Madri
| Madri | |
|---|---|
 A print on Madri by Raja Ravi Varma | |
| In-universe information | |
| Spouse | Pandu |
| Children | Sons
Step-sons (Kunti)
|
| Relatives | Brothers |
| Origin | Madra |
Madri (Sanskrit: माद्री, IAST: Mādrī) is a character of 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.
Name
[edit]Indologist Monier Monier-Williams explains that the Sanskrit feminine name Mādrī is derived from Madra (lit. 'joy' or 'happiness'), the name of a kingdom in the northwestern Indian subcontinent. Therefore, Mādrī means 'princess of Madra'.[1]
Madri belonged to the Bahlika clan, which originated from Bactria in Central Asia. Thus, she is also referred to as Bahliki (Bāhlikī) in few instances in the epic.[2]
Biography
[edit]Madri's story is narrated in the Adi Parva ('the Book of Beginnings') of the epic Mahabharata. She is mentioned as an incarnation of a minor goddess named Dhriti ('Endurance'). Madri is described being dark complexioned and exceedingly attractive.[3]
Marriage and exile
[edit]Madri was the sister of Shalya, the king of the Madra Kingdom. Bhishma, a prominent statesman of the Kuru Kingdom and the grandsire of the royal family, traveled to Madra to secure Madri's hand in marriage for Pandu, the king of the Kuru Kingdom. Shalya consented, but in accordance with Madra family custom, Bhishma presented him with a dowry, consisting of wealth, gold, elephants, and horses. Bhishma then brought Madri to Hastinapura, the capital of Kuru, where she was married to Pandu.[4]
Pandu had a first wife, Kunti, though Madri considered herself superior in lineage. Shortly after his marriage, Pandu embarked on a series of military conquests to expand his kingdom’s influence. Following these successful campaigns, he went to tapovana (forest of austerities) south of Himalayas, accompanied by both his wives, Kunti and Madri. During the expedition in a forest, he observed a pair of deer in the act of coitus and desiring to hunt them, shot arrows at them. Upon approaching, he realized that the deer were, in fact, the sage Kindama and his wife, who had assumed the form of deer to enjoy privacy. As he lay dying, the sage pronounced a curse upon Pandu, decreeing that he would die instantly should he ever engage in sexual relations. Disturbed by the gravity of his actions and seeking repentance, Pandu chose to relinquish his royal duties and live an ascetic life in the forest. Both Kunti and Madri accompanied him in his self-imposed exile. After travelling to various pilgrim sites, they settled in the Shatashringa forests under the care of sages who lived there.[5]
Birth of Nakula and Sahadeva
[edit]Due to Pandu's inability to bear children, Kunti uses a boon by Sage Durvasa to give birth to her three children Yudhisthira, Bhima, and Arjuna from divine fathers. She later shared the boon with Madri, who invoked the divine twins, the Ashvins, to beget Nakula and Sahadeva.[6][7]
Death
[edit]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.[8] 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.[9]
In popular culture
[edit]- In B. R. Chopra's 1988 series Mahabharat, Madri was portrayed by Roma Manek.[10]
- In the 2013 Star Plus's series Mahabharat (2013), Madri was portrayed by Suhani Dhanki.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ Monier-Williams, Sir Monier (1999). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymological and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-0369-1.
- ^ White, David Gordon (7 May 1991). Myths of the Dog-Man. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-89509-3.
- ^ Walker, Benjamin (9 April 2019). Hindu World: An Encyclopedic Survey of Hinduism. In Two Volumes. Volume I A-L. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-62465-0.
- ^ Debalina (20 December 2019). Into the Myths: A Realistic Approach Towards Mythology and Epic. Partridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5437-0576-8.
- ^ Ramankutty, P.V. (1999). Curse as a motif in the Mahābhārata (1. ed.). Delhi: Nag Publishers. ISBN 9788170814320.
- ^ "The five pandavas and the story of their birth". aumamen.com. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- ^ Williams, George Mason (2003). Handbook of Hindu Mythology. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-106-9.
- ^ Fang, Liaw Yock (2013). A History of Classical Malay Literature. Institute of Southeast Asian. ISBN 978-981-4459-88-4.
- ^ M. A. Mehendale (1 January 2001). Interpolations In The Mahabharata. pp. 200–201.
- ^ "31 years of Mahabharat on Doordarshan: Interesting facts about one of most popular TV shows ever". The Financial Express. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ "An epic for an epic, on small screen - All-new Mahabharata". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
External links
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