In the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, Madri was princess of Madra Kingdom who married to Pandu. She had two sons named Nakula and Sahadeva. The word Mādrī means ‘she who is the princess of Madra kingdom’.
Marriage
Madri was sister of king of Madra Shalya. Once Hastinapur’s king Pandu encountered with the army of Shalya. Very soon, Pandu and Shalya became friends. The Adi Parva of Mahabharata says that Bhishma went to the kingdom of Madra and asked for the hand of Madri for Pandu. Shalya gave assent but said according to their family custom he could not ‘bestow’ his sister to the Kurus. So Bhishma gave him wealth, gold, elephants, horses, and anymore, and took Madri with him to Hastinapur
Pandu’s curse
While hunting in a forest, Pandu saw a couple of deer in the process of coitus, and shot arrows at them; only to find out that it was a sage named Kindama and his wife who were making love in the form of deer. The dying sage placed a curse on Pandu, that if he would approach his wives with the intent of making love, he would die. Upset and seeking to repent his action, Pandu renounced his kingdom and lived as an ascetic with his wives.
Birth of Nakula and Sahadeva
Due to Pandu’s inability to bear children, Kunti had to use the boon given by Sage Durvasa to give birth to her three children’s Yudhisthira, Bhima and Arjuna. She shared the boon with Madri, who invoked the Ashwini Kumaras to beget Nakula and Sahadeva.
Death
One day, Pandu was captivated by the beauty of Madri. King Pandu could not resist himself from having embrace her. As a result of Kindama’s curse, Pandu died. In grief that her husband died because of her, Madri committed suicide before handing her children to Kunti. It is believed that Mādrī committed sati, in which a woman self immolates on her deceased husband’s pyre. However this is believed that this sati was a later addition to the epic.