Draupadi and pandavas born due to a curse

There are many stories which establish the fact that why Draupadi had to become wife of five brothers, but this story is rather less known, where it was due to curse of Goddess Parvati, Draupadi became wife of five Pandavas. Similarly, it was curse of Lord Shiva, which resulted in five gods to bore children in Pandavas.
Ketaki and Daksha

Ketaki was the daughter of Daksha Prajapati. She was very beautiful. Because of her beauty and demeanor, she earned lot of fame. This made her arrogant. When her father asked her to get married, She refused saying that she can not find any person worthy of marrying her. So, she decided to spend her entire life under the shelter of Lord Shiva in Himalayas. Accordingly, She went to Himalayas and started her penance.

Ketaki

Curse of Goddess Parvati

Once Goddess Parvati thought of testing her. Parvati disguised as a cow reached the plac ewhere Ketaki was meditating and started bellowing loudly. Ketaki was disturbed so she uttered some foul words for the cow. Hearing this, Goddess Parvati came into her real form and cursed her. She said in your arrogance you can't find any male worth marrying you so you will have to go down to earth and be common wife of five men.
Parvati relents

On recognizing Parvati, Ketaki fell in her feet for apology. Parvati said her curse is immutable, but this will be as a blessing in disguise for her. Even after being a common wife of five husbands, your wifely devotion shall remain intact and then realms Parvati left.
Sadness of Ketaki and Indrani's wish

Ketaki was sitting at the bank of Ganga, her tear drops that fell on the water become golden lotus and began to float in the current. Indra spoted them and took few flowers for his wife Indrani. Indrani was delighted to have them. Indrani longed to have more of them and said that the right place of blooming was the pond in the heaven.
Indra sends Gods to find the flower

Indra send Dharamraj to find the origin of the flower. When he didn't return, Indra send Vayu dev behind him. But, when he also failed to return Indra send Ashwini Kumars to find the golden lotus. But after long time when none of them returned Indra decided to go and search himself.
Indra meets Ketaki

Indra found Ketaki sitting on the bank of Ganga. Charmed by her beauty he sought her identity. Ketaki said she is daughter of Daksha Prajapati and she was there to do her penance and meditation. Indra said that meditation and penance are for elderly sage and offered her to marry him and enjoy the pleasure of heaven.

Keatki was hurt by the offer and said your four deites have already suffered the consequence of giving me such offer and if you seek your welfare you should return to your abode.
Ketaki shows helpless gods to Indra

Indra immedately understood that the four deities referred to by her were none else but Dharamraj, Vayu, Ashwini Kumars. When Indra inquired further about them. Ketaki took him to a deep cave where four deities were lying tied down. On seeing them Indra lost temper and said though you pretend to be ascetic, but your heart is full of demonic tendencies. Do you know the consequence of holding them in captive.
Indra meets the protector of Ketaki

Ketaki said, thet they are being held n captive by her protector. Indra found an ascetic with long matted hair lost in meditation in a cave. Indra in arrogance began to utter some foul words for the ascetic. But when the ascetic came in his real form Indra was shocked to see that he he was no one else then Lord Shiva himself.

Lord Shiva

Lord Shiva curses five Gods

Lord Shiva thundered that Ketaki is like a daughter to him and since Indra and his deities have insulted her so you five have to go down on earth as human being.

Ketaki and Lord Shiva

Lord shiva said that in Dwapar Age, Lord Vishnu will incarnate as human being, at that time you five will also live on earth as human being, and at that time Ketaki shall be your common wife. In this way, your desire to have her shall be satiated and you five will also help Lord Vishnu to establish the rule of righteousness on the earth. This way your curse will fructify as boon to you all.

Thus due to the effect of the collective curse of Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati, Pandavas got Draupadi as a common wife.

