Conceiving talent

It is wonderful to read about child prodigies, children who are smarter than other people their age, like the youngest physics professor in India who has been in the news lately

It is wonderful to read about child prodigies, children who are smarter than other people their age, like the youngest physics professor in India who has been in the news lately. But then there was more interesting news. The father claimed credit for producing this genius. Apparently he and his wife paid careful attention to what they ate and what they felt, when they conceived the child. He was determined to father a genius. And by the looks of it, he did. I get a strong feeling that many people will be chasing the father so that he can advise them on how to conceive the perfect child -- preferably male and hopefully brilliant.

The newspaper report reminded me of an episode in The Mahabharata where Kunti chants a magic formula, invokes various gods, and produces children, on the instruction of her husband, Pandu. Pandu was cursed that if he ever made love to any of his wives he would die instantly. Pandu had lost all hope of fathering a child until Kunti, his first wife, informed him that she possessed a magic formula by which she could compel a god to give her a child.

What is interesting is the gods Pandu chose to make his wives pregnant. He was not just interested in having just any child -- he clearly wanted a male child, not one but many, preferably talented ones. Children, for Pandu, were manifestation of his repressed ambitions. They had to be what he could not be.

The first god that Pandu asked Kunti to invoke was Yama. Why choose the god of death? Because Yama was considered the most dispassionate of gods, hence also Dharma, the lord of order. Yama would bestow a child who would be worthy of kingship. That was Yudhishtira.u00a0

Then he ordered Kunti to invoke Vayu, the god of wind. Why Vayu? Because Vayu was the father of Hanuman, the mighty monkey-god, who helped Ram rescue Sita from the clutches of Ravana. This would ensure that the son of Yama would have by his side a strong man, the son of Vayu. That was Bhima.u00a0

Kunti then, of her own accord invoked Indra, the god of rain, and ruler of the gods. This son would be the great archer, Arjuna.

Pandu was not satisfied. He wanted another son. But Kunti said, "I have already had four. It is inappropriate to go to more men." Pandu assumed by four Kunti meant himself, Yama, Vayu and Indra. What he did not know is that she meant Surya, Yama, Vayu and Indra, for before marriage, she had invoked the sun-god and had secretly borne a child by him.

Thus Kunti ended up with four sons. Yudhishtira and Bhima were conceived by gods invoked on Pandu's instructions. Karna and Arjuna were conceived by gods invoked by her own desire. Pandu knew only three of them. Not Karna, who was Kunti's premarital secret.

"Allow Madri to use the formula," said Pandu. Kunti did so graciously and Madri, Pandu's second and more beautiful wife, invoked the Ashwini pair of gods who gave her twins. "She can invoke two more gods," said the greedy Pandu remembering the rule of four. But Kunti would not allow it. For if Madri invoked another god, or a pair, she would end up having equal or more number of sons than her. Kunti did not like the idea. A little family secret from the great epic that is often ignored in popular retellings.

Devdutt Pattanaik is a Mumbai-based mythologist who makes sacred stories, symbols and rituals relevant to modern times. Reach him at devdutt@devdutt.comu00a0u00a0

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