Mahabharat Written Update: 7th October 2013 - Meet Kunti - Page 2

One one occasion, Kunti looked after Rishi Durvasa very well. And, Rishi Durvasa was so impressed with Kunti's service, that he actually gave her a boon - a mantra, which when used, would invoke any of the devtas, and sons could be obtained from the devta who has been invoked. Why did Durvasa give her such a mantra? Maybe through his yogic powers, he could foresee that she would have problems in the future conceiving a child. But, regarding the mantra, how can you just invoke a devta through a mantra and obtain a son?? Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? 

Similarly, curiosity got the better of Kunti, and she actually decided to check for herself if the mantra really worked or not. So, she decided to invoke Surya dev - who actually appeared in front of her since he was invoked through the mantra. And, Kunti immediately got her confirmation about the power of the mantra. She, therefore, requested Suryadev to return back. However, Suryadev said that he CANNOT disrespect the mantra, and therefore, Kunti HAS to accept a child from him (whether she likes it or not). And, for Kunti to "accept" a child from Suryadev, he HAS to "adjust" his heat level, otherwise Kunti would get burnt. The child thus born was Kunti's oldest son. He was Karna - none other than Arjun's greatest competitor and rival. 

Now, coming to Kunti deciding to abandon Karna, fearing her "reputation" in society about being an unwed mother - you could put forward many theories about what Kunti could and should not have done in those circumstances. But the Mahabharat is a human story, and as humans, we all take certain decisions, which can have long-term effects. This was one such decisive moment in the Mahabharat, when Karna was born to an unwed Kunti. And she chose to abandon him, because she felt that her reputation in society was much more important. 

As for the mantra itself, it was used on a later occasion as well - for conceiving the five Pandavas. And why was the mantra used again? Pandu got cursed by Rishi Kindama that he would die if he ever had conjugal relations with his wife (since Pandu killed Kindama and his wife while they themselves were in conjugal bliss). Therefore, the ONLY way for Pandu and his wives to have children under those circumstances was to use Rishi Durvasa's mantra. And, thus the five Pandavas were born to Kunti and Madri (Pandu's 2nd wife).