After hearing that it had been seen by the wise sages, using their mystical abilities to see into the future, that he would have children, Pandu had finally become enthused.

With his mind diverted to the newly found promise, abandoning his commitments to sagely life, to be equipoised, Pandu with folded palms had approached his wife Kunti to plead her help to advance the matter at hand.

Having been addressed by her husband, the beautiful and effulgent Kunti, ever attentive to what was agreeable and beneficial to her lord replied to him, saying:

'In my girlhood, my lord, I was once in my father's household, engaged in attending upon all guests. I would wait respectfully upon great Sages of rigid vows and ascetic merit. One day I gratified with my attention that fierce Sage, whom people call Durvasa.

Being pleased with me, he gave me a boon; in the form of a mantra for summoning into my presence, any of the celestials I liked, saying:

'Anyone among the celestials whom thou callest by this shall, O girl, approach thee and be obedient to thy will, whether he liketh it or not.

And, O princess, thou shall also have offspring, through his grace.'

And so these words uttered by the Brahmana can never be false.

Indeed it seemeth that the time also hath come when they may yield fruit.

O foremost of all truthful men, tell me which of the celestials I shall summon. Know that, as regards this matter, I await your commands.'

Pandu then spoke thus to Kunti:

'O handsome one, strive duly this very day to gratify our wishes. Fortunate one, summon thou the god of justice, for it is he who is the most virtuous of the celestials; and it is with virtue that any endeavour should be entered. Indeed the god of justice and virtue will never be able to pollute us with sin. 

The world also, O beautiful princess, which watches eagerly the acts of the royals, will then understand that what we do can never be unholy. 

Begotten by Dharmaraja, the god of justice and morality, he would never set his heart upon anything that is sinful or unholy. And so that son that we shall obtain from him shall in virtue be without a doubt, the foremost among the Kurus. 

Therefore, O thou of sweet smiles, steadily keeping virtue before thy eyes, and duly observing holy vows, summon thou the god of justice and virtue by the help of thy solicitations and incantations.'

Then Kunti, that best of women, thus addressed by her lord, said, 'So be it.'

Aware of the gravity of the endeavour they were about to entail in, bowing down to her Lord Pandu, reverently circumambulating his person, Kunti after much discussion between husband and wife, resolved to do his bidding.

Far away from the mountains, in the Royal Palace of Hastinapura, Gandhari's conception was at this stage a full year old, so this child, who would appear on the spot, would indeed be the eldest of the Kurus; having in this aspect, the first claim of the next generation of progeny, to the throne.

Kunti, with her heart and mind fully absorbed in the task at hand, offered without loss of time, sacrifices unto the gods. She began to duly repeat the mantric formula that Sage Durvasa had imparted to her when she was a child.

In the realm known as Samyamani, or Yamaloka, the abode of the Lord of Death, also know as the Lord of Justice, Dharmaraja, was sat on his magnificent throne, that was given the name Vicharabhu, The Seat of Deliberation, the Platform of Judgement.

Suddenly, the god was overpowered by incantations coming from the Earthly realm, from none other than Kunti in the mountains of Gandamadhana.

Dharma, who is known to have ample opportunity to contemplate the acts of others, had no time for contemplation, by divine forces more powerful than his own, he found himself arriving in his gleaming golden cart, at the spot where Kunti was seated.

Barely being able to see Dharmaraj owing to his effulgence, Kunti looked upwards in his direction. Pandu and Madri behind her looked on in awe, covering their faces from the extreme light.

Smiling, knowing this to be an act of the highest Providence, the Lord of Dharma spoke courteously and majestically, in a voice like tumultuous thunder.

'O Kunti, what am I to give thee in this instance, upon being called?'

Kunti smiled in turn seeing the words of the Sage Durvasa turn to reality in front of her, and replied:

'Thou must even give me offspring.'

And so the beautiful Kunti was momentarily united in intercourse with the god of justice in his pure and spiritual form.

Immediately, through the potency of Dharma, Kunti obtained from him a beautiful boy.  And it was immediately known he would be devoted to the good of all creatures.

The first son of Kunti was born in the eighth Muhurta called Abhijit, of the hour of noon of that auspicious day of the seventh month, that of Kartika, in the fifth of the lit fortnight, when the star Jyeshtha in conjunction with the moon was ascendant.

