Queen Kunti

Quick Facts

About Queen Kunti

The daughter of Shura and adopted daughter of Kuntibhoja. She received a divine mantra from Sage Durvasa. Mother of Karna and the three eldest Pandavas (Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna).

In Their Words

Any god that I summon through this mantra will come to me and be subservient to me.

Queen Kunti

Traits

• Devoted
• Resilient
• Mother of Pandavas

Stories Featuring Queen Kunti

115 tales on this site name Queen Kunti, in canonical reading order.

• Chitraratha at the GangaThe Gandharva at the Night FordAdi Parva ‧ 7 min
• The Birth of the PrincesChildren of the Gods and the Iron WombAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Curse of the DeerPandu's Fatal Hunt and the End of a KingAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Curse That Killed a KingPandu's Arrow, Kindama's Curse, and the Birth of the PandavasAdi Parva ‧ 23 min
• Karna's Birth & CurseThe Tragic Backstory of the Sun's SonAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• A Royal Childhood at HastinapuraPandavas, Kauravas, and the Lessons of DronaAdi Parva ‧ 21 min
• Escape from the FlamesThe lac house episode teaches that evil, no matter how carefully planned, cannot triumph over righteousness...Adi Parva ‧ 18 min
• The House of Lac and the DemonsThe Pandavas' First ExileAdi Parva ‧ 17 min
• Bhima and HidimbiThe Birth of GhatotkachaAdi Parva ‧ 8 min
• Bakasura of EkachakraThe Debt of BreadAdi Parva ‧ 7 min
• Draupadi's SwayamvaraThe Choosing of Her HusbandAdi Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Impossible ChallengeDestiny works in mysterious ways. The rejected princes of Hastinapura, believed dead, revealed themselves as the...Adi Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Ascetics at the GateThe morning five orphans were handed to HastinapuraAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Heir ApparentA crown promised, a second fee demanded, and the conquests that frightened a blind kingAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Watch Under the BanianOne brother awake while the rest of the Kurus sleep on bare groundAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Cattle and the Closed DoorA rule kept by breaking it, and a pardon refusedAdi Parva ‧ 17 min
• Kunti's SwayamvaraThe princess no king asked for chooses Pandu in a hall of monarchsAdi Parva ‧ 13 min
• Kunti Knows Her SonThe mother who recognised Karna in the arena and stayed silentAdi Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Priest of DrupadaThe envoy, the guarded answer, and the weapons laid out to catch a king's sonsAdi Parva ‧ 17 min
• Vidura's Embassy to PanchalaThe envoy sent to bring the Pandavas home from Drupada's courtAdi Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Weighing of the BharataThe gods put the epic in a balance against the four Vedas, and Sauti recites the eighteen booksAdi Parva ‧ 24 min
• Kunti's BlessingA mother-in-law names seven wives, a throne nobody owns yet, and a son not yet bornAdi Parva ‧ 12 min
• The King Who Only BreathedKarna answers Drona with the tale of a minister who took everything but the throneAdi Parva ‧ 13 min
• Pandu's ConquestThe pale king who filled the treasuryAdi Parva
• Ganga, River of the KurusThe goddess who carries the dynastyAdi Parva
• The Sons of the Dead KingKunti answers Pandu's plea for niyoga with the tale of a widow's unbroken faithAdi Parva
• Madri, the Second QueenThe overshadowed wife who chose the fireAdi Parva
• The Boy Who Invented MarriageThe argument Pandu made on the mountainAdi Parva
• The Five Who Burned InsteadThe bodies the searchers were meant to findAdi Parva
• The Fateful GameAddiction blinds even the wisest of men. Yudhishthira, known for his righteousness, lost everything - his wealth, his...Sabha Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Road Out of HastinapuraWhat Vidura read in the way they walkedSabha Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Errand Vidura Did Not WantCarrying the invitation to the dice game he had begged the king not to sendSabha Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Vows Sworn Before ExileFour brothers name their killings on the way out of the dice hallSabha Parva ‧ 23 min
• Krishna Takes Leave of IndraprasthaThe farewell on the road to Dwaraka, and the promise to returnSabha Parva ‧ 11 min
• Thirteen Years of FireThe exile teaches that suffering, accepted with dignity and used as a forge, transforms weakness into strength. The...Vana Parva ‧ 27 min
• The Ones Who Would Not Turn BackThe city walks out with its kings, and a sage answers the weepingVana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Promise Made in the Kamyaka WoodsThe allies arrive, and Draupadi asks Krishna what her friendship is worthVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by forceVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• What Dhaumya Told Them About KingsThe rules for living inside another man's palaceVirata Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Hands Marked With CornsA night in the kitchen, and everything she had not saidVirata Parva ‧ 21 min
• Five Men on the ThronesThe morning the servants stopped pretendingVirata Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Messenger of PeaceThe Divine Revelation in HastinapuraUdyoga Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Secret of the SunA Mother's Plea, A Warrior's PromiseUdyoga Parva ‧ 20 min
