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).