And as soon he was born, an incorporeal voice from the skies immediately prophesied, saying:

'This child shall be the best of all men. The foremost of those that are virtuous. Endued with great prowess and truthful in his dsposition and his speech, he shall be the ruler of the entire Earth planet known throughout the three worlds. And this, the special first child of Pandu, shall be known by the name of Yudhishthira, meaning he who is resolute in war.”

Pandu had conquered more lands than any Kuru monarch in at least the previous ten generations; he had truly seen the world; but he had never experienced anything like this before. The gods coming present before him. Human power and opulence felt to be insignificant, a mere shadow realm at best. It was supernatural for him, and was connected to his own quest for the heavens.

Pandu eager to continue to pursue this agenda, spoke enthusiastically once more:

Dear Kunti, the wise have declared that a Kshatriya must be endued with physical strength, otherwise he is no Kshatriya.'

Therefore, ask thou for offspring of superior strength.

Thus commanded by her lord, Kunti contemplated on who may be the strongest amongst the host of gods. It was indeed the Wind god Vayu, from who had expanded the great Hanuman in the days of Ramachandra.

And so Kunti meditated and invoked Vayu, following the codes provided by the great Durvasa.

That god of wind, who is pervasive everywhere, thus invoked, took upon his deer, and came before Kunti in a moment. Again in voice like the rumbling of thunder, he spoke to Kunti thus:

'What, O Kunti, am I to give thee? Tell me what is in thy heart"

Smiling in modesty, she said to him:

'Give me, O best of celestials, a child endued with the greatest of strength, largeness of limbs, and capable of humbling the pride of any being.'

The god of wind thereupon begat upon her the child afterwards known as Bhima of mighty arms and fierce prowess. And upon the birth of that child endued with extraordinary strength, an incorporeal voice, spoke:

'This child shall be the foremost of all those who are endued with strength.'

Another wonderful event then occurred alter the birth of Bhima, meaning Formidable, who also would go by the name Vrikodhara, where Vrika represents the wolf, and Udara the gut, meaning one with the gut of a wolf.

At one time, Kunti, frightened by a tiger, had risen up suddenly, unconscious of the child Bhima who lay asleep on her lap. Bhima happened to fall from the lap of his mother. While he fell upon the mountain breast, the violence of the fall broke into fragments the stone upon which he fell without his infant body being injured in the least.

Beholding this, Pandu wondered much about the spectacles he had seen; after being cursed by the sage Kindama, it seemed a new era was being primed already with only Yuddhistira and Bhima.

It so happened that that very day on which Vrikodara, Bhima, was born, Duryodhana, was born in Hastinapura.

After the birth of Vrikodara, Pandu again began to think:

'How am I to obtain a very superior son who shall achieve world-wide fame?

Every, thing in the world dependeth on destiny and exertion.

But destiny can never be successful except by timely exertion.

We have heard it said that Indra is the chief of the gods.

Indeed, throughout time immemorial, he has shown himself to be endued with immeasurable might and energy and prowess and glory.

Gratifying him we shall obtain a son of great strength.

Indeed, the son he giveth me must be superior to all, and capable of vanquishing in battle all men and also creatures other than men.

For this, I shall, practise the most severe austerities with heart, deed and speech.'

Pandu, after this deep reflection, taking counsel with the great sages in his contingent, commanded Kunti to observe an auspicious vow for one full year, while he himself commenced, to stand upon one leg from morning to evening, and practise other severe austerities with mind rapt in meditation, for gratifying the lord of the celestials.

Sitting above Mount Meru in Svargaloka, the heavens, was the great City of Immortals, Amarvati, designed personally by Vishwakarma, the architect of the gods. Indra was with his beautiful wife Sachi, in the Nandana Kanan, the Gardens of Delight, walking back leisurely to his great throne, known as the Sutharma, which radiates light like a thousand suns, and confers clarity and righteous judgement upon whom so ever sits on it.

Indra received news through his messengers of the Tapasya of Pandu and Kunti, and by himself made himself visible to them.

