The fifth of the five
Pandava brothers who appear in the Mahabharata, the ancient Hindu epic.
Madri is Sahadeva's mother, and she is King Pandu's younger
wife.
Pandu has been cursed to die the minute he hugs his bride in
a loving embrace, therefore none of the Pandava brothers are genuinely his
kids.
Madri uses a mantra provided to her co-wife, Kunti, by the
sage Durvasas to produce her kids miraculously.
The mantra grants the lady who recites it the ability to
summon any of the gods and produce a son equal to the god's might.
Kunti imparts the mantra to Madri, who meditates on the
Ashvins, the celestial twins who are the gods' healers, and so carries the
twins Nakula and Sahadeva, with Pandu's approval.
Both are adept healers of animals and humans as the
offspring of the gods' doctors.
Despite being one of the five Pandava brothers, they play a
smaller role in the Mahabharata than their three older siblings.
