Kauravas & PAndavas

A few years later, Kunti returned to Hastinapur. With her were five little boys, and the bodies of Pandu and Madri. The five boys were the sons of Pandu, born to his two wives through the Niyog custom from gods: the eldest was born of Dharma, the second of Vayu, the third of Indra, and the youngest - twins - of the Ashvins. In the meanwhile, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari too had had children of their own: 100 sons and one daughter. The Kuru elders performed the last rites for Pandu and Madri, and Kunti and the children were welcomed into the palace.

All of the 105 princes were subsequently entrusted to the care of a teacher: Kripa at first and, additionally, Drona later. Drona's school at Hastinapur attracted several other boys; Karna, of the Suta clan was one such boy. It was here that hostilities quickly developed between the sons of Dhritarashtra (collectively called the Kauravas, patronymic of their ancestor Kuru) and the sons of Pandu (collectively called the Pandavas, patronymic of their father).

Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava, tried - and failed - to poison Bheem, the second Pandava. Karna, because of his rivalry in archery with the third Pandava, Arjuna, allied himself with Duryodhan. In time, the princes learnt all they could from their teachers, and the Kuru elders decided to hold a public skills exhibition of the princes. It was during this exhibition that the citizens became plainly aware of the hostilities between the two branches of the royal family: Duryodhan and Bheem had a mace fight that had to be stopped before things turned ugly, Karna - uninvited as he was not a Kuru prince - challenged Arjuna, was insulted on account of his non-royal birth, and was crowned king of a vassal state on the spot by Duryodhan. It was also around this time that questions began to be raised about Dhritarashtra occupying the throne, since he was supposed to be holding it only in trust for Pandu, the crowned king. To keep peace in the realm, Dhritarashtra declared the eldest Pandava, Yudhishthir, as the crown prince and heir apparent.

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