Śatasṛṅga means “hundred peaks”. It is a mountain region of the Himālaya where Pāṇḍu and his two wives Kuntī and Mādrī lived after Pāṇḍu left for the forest following the śāpa (curse) of Kiṃdama. In the wild country of Śatasṛṅga Pāṇḍu took up the life of a forest ascetic. The great talk between Pāṇḍu and Kuntī about the dharma of the family line took place here. Here, by divine invocation, the five Pāṇḍavas were born: Yudhishṭhira, Bhīmasena and Arjuna to Kuntī, and Nakula and Sahadeva to Mādrī. Pāṇḍu also died in this forest, when the curse of Kiṃdama came true.

The forest of Pāṇḍu’s vānaprastha

Pāṇḍu received the curse of Kiṃdama. It forbade him to go near any woman with desire, on pain of instant death. He gave up the kingdom and went with Kuntī and Mādrī to the forests of the Himālaya, living first in Śatasṛṅga. There they lived as forest ascetics. They stayed among the ṛshis, kept the sacred fires, hunted for food and studied the śāstras. The Mahābhārata tells this in the Ādi Parva, Sambhava Parva.

Birthplace of the five Pāṇḍavas

In the forests of Śatasṛṅga the five Pāṇḍavas were born by divine invocation:

Yudhishṭhira, from Dharma, born under the Jyeshṭhā nakshatra.
Bhīmasena, from Vāyu, born on the same day as Duryodhana.
Arjuna, from Indra, born amid great celebration in svarga.
Nakula and Sahadeva, from the Aśvinīs, born together.

Death of Pāṇḍu

Pāṇḍu also died in these forests. On a spring day, when the forest was in bloom, he went to Mādrī with desire, and so the curse of Kiṃdama came true. Mādrī then climbed onto his funeral pyre. The ṛshis of the forest took Pāṇḍu’s body and the five young sons to Hastināpura.

Sources

Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Sambhava Parva, chapters 118–125