This time, Indra did not address Kunti, but spoke to Pandu thus:

'I shall give thee, O king, a son of unmatched fame, who will be celebrated all over the three worlds, and who will promote the welfare of Brahmanas, kine and all honest men. The son I shall give thee will be the smiter of the wicked and the delight of friends and relatives. Foremost of all men, he will be an irresistible slayer of all foes.'

Thus addressed by Vasava, the King of Celestials, the virtuous king Pandu, said unto Kunti:

'O fortunate one, thy vow hath become successful.

The lord of the celestials hath been gratified, and is willing to give thee a son such as thou desirest, of superhuman achievements and great fame.

He will be the oppressor of all enemies and possessed of great wisdom.

Endued with a great soul, in splendour equal unto the Sun, invincible in battles, and of great achievements.

He will also be extremely handsome.

O thou of fair hips and sweet smiles, the lord of the celestials hath become gracious to thee.

Now thou invoking him, bring thou forth a child who will be the very home of all Kshatriya virtues.'

The celebrated Kunti, thus addressed by her lord, invoked Sakra, who thereupon came unto her and begat him who was afterwards known by the name Arjuna, meaning one who is pure, or unblemished.

And as soon as this child was born, an incorporeal voice, loud and deep as that of the clouds and filling the whole welkin, distinctly said, addressing Kunti in the hearing of every creature dwelling in that asylum:

'This child of thine, O Kunti, will be equal unto the greatest of warriors, Kartavirya-Arjuna in energy, and equal to none other than Shiva in prowess.

Invincible like myself, he will spread thy fame far and wide. As Vishnu, the youngest of Aditi's sons, had enhanced Aditi's joy, so shall this child enhance thy joy.

In prowess, O Kunti, he will be even as Jamadagnya, or Vishnu. He will gratify in battle by his heroism, Sankara, the god of gods Mahadeva, and will receive from him the great weapon named Pasupata.

Agni will derive great gratification from the fat of all creatures dwelling in the Khandava woods, to be burnt down, by the might of this one's arms.

This mighty hero, vanquishing all the effeminate monarchs of the Earth, will, with his brothers perform three great sacrifices. Subjugating the Madras, the Kurus along with the Somakas, and the people of Chedi, Kasi and Karusha, he will maintain the prosperity of the Kurus. This bull among men will also be responsible for the retrieval of the fortunes of his race. Indeed, thy son of mighty arms will also slay, at my command, those who are even my enemies.

Hearing those words uttered so loudly, the ascetics dwelling on the mountain of a hundred peaks, and the celestials with Indra sitting in their cars, became exceedingly glad.

The sounds of the invisible drum filled the entire welkin. There were shouts of joy, and the whole region was covered with flowers showered down by invisible agents.

The various tribes of celestials assembled together, began to offer their respectful adorations to the son of Pritha.

The sons of Kadru, the Nagas, the son of Vinata, Garuda, the Gandharvas, the lords of the creation, and the seven great Sages i.e. Bharadwaja, Kasyapa, Gautama, Viswamitra, Jamadagni, Vasishtha, and the illustrious Atri all came there.

Marichi, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu, Daksha the lord of creation, the Gandharvas, and Apsaras, came there also.

A host of ancestors of the great Kurukshetra clan appeared, as well as Gandharvas, and the twelve Adityas, the eleven Rudra’s, the twin Aswins, the eight Vasus,the great Nagas including Vasuki and Takshaka, all arrived there, all to glorify this great son of Pandu.

The various tribes of Apsaras, decked with celestial garlands and every ornament, and attired in fine robes, came there and danced in joy, chanting the praises of Vibhatsu, Arjuna - meaning one who never commits an act of unfairness or cruelty  in battle.

The best of Sages, beholding that wonderful sight of such a gathering and celebration, became amazed, and their love and affection for the children of Pandu was in consequence, enhanced forever more.

The gods too, recalling the purpose of the advent of Vishnu, and the assemblement of the gods alongside him, rejoiced.

Music credits

Forest Walk and Suspensify by Alexander Nakarada (creatorchords.com), CC BY 4.0.

Aurora, Penumbra and Titan by Scott Buckley (scottbuckley.com.au), CC BY 4.0.

Chasing Shadows by StudioKolomna, from Pixabay.