Kindama () is a
rishi
In Indian religions, a ''rishi'' ( ) is an accomplished and enlightened person. They find mention in various Vedic texts. Rishis are believed to have composed hymns of the Vedas. The Post-Vedic tradition of Hinduism regards the rishis as "gre ...
featured in the
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
epic ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
''.
Legend
Once, the sage Kindama and his wife were mating in the form of a deer and a doe. King
Pandu of
Hastinapura, who had been hunting there, shot an arrow, mistaking them for deer, mortally injuring them. Enraged, Kindama assumed his true form, and berated the king for having killed him before he had finished the act of mating. Before dying, Kindama cursed Pandu that he would die the moment he touched his wife with the intention of making love.
Citations
{{Rishis of Hindu mythology
Rishis
Characters in the Mahabharata
Shapeshifting
Talking animals in mythology
Curses
Mythological deer