Pritha

Family: Pandavs · Role: Pandu's widow · First appears: Book I (The Tournament) · I. The Gathering

In Book I (The Tournament) · V. The Advent of Karna, Pritha bore Karna while still unwedded, with the Sun inspiring his birth. In Book I (The Tournament) · VI. The Rival Warriors, she swooned as Karna and Arjun stood ready to fight; Vidura revived her, while she wept in silence because Karna was her eldest son. In Book I (The Tournament) · IX. Close of the Day, she recognized him by a secret sign as he was crowned king of Anga.

In Book II (The Bride's Choice) · VIII. Krishna to the Rescue, Pritha escaped with her sons when Duryodhan schemed to kill them by fire. In Book IV (The Fatal Dice) · V. The Banishment, Vidura offered her a home during their exile. In Book IV (The Fatal Dice) · VI. Pritha's Lament, she recalled losing Pandu in the rocky mountains; Draupadi came to bid her farewell before exile, and Pritha's children left for the jungle. In Book XI (Funeral Rites) · V. Oblation to Karna, Pritha revealed to her sons that Karna was their eldest brother, born of the Sun, and they mourned him as the brother they had slain.

In Book XII (Sacrifice of the Horse) · V. Gifts, Vyasa sent his share of presents to Pritha. In the Conclusion, she accompanied Dhrita-rashtra and Gandhari into retirement in a forest, where all three died in a conflagration.