After the tragic death of King Pandu and Queen Madri, Kunti, strong despite her sorrow, gathered her five sons and returned to the grand kingdom of Hastinapura.
The journey was long, but when they arrived at the palace gates, the elders of the kingdom welcomed them with open arms. Bhishma, the grandsire of the Kuru dynasty, his wisdom unmatched, greeted them with fatherly warmth. Vidura, the righteous minister, guided them with care and affection.
Even King Dhritarashtra, though blind, opened his arms and welcomed the Pandavas, his heart wishing for unity in the royal family.
But not every heart was pure.
Among Dhritarashtra's sons, the eldest, Duryodhana, watched from the shadows.His heart, once proud, now burned with jealousy.
"Why does everyone love them?" he wondered bitterly."Why do the people cheer for them when I, the son of the king, stand unnoticed?"
The people of Hastinapura admired the Pandavas deeply. They whispered praises of their nobility and strength.
Of Dharma Raju (Yudhishthira), the eldest, they said: "He is the rightful heir. So wise, so calm. Truly a king in spirit."
Of Bhima, they spoke of his unmatched strength, strong enough to crush wild beasts with his bare hands.
And Arjuna, with his sharp mind and focused heart, they said: "He shall become the finest warrior in all of Bharat."
The Days of Training
To guide these young princes, the kingdom summoned the legendary warrior and teacher, Dronacharya.A master of every weapon and every art, his presence demanded respect.
Under Drona's watchful gaze, both the Pandavas and Kauravas trained side by side.They learned archery, swordsmanship, wrestling, chariot driving, and the sacred knowledge of the Vedas.Each day was filled with sweat, battle cries, and the ringing of steel.
But beneath this training ground, a rivalry was growing—slow at first, but soon it would burn like wildfire.
Duryodhana's envy towards the Pandavas, especially Arjuna, began to take root.And Arjuna, favored by Dronacharya for his pure dedication, unknowingly fueled Duryodhana's resentment.
Meanwhile, in a Distant Village…
Far from the royal palace, in a humble village, another boy was forging his destiny.Karna, the son of the charioteer Adhiratha, spent his childhood looking at the warriors of Hastinapura with longing in his heart.
He watched the princes train, their arrows cutting the wind, their swords flashing like lightning.A burning desire awakened inside him—the desire to fight, to stand as an equal among warriors.
But the people of his village mocked him.
"You? A charioteer's son? You have no right to dream of swords and bows!""Those skills are for kings and princes, not for the lowborn like you."
But Karna's spirit did not break.
Alone in the fields, he trained himself day after day.He lifted swords that were too heavy, fired arrows until his arms bled, and practiced battle stances under the burning sun.
"One day," Karna whispered to himself, gripping the sword with calloused hands, "I will stand beside the greatest warriors of this world. No birthright will hold me back."