In the Mahabharata, Kunti is the mother of Karna and
Yudhishtira, Bhim and Arjuna among the Pandavas. Kunti was also the sister of
Vasudeva, father of Sri Krishna.
Kunti was the daughter of King Shurasena and her original
name was Pritha. But she was adopted by King Kuntibhoja, cousin of Shurasena.
Thus she got the name Kunti.
Legend has it that she had once taken care of Sage Durvasa. Impressed by her devotion and service, the sage had given her a secret mantra with which she could invoke any of the
Devas.
Young Kunti was impatient and wanted to test the mantra. So before
her marriage she invoked Surya, the sun god, and Karna was born. Fearing shame
and social ostracisation, she floated the baby in a basket on the river.
Later, she married Pandu, the King of Hastinapura. Due to a curse,
Pandu could not have children of his own and therefore she used the mantra to
give birth to Yudhishtira (through Dharma or Yama), Bhim (through Vayu) and
Arjuna (through Indra).
She also gave the mantra to Madri, the second wife of Pandu,
and Nakula and Sahadeva was born to her through Ashwini Kumars.
After Pandu’s death, Kunti looked after the Pandavas.
When Arjuna married Draupadi, it was Kunti who insisted that
she become the wife of the Pandavas.
She had also informed Karna before the beginning of the Great
War in the Mahabharata that she was his mother.
After the Mahabharata war, Kunti accompanied Dhritarashtra
and Gandhari to the forest and there she died in a forest fire.