Mahabharata-The War Ends

Mahabharata-The War Ends

The Pandavas wanted to kill Ashvattama for the merciless manner in which he had killed their dear ones in the middle of the night. Sati Draupadi was devastated since all her sons had been killed by Ashvattama. The Pandavas wanted revenge and searched for him and finally found him in Sage Vyasa's hermitage. Bhima fought a duel with Ashvattama and the latter finally accepted defeat.

The war finally ended after eighteen days. Dhrithrashtra was devastated when he heard that Duryodhana had died. He was also furious when he heard how Ashvattama had killed Sati Draupadi's sons. Vidura and Sage Vyasa consoled Dhrithrashtra by saying that the war had to happen. Sati Gandhari too was very sad but blessed the Pandavas, who had emerged victorious.

Finally, the Pandavas went to the banks of the Ganga to perform the last rites of those who had lost their lives in the war.

The Pandavas

The Pandavas

The Pandavas were the princes of Hastinapur. The reason they were so called was because they were the sons of King Pandu, the king of Hastinapur. The first three Pandavas - Yudhishtira, Bhima, and Arjuna - were the sons of Pandu's first wife, Kunti, and the youngest Pandavas- Nakula and Sahadeva - were the sons of Madri, Pandu's second wife. King Pandu and Madri had died, so Kunti brought them up. All the five brothers had great qualities. They were brave and intelligent. They had learns many arts and mastered weaponry. Yudhisthira, the eldest, was known for his truthfulness and fond of eating. Arjuna was a great archer and was a favorite with his elders. There was a lot of love and brotherhood among them.

The Pandavas Get Half the Kingdom

The Pandavas Get Half the Kingdom

After the marriage of the Pandavas, Vidura went to Pancala and told them, Bhisma Pitamaha, Guru Drona, King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari, all want them to return to Hastinapur." But the Pandavas were not sure if they would be safe near Duryodhana. Lord Krishna advised Vidura to divide Hastinapur between the Kauravas and Pandavas to ensure peace. The Pandavas went to Hastinapur and were given a warm welcome. King Dhritarashtra told Yudhisthira, "The throne of Hastinapur belongs to you. But when your father Pandu died, you were very young so I was made king. Due to this, Duryodhana wants to be king. So everybody has decided to give you half the kingdom." Yudhisthira agreed and became the ruler of half the kingdom with its capital in Indraprastha.

The Royal Competition

The Royal Competition

One day, Drona decided to hold a competition in which the Kauravas and the Pandavas could display their skills. The princes' demonstrated their expertise in using weapons like bow and 

arrow, sword, spear, and mace. There was a fierce mace fight between Bhima and Duryodhana. Arjuna impressed everyone by shooting blindfolded, creating fire and rain with arrows. Pleased, Drona declared that no one could match Arjuna. At this, a young man named Karna came forward and repeated everything that Arjuna had done. He challanged Arjuna. Drona said that an ordinary man could not compete with a prince. Duryodhana who was jealous of Arjuna immediately declared Karna the king of Angadesha. But the fight could not take place as the sun had set. Karna was actually a son of Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas .

The Miracle- Lord Krishna saved the Honour of his devotee

 The Miracle

 Lord Krishna saved the Honour of his devotee

The Lac Palace

The Lac Palace

King Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava, was made the  yuvaraja (crown prince) of Hastinapur as he was the eldest prince. This made Duryodhana jealous. With the help of his uncle, King Shakuni, he made a plan to kill the Pandavas. They persuaded the Pandavas to attened a grand fair in the town of Varnavat. Duryodhana had a lac palace built for them. Lac burns very easily. He had planned that when the Pandavas were sleeping in the palace, one of his men would set it on fire and they would be burnt to death. Vidura, the prime minister, came to know of this plot and warned the Pandavas to escape. The Pandavas and their mother Kunti, stayed in the palace on fire. The Pandavas safely escaped through the tunnel and Duryodhana thought that they had died in the fire .

