In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, Pandu () was a king of the Kuru Kingdom. He was the foster-father of the five Pandava brothers, who were the boons bestowed upon his wife Kunti by a number of deities, owing to his inability to bear children following sage Kindama's curse. He belonged to the Kuru Dynasty. Birth When Vichitravirya died of a sickness, Bhishma was unable to ascend the throne because of his vow, and Bahlika's line was unwilling to leave the Bahlika Kingdom. There ensued a succession crisis in Hastinapura. Satyavati then invited her son Vyasa to impregnate the queens Ambika and Ambalika under the Niyoga practice. When Vyasa approached Ambalika, she was frightened by his scary appearance, and she had become pale in disgust; hence, her son was born pale. Thus, Pandu's name means pale. Reign and marriage Pandu was taught in the fields of archery, politics, administration and religion by Bhishma. He was an excellent archer and Maharathi (warrior). He became the successor to his kingdom and was crowned King of the Kuru Kingdom. He was married to Kunti, the adoptive daughter of Kuntibhoja and the daughter of Shurasena (father of Vasudeva Anakadundubhi and grandfather of Krishna). His second wife was the princess of the Madra kingdom Madri. The marriage was proposed by Bhishma. Pandu later conquered the territories of the Sindhu Kingdom, Kashi, Anga, Trigarta Kingdom, Kalinga, Magadha, etc., and thus re-established their supremacy over all the kings and increased the span of his empire. Kindama's Curse While hunting in a forest (looking from a distance, his vision partially obscured by plants and trees), Pandu saw a couple of deer in the process of coitus, and shot arrows at them; he later discovered that it was the sage Kindama and his wife who were making love in the form of deer. The dying sage placed a curse on Pandu, for not only had he killed them in the midst of lovemaking, but was not remorseful for his actions either. King Pandu argued with sage Kindama by misquoting sage Agastya's ruling on the right of Kshatriyas' on hunting. Sage Kindama then cursed Pandu that were he to approach his wives with the intent of making love, he would die. Exile and death Upset and seeking to repent his deed, Pandu handed his kingdom to Dhritarashtra and left for exile in the forest. There, he started to lead the life