Kuntī
Hindu · mortal · dvapara yuga · Recorded classification
Mortal princess of Mathurā (born Pṛthā, daughter of Śūra; given to Kuntibhoja); wife of Pāṇḍu; mother of Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhīma, Arjuna, and Karṇa via Durvāsā's mantra. Sister of Vasudeva and therefore aunt of Krishna. Pre-marriage Sūrya conception (Karṇa) is the structural-tragic key of the epic — she abandons the infant in shame and reveals the truth only on the eve of Kurukshetra. Dies in a forest fire with Pāṇḍu's blind brother Dhṛtarāṣṭra and his wife Gāndhārī, all having retired to forest asceticism after the war (Mausala Parva).
Parentage
- parent: Shura
Children
Powers
- Invokes any deity by mantra to conceive a child
Relations
- spouse: PāṇḍuMahabharata, Adi Parva 110 (primary)
- lover: SūryaPre-marriage, in girlhood at her father Kuntibhoja's court; tested Durvāsā's mantra not knowing it would compel a god to appear. Sūrya came; Karṇa was conceived. Returned to virgin state by Sūrya's grace after the birth.Mahabharata, Vana Parva 290-291; Adi Parva 111 (primary)
- lover: DharmaMahabharata, Adi Parva 122 (primary)
- lover: VāyuMahabharata, Adi Parva 122 (primary)
- lover: IndraMahabharata, Adi Parva 123 (primary)