13: The Story of Kunti

The chronological Mahabharatha series

The elder prince Dhritarashtra was now married to Gandhari. Bhishma now neeed to find a perfect wife for Pandu, who was the actual king of the Kuru lands. But the pitamaha already had the right bride in mind- the intelligent, beautiful Kunti, adoptive daughter of Kuntibhoja.

Pritha was the eldest born child of Surasena of the Yadava clan. Surasena gave his daughter to his childless cousin Kuntibhoja, who doted upon the little girl. Now named Kunti after her adoptive father, the little girl was often found immersed in serving the guests who visited the palace. She was so patient and skilled at ensuring that the guests never wanted for anything that when the sage Durvasa arrived, Kuntibhoja promptly asked Kunti to care for him.

Durvasa was known to have a trigger temper and his needs varied day to day. But young Kunti never let the king down. She served the sage herself with such devotion and genuine care that when the sage left a full year later, he was very pleased with her.

He knew the future and he knew what travails young Kunti would face in life. He gave her an Atharva veda mantra saying:

“Through it, you can summon the gods. O fortunate Kunti! Whichever god you invoke through this mantra will be under your control. Whether willing or unwilling, the god will be under your control, pacified by the mantra, and will be like your servant.”

(Excerpt from BORI: KUNDALA-AHARANA PARVA)

After the sage left, Kunti was in her room. She had attained puberty and she was resting on her bed, watching the world outside through the window where the Sun was blazing in all his golden glory.

Young Kunti was suddenly reminded of the mantra. She wondered:

What is this sequence of mantras that the great-souled one has given me? I will soon find out its strength.

(Excerpt from BORI: KUNDALA-AHARANA PARVA)

With the Sun god in mind, Kunti chanted the mantra. Immediatwely, drawn by its power, the Sun god appeared in her bedroom even as the Sun still blazed in the sky.

Seeing the fiery diety standing right before her, Kunti was shocked and terrified. But things were going to get even more complicated now.

The Sun god told her that he would give her a son. But Kunti was a young, unmarried girl living under her father’s protection. How could she become pregnant? Her father’s reputation and pride would be in tatters if this happened.

Kunti pleaded with Suryadeva to go back, explaining to him why she could not bear a child then. But the diety stood firm and unmoved. He had been summoned by the powerful mantra and now all the other gods stood watching as Kunti rejected his blessing. He could not go back without giving her a child.

As Kunti continued to plead, Suryadeva gave her his ultimatum:

I will leave in anger and will curse that brahmana and your father. There is no doubt that I will consume them because of what you have done. Though he does not know about this offence, your father is stupid. That brahmana gave you this mantra without knowing about your character and conduct and I will impose extreme humility on him.

(Excerpt from BORI: KUNDALA-AHARANA PARVA)

A terrified Kunti was now caught in a very difficult situation. Either she bore Suryadeva’s son and risked her father’s reputation or she refused Surya and risked her father’s life along with the sage’s.

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A/N: Kunti gave birth to Karna when she was very young. It was years later that the Pandavas were born. Karna was not an age-peer of the Pandavas. In fact, the difference between Yudisthira and Karna would be close to or more than two decades. Here is my post on this: