The Childhood of the sons of Dhritarashtra and Pandu

The Story so far

We have been through the birth of the five sons to Pandu. The first three, namely, Yudhisthira, Bheemasena and Arjuna were in Kunti and the other two, Nakula and Sahadeva, in Madri. We have also seen how a hundred sons and a daughter were born to Dhritarashtra in Gandhari. All are the descendents of the famous king, Kuru, and could be called as Kauravas. Yet, that term is mainly used to the sons of Dhritarashtra. The five sons of Pandu are better known as the Pandavas.

The end of Sathyavathy, Ambika and Ambalika

After the last rites of Pandu Vedavyasa spoke to his mother, Sathyavathy. He warned her of bad times ahead for the Kurus. There would be so much of misdeeds and misery that it would be wise on her part not to be around to witness all that. The main cause would be Duryodhana.
Sathyavathy took those words of her son seriously. She suggested to Ambika and Ambalika that it would be better for them all to retire to forest. That was the noble and accepted way for kings and queens. The wives of his son Vichitravirya agreed with her and they all moved to a nearby forest. They engaged themselves in deep meditation and spent their remaining years peacefully.

The Childhood Games of the Pandavas and Kauravas

The five sons of Pandu and the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra grew up together in Hastinapura, the palace of the Kurus. They played games together, quarreled and fought among themselves.
Bheemasena, called Bheema for short, was the strongest of all. He was so powerful that he could tackle all others single handed. Duryodhana and his brothers were his opponents in games. Bheema was playful and because of his strength became a bully to his rivals. He would shake the branch of trees on which the Kauravas perched so strongly that they would fall down along with the fruits they went up to pluck. Bheema would also choke the Kauravas to suffocation under water when they engaged in various sports in the rivers and streams nearby. But, he was only playful with no malice.

The Kauravas could do nothing in return. Slowly the frustration and a desire for revenge
started building deeply in the minds of the Kauravas. