And as soon as they were born, an
incorporeal voice said, 'In energy and beauty these twins shall transcend
even the twin Aswins themselves.' Indeed possessed of great energy and
beauty, they illumined the whole region.
"O king, after all the children were born the Rishis dwelling on the
mountain of a hundred peaks uttering blessings on them and affectionately
performing the first rites of birth, bestowed appellations on them. The
eldest of Kunti's children was called Yudhishthira, the second Bhimasena,
and the third Arjuna, and of Madri's sons, the first-born of the twins was
called Nakula and the next Sahadeva. And those foremost sons born at an
interval of one year after one another, looked like an embodied period of
five years. And king Pandu, beholding his children of celestial beauty and
of super-abundant energy, great strength and prowess, and of largeness of
soul, rejoiced exceedingly. And the children became great favourites of
the Rishis, as also of their wives, dwelling on the mountain of a hundred
peaks.
"Some time after, Pandu again requested Kunti on behalf of Madri.
Addressed, O king, by her lord in private, Kunti replied, 'Having given
her the formula of invocation only once, she hath, O king, managed to
obtain two sons. Have I not been thus deceived by her, I fear, O king,
that she will soon surpass me in the number of her children. This, indeed,
is the way of all wicked women. Fool that I was, I did not know that by
invoking the twin gods I could obtain at one birth twin children.
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