Pandu

Father of the Pandavas

The pale-skinned king of Hastinapura who conquered kingdoms far and wide, then gave it all up for a forest life. His five sons — the Pandavas — carry his name through the whole epic.

  • Sanskrit/Telugu name: పాండురాజు
  • Also known as: Pandu Raju, The Pale King
  • Vehicle (vahana): War chariot
  • Weapons: Bow
  • Symbols: Pale complexion, Deer, Forest hermitage

Story

Pandu was born pale — that is what his name means — but there was nothing pale about his talent: he became a champion archer and led Hastinapura's armies to victory after victory, filling the treasury and making the kingdom mighty again. He married two remarkable princesses, Kunti and Madri. But one day while hunting, he shot a deer that was actually a sage in disguise, and the dying sage cursed him: if Pandu ever embraced his wives with love, he would die that instant. Heartbroken, Pandu gave up his throne to his blind brother and moved to the forest with Kunti and Madri to live simply. There, Kunti revealed her secret mantra from sage Durvasa, and the couple's prayers brought five extraordinary boys: Yudhishthira from Yama, Bhima from Vayu, Arjuna from Indra, and — through Madri — the twins Nakula and Sahadeva from the Ashwini gods. Pandu loved his sons dearly, but one spring day the curse caught up with him, and he died in Madri's arms on a Himalayan hillside. In many Telugu tellings, Pandu is remembered with sympathy — a good king whose one careless arrow rewrote his family's destiny, and whose name lives on in the word every kid knows: Pandavulu.

Fun fact

Pandu never actually fathered his five famous sons — every single Pandava was a divine gift, yet the world has always called them "sons of Pandu."

Family and connections

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