their celestial fathers." Later, Pandu died due to his Kindama's curse when he attempted to make love with his wife. Madri handed over her children to Kunti and committed sati. Kunti raised him along with his brothers in Hastinapur with love and care. It is believed that Sahadeva was Kunti's favourite Pandava, in spite of not being her biological son. The Pandava brothers along with their mother Kunti were escorted from their forest dwelling by Bhishma to Hastinapur to live with their uncle King Dhritarashtra who ruled over the Kuru Kingdom. There is also a story that Pandu, father of Pandavas, when he was about to die had a premonition of his death revealed to his sons that his years of abstinence and meditation in the forest had blessed him with immense knowledge which is imbibed in his body. He instructed his sons saying: "[w]hen I die, eat my flesh and you will be blessed with all great knowledge. That shall be your true inheritance." But Pandu was cremated and hence Pandavas could not follow his instructions. Suddenly at the crematorium, Sahadeva saw ants crawling out with piece of his father's body and he forthwith grabbed the ants and swallowed them. From then on Sahadeva imbibed knowledge of "everything of the past and even of future events". Eagerly, he went to his mother (Kunti) and his brothers to convey the knowledge he had acquired from his father. But he met a stranger, who was none other than Krishna, who advised him not to tom-tom or boast about the knowledge he had acquired. Sahadeva thus "knowing everything but is never able to tell anyone". Following this incident, Sahadeva acquired knowledge of various mystical sciences that helped him to predict future events. Even today, a secretive man who never reveals anything despite having full knowledge of a situation is colloquially referred as 'Sahadeva'. In Hastinapur, Sahadeva and Nakula were instructed in the gurukula for 16 years by guru Dronacharya and Kripa in warfare and use of weapons such as bow and arrows and martial art. He also mastered his skills in fencing and axe fighting. At the end, Sahadeva alone also acquired the knowledge of Neeti Sastra (Essence of Statesmanship), astronomy and astrology, economics, and civil administration from Brihaspati, guru of the Devas during a two years travel through southern India. Marriage and children Later, Kunti and the five Pandavas moved to