Editing Pandu (section)

{{short description|Kuru King and father of the Pandavas in epic Mahabharata}}
{{for-multi|the Tamil actor|Pandu (actor)|the locality in Guwahati|Pandu, Guwahati|the 2021 film|Pandu (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox character
| info-hdr = Personal Information
| image = Raja Pandu and Matakunti LACMA M.69.13.6.jpg
| caption = A late 17th-century painting of Pandu (right) and Kunti from [[Kashmir]]
| weapon = [[Bow and arrow]]
| affiliation = [[Kuru dynasty]], [[Chandravamsha]]
| spouses = {{hlist|[[Kunti]]|[[Madri]]}}
| family = '''Parents''' ''{{small|see [[Niyoga]]}}''{{bulleted list|[[Vyasa]] (Biological Father)|[[Ambalika]] (Mother)|[[Vichitravirya]] (Father)}}'''Half-Brothers''' {{bulleted list|[[Vidura]]|[[Dhritarashtra]]}}
| children = '''Putative Sons''' from Kunti{{bulleted list|[[Yudhishthira]] by [[Yama (Hinduism)|Yama]]|[[Bhima]] by [[Vayu]]|[[Arjuna]] by [[Indra]]}}
'''Putative Sons''' from Madri {{bulleted list||[[Nakula]] by [[Ashvins]]|[[Sahadeva]] by Ashvins}}
| relatives = }}

'''Pandu''' ({{langx|sa|पाण्डु|Pāṇḍu|pale}}) was the king of [[Kuru kingdom]], with capital at [[Hastinapur]] in the epic ''[[Mahabharata]]''. He was the foster-father of the five [[Pandava]]s, who are the central characters of the epic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2020-02-21 |title=Pandu, Pāṇḍu, Paṇḍu, Pandū, Pamdu, Pamde: 38 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/pandu |access-date=2023-09-16 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref>

Pandu was born pale, to [[Vichitravirya]]'s second wife, [[Ambalika]]. Pandu married [[Kunti]] and [[Madri]]. Following sage [[Kindama]]'s curse, his sons were born through the boons bestowed upon his wife Kunti by a number of deities, owing to his inability to bear children.<ref>"Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide", by Roshen Dalal, p. 230, publisher = Penguin Books India</ref>