• Vidula's FireThe Mother Who Would Not Let Her Son KneelUdyoga Parva
• What Kunti Sent Instead of ComfortA mother counts her sons aloud, then tells them to fightUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Meal He Chose to EatA king's banquet refused, a servant's supper acceptedUdyoga Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Cat Who Played the HermitDuryodhana's last message to Yudhishthira is a fable about a holy man who ate his worshippersUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• Poverty Is a Person's DeathYudhishthira tells Krishna why a ruined man loses his shame, and still asks for peaceUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Eighteen DaysWar spares no one - neither the righteous nor the wicked. The Mahabharata war ended with Pandava victory, but the price...Bhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Fall of Bhishma and the EarringsIndra's Gift, the Grandsire's Bed of ArrowsBhishma Parva ‧ 26 min
• The Walk Across the FieldThe king who laid down his armour before the first arrowBhishma Parva ‧ 20 min
• Karna at the Grandsire's FeetThe forgiveness that came too late to change anythingBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Seventh Day After NoonBhima and Duryodhana wound each other twice, Sanjaya tells the blind king whose fault the war is, and Satanika kills DushkarnaBhishma Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Last Push on the Tenth DayTenth day: Bhishma asks Yudhishthira to kill him, and the champions of both armies pair off across the field while Dushasana alone stands between him and ArjunaBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Evening After Bhishma FellBoth armies stop the war for a night, and Arjuna gives the grandsire the only pillow he will accept.Bhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• What Krishna Told His CharioteerThe night Krishna decided to break his own vowDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Second Man SentBhima's crossing and the roar agreed on beforehandDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Bow Tip and the BoastKarna keeps his word to Kunti and pays for it in insultsDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The King on FootDrona breaks Yudhishthira's bow, dart, mace and car, and the king escapes on Sahadeva's chariotDrona Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Brahma Weapon AnsweredDrona empties the celestial arsenal at Yudhishthira on the fourteenth night, and the king matches him astra for astraDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Fourth Son Karna Let GoKarna disarms Sahadeva in the night battle and sends him away aliveDrona Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Silent CampArjuna comes back at dusk from the samsaptakas and learns that Abhimanyu is deadDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The King Falls Out of His SeatDhritarashtra hears that Drona is dead, faints in his hall, and wakes to ask who was supposed to be guarding himDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Blind King Is AnsweredDhritarashtra laments the night after Abhimanyu's death, and his own messenger tells him whose fault it isDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• Bhima's Harvest on the Fourteenth EveningDrona takes the head of the king of Sivi, and Bhima kills with his fists, his palm and a caught dart until the kings call him RudraDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Whole Host Against DronaYudhishthira sends every man he has at the preceptor, and the fifteenth morning breaks into duelsDrona Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Arrow Cut in the AirSatyaki saves Dhrishtadyumna from the preceptor's shaft and holds three great bowmen at once, and the day ends with Drona's head in the dustDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• Portents Before the Fourteenth DayThe night the sky and the rivers answered Arjuna's vow, and the morning ritual of a kingDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• Kurukshetra Day 16: The Sun-Born CommanderKarna Keeps His Word to KuntiKarna Parva
• The Fallen SunKarna's life is the greatest tragedy of the Mahabharata. Born a prince, raised a charioteer's son, cursed by fate at...Karna Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Fallen SunKarna's story is the Mahabharata's deepest meditation on the cruelty of fate and the power of loyalty. He was denied...Karna Parva ‧ 28 min
• Karna Spares the KingThe armour cut away, and a hand laid on Yudhishthira's shoulderKarna Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Bhargava WeaponKarna spends his teacher's last gift on the PancalasKarna Parva ‧ 17 min
• The King Names the PairsYudhishthira assigns each Pandava his enemy as Karna's array comes onKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• How Parashurama Won Shiva's WeaponsYears of penance, a war fought with empty hands, and the arsenal that reached KarnaKarna Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Night After DronaThe sleepless camp, four men in a tent, and the thread tied round Karna's wristsKarna Parva ‧ 14 min
