer, who was actually a [[rishi]], laid a curse upon [[Pandu]] to the effect that he, Pandu, would fall dead should he ever again approach a woman. This curse caused [[Pandu]] to retire to the forest with his two wives, there to lead a chaste life, leaving the kingdom to the blind Drithrashtra.
In her younger days, [[Kunti]] had been taught a powerful ''mantra'' or invocation by the [[rishi]] Durvasa. By using that ''mantra'', she could summon any deity of her choice, who would beget a son by her. Pandu asked Kunti to use this boon so that she need not remain childless due to the curse on him. Kunti invoked in turn [[Yama]] [[Dharma Raj]], the god of justice and death; [[Vayu]], (the god of wind); and [[Indra]], (the king of the gods) and gave birth to [[Yudhisthira]], [[Bhima]] and [[Arjun]] respectively by them. She also imparted the ''mantra'' to Madri, who invoked the [[Ashwini]] twins and give birth to the twins [[Nakula]] and [[Sahadeva]].