The Journey to Heaven

The Journey to Heaven

After ruling over Hastinapur for many years, Yudhisthira wanted to leave the kingdom. Parikshita, Abhimanyu's son, was crowned the new king and the Pandavas and Draupadi set out for the Himalayas. They dressed like hermits and set out to visit many holy places across the country. Finally, they reached the foothills of the Himalayas and started climbing the mountains. Somewhere along the way, a dog started following them.
The Pandavas crossed many mountains and reached Himadri, the highest range of the mountains. The mountains were very steep and were covered with snow. The Pandavas started the difficult climb. Since it was difficult to walk on snow. Draupadi and all the Pandavas, except Yudhisthira, found it very difficult to continue on the journey. Draupadi was the first to fall to the ground and die on the way. She was followed by Sahadeva, Nakula, Arjuna, and finally Bhima. Only King Yudhisthira and the dog adamantly continued marching ahead.

The Imperial Yagna

The Imperial Yagna

Once Sage Narada visited King Yudhisthira and said, "Your father, Pandu, who is in heaven, wants you to perform the imperial yagna after which you will become samrata (emperor)." King Yudhisthira asked Sage Vyasa to guide him. Sage Vyasa sent the rest of the Pandavas in different direction to conquer the kingdoms that were ruled by the Pandavas' enemies. They came back after bravely defeating their enemies and brought a lot of wealth that could be used for the yagna. King Yudhisthira invited many guests including sages and kings. Lord Krishna also graced the occasion with his presence. Sage Dhaumya was made the royal priest for the Yagna. King Yudhisthira performed all the rituals. Offerings were made to the gods. Brahmins were given gifts and the yagna was completed successfully. All the elders blessed King Yudhisthira and he became the samrata.

Akshaypatra The Magic Bowl

Akshaypatra The Magic Bowl

While the Pandavas were in exile, one day, the sun god (lord Surya Deva) gave  King Yudhisthira the bowl of plenty (akshaypatra) and said , "Give this to Sati Draupadi. Once a day, she can take out as much food as she wants until she herself has eaten. Till then, this bowl will not run empty."

One day, Sage Durvasa and his disciples were passing through the forest. They came to the hut and asked Sati Draupadi for some food. Sati Draupadi had already eaten and she knew that the bowl wouldn't yield any more food.

Draupadi did not want to turn away the holy sage Durwasa without food and prayed to Lord Sri Krishna, who came and said, "Give me some food." Draupadi said, "This is no time for jokes, please help me feed the guests." Lord Sri Krishna said, "That is why I ask for food." One grain of rice was left in the bowl, Which she gave to Lord Sri Krishna. Lord Sri Krishna was satisfied, and surprisingly the guests too were satisfied. They left without asking for food.

The Birth of the Pandavas and Kauravas

The Birth of the Pandavas and Kauravas

Bhishma wanted Pandu, the king of Hastinapur, to get married. Kunti, the adopted daughter of King Kuntibhoja, chose Pandu as her husband and was married to him. Princess Madri of Madra kingdom also wanted to marry Pandu, so she became his second wife. 

Gandhari, the princess of Gandhara kingdom, was chosen as the bride for Dhritarashtra. 

Dhritarashtra was blind, and Gandhari did not want to be better than her husband in any respect. So she tied a silk bandage on her eyes and pledged never to remove it. A suitable bride was also chosen for Vidura , the minister of Hastinapur, who was raised as a brother of Pandu and Dhritarashtra .

As time passed, Kunti gave birth to three sons Yudhistira, Bhima,and Arjuna. Madri gave birth to twins and name Nakula and Sahadeva . As these five were the sons of Pandu , they are called the Pandavas.

Gandhari wanted a hundred children so she prayed to Saint Vyasa who granted her the boon . But Gandhari gave birth to a lump of flesh. Vyasa cut this lump into hundred and one pieces, which formed hundred boys and one girl. These children of Dhritarashtra were called the Kauravas as they belonged to the Kuru dynasty. The eldest of the Kaurava brothers were called Duryodhana .