Madri

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For the beer, see Madrí Excepcional.

Madri
Madrasena (younger)
  • Brihatsena (younger)
  • Dyutimat (younger)
    • SpousePandu
    ChildrenSons Step-Sons
    OriginMadra Kingdom

    Madri (

    IAST: Mādrī) is a character in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. She was the princess of Madra Kingdom and the second wife of Pandu, the king of Kuru Kingdom. Madri, with the assistance of her co-wife Kunti, invoked the twin deities Nasatya and Darsa, collectively known as the Ashvins, and from their blessings, gave birth to the youngest Pandavas—the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva
    .

    Etymology

    The word Mādrī means 'woman of Madra'.[1]

    Legend

    Marriage

    Madri was the sister of Shalya, the king of the Madra Kingdom. The Adi Parva of the Mahabharata states that Bhishma, a statesman of Kuru Kingdom and the grandsire of the royal family, travelled to Madra and asked for the hand of Madri for Pandu, the ruler of the kingdom. Shalya assented, but according to their family custom, he was unable to 'bestow' his sister to the Kurus. So, Bhishma presented him with wealth, gold, elephants, and horses, and took Madri with him to Hastinapura, the capital of Kuru, and got her married to Pandu.[2]

    Marital life

    While hunting in a forest, Pandu sees a couple of deer in the process of

    coitus, and shoots arrows at them, only to find out that it was a sage named Kindama and his wife who were making love in the form of deer. The dying sage curses Pandu, that if he would approach his wives with the intent of making love, he would die. Upset and seeking to repent his action, Pandu renounces his kingdom and lives as an ascetic with his wives.[3]

    Birth of Nakula and Sahadeva

    Due to

    Ashvins, to beget Nakula and Sahadeva.[4]

    Death

    One day, Pandu becomes captivated by the beauty of Madri and engages in intercourse with her. Madri, despite her best efforts, is unable to fend him off from the act. As a result of the sage's curse, Pandu dies. Attributing her husband's death to herself, Madri takes her own life.[5] A stanza in the Mahabharata states that Madri performed suicide by sati. However, this account is contradicted by the very next stanza, which states that her dead body and that of her husband were handed over by sages to the Kaurava elders in Hastinapura for the funeral rites.[6]

    References

    1. ^ www.wisdomlib.org (15 June 2012). "Madri, Mādrī, Mādri, Madrī: 14 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
    2. ISBN 978-1-5437-0576-8
      .
    3. ISBN 9788170814320
      .
    4. ISBN 978-1-57607-106-9
      .
    5. ISBN 978-981-4459-88-4
      .
    6. ^ M. A. Mehendale (1 January 2001). Interpolations In The Mahabharata. pp. 200–201.
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