• Arjuna Rides Out for KarnaThe car is yoked again, the omen birds go on ahead, and the field between Arjuna and Karna breaks into duelsKarna Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Vows Before the Final DuelKarna, Shalya, Krishna and Arjuna each say what they will do when the other man diesKarna Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Eighteenth MorningChekitana takes a lance, Suratha takes a single arrow, and Duryodhana is carried off his own field by bolting horsesShalya Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Plunder of the Kaurava CampThe victors ride into Duryodhana's empty tents, and Arjuna's chariot turns to ashShalya Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Aftermath of WarThe Night Massacre, the Women's Lament, and a Curse on KrishnaStri Parva ‧ 25 min
• The Lament of the WomenStri Parva - The Field of WidowsStri Parva
• The Queen Asks Her QuestionsGandhari puts the victors on trial, and Vyasa stands in the wayStri Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Count of the DeadKrishna's blunt answer, and a king who could see where they had goneStri Parva ‧ 16 min
• Gandhari Shows Krishna the FieldWith the sight Vyasa gave her, the blindfolded queen walks Krishna through the dead of KurukshetraStri Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Secret of the GodsVyasa tells the blind king why the war was ordained before his eldest son was bornStri Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Burning Ghats of KurukshetraThe rites that closed the warStri Parva
• Bhishma on the Bed of ArrowsFifty-Eight Days of Teaching, and a King Crowned at His FeetShanti Parva ‧ 24 min
• Karna at RajapuraA bride carried off, a hundred kings unhorsed, and the city a rival gave awayShanti Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Victory Nobody WantedFive brothers, a wife and a sage argue a king back onto his throneShanti Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Crowning of YudhishthiraA king anointed by the man he could not saveShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• What the Brothers Wanted MostAn evening argument about virtue, wealth and desireShanti Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Gods and the SalavrikasVyasa answers Yudhishthira's guilt with the war heaven fought for thirty-two thousand yearsShanti Parva ‧ 16 min
• Rules for a Long LifeBhishma sets out the conduct of an ordinary day, and how brothers should hold togetherAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Departure of BhishmaThe sun turns north, and the grandsire lets goAnushasana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The AnugitaThe Gita After the GitaAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 5 min
• The Revival of ParikshitThe Act of TruthAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 6 min
• The Last Son of KarnaVrishaketu, the Boy the Pandavas Raised in Their Brother's PlaceAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 22 min
• The News Krishna Held BackA grandfather is spared until his daughter refuses itAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Sacrifice of Profuse GoldYudhishthira gives away the earth and is given it backAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 19 min
• Arjuna's Hymn at PartingOn the road to Hastinapur, Arjuna praises Krishna and gives him leave to go homeAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Forest RetreatBook 15 - How the Blind King Walked Into the Woods to DieAshramavasika Parva ‧ 26 min
• The Wordy DartsFifteen Years of Bhima's UnforgivenessAshramavasika Parva ‧ 19 min
• The King Asks Leave of His PeopleAn Assembly Absolves the Man Who Ruined ItAshramavasika Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Gift SacrificeTen Days of Giving for the Enemy DeadAshramavasika Parva ‧ 17 min
• Satayupa and the Forest KingsNarada Names the Rulers Who Chose the WoodsAshramavasika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Court Comes to the ForestAn Army Marches Out to Visit Two Old AsceticsAshramavasika Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the GangaAshramavasika Parva ‧ 20 min
• Vyasa Brings Back ParikshitA Son Bathes His Dead Father at the Snake SacrificeAshramavasika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Fire That Was Not UnholyYudhishthira Accuses Agni of IngratitudeAshramavasika Parva ‧ 16 min
• Kunti's Last FireRenunciation after the victoryAshramavasika Parva
• Vidura, Dharma in a Servant's HouseThe clean conscience of HastinapuraAshramavasika Parva
• The Death of VasudevaKrishna's Father Outlives EveryoneMausala Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Great DepartureKrishna's Death, the End of the Yadavas, and the Pandavas' Climb to HeavenMahaprasthanika Parva ‧ 26 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Places in Queen Kunti's Story

Drawn from the stories Queen Kunti appears in.

• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Indraprasthaइंद्रप्रस्थ
• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Kampilyaकाम्पिल्य
• Ekachakraएकचक्र
• Varnavataवारणावत
• Gangaगङ्गा
• Gandhamadanaगन्धमादन
• Angaअंग
• Gokulगोकुल
• Madra Kingdomमद्र देश
• Mount Shatashringaशतशृङ्ग

Related Characters

Others counted among the Pandavas.

• ❈Yudhishthira
• ⛏︎Bhima
• ◎Arjuna
• ✧Nakula
• ❧Sahadeva
• ✶Draupadi