Upon this, Pritha, his wife, with his approval, employed the charm and incantation given to her by Durvasas, and had three children: by the god Dharma, Yudhishthira; by Vayu, Bhima; and by Indra, Arjuna. Madri, the other wife of Pandu, was now anxious to have children, and, acting on the advice of Pritha, she

thought of the Asvins, who appeared to her according to her wish, through whom she became the mother of twin sons, Nakula and Sahadeva. Soon after this, Pandu, forgetting the curse of the sage, died in the embraces of his wife Madri, who was burned with the dead body of her husband.

Pritha and the five children, generally known as the Pandus, or Pandavas, now returned to Hastinapur, and informed Dhritarashtra of the death of his brother; he seemed to be deeply moved by the event, and the Pandus were allowed to live with his own sons, the Kurus.

But even when the cousins were children, enmity arose, and on one occasion the jealousy of Duryodhana was excited to such a pitch that he tried to poison Bhima, and, when under its effect, threw him into the water. "Bhima, however, was not drowned, but descended to the abode of the Nagas (or serpent demons), who freed him from the poison, and gave him a liquid to drink which endued him with strength of ten thousand Nagas. From that moment he became a second Hercules." Several schemes were formed for the destruction of the Pandus, but without success.

"The characters of the five Pandavas are drawn with much artistic delicacy of touch, and maintained with general consistency throughout the poem. The eldest, Yudhishthira (the son of Dharma, virtue), is the Hindu ideal of excellence--a pattern of justice; calm, passionless composure; chivalrous honour and cold heroism." As the name implies (firm in battle), "he was probably of commanding stature and imposing presence. He is described as having a majestic, lion-like gait, with a Wellington-like profile and long lotus-eyes.

"Bhima (the son of Vayu) is a type of brute courage and strength; he is of gigantic stature, impetuous,

irascible, somewhat vindictive, and cruel even to the verge of ferocity, making him, as his name implies, 'terrible.' It would appear that his great strength had to be maintained by plentiful supplies of food, as his name Vrikodara, 'wolf-stomached,' indicates a voracious appetite; and we are told that at the daily meals of the five brothers, half of the whole dish had to be given to Bhima. But he has the capacity for warm, unselfish love, and is ardent in his affection for his mother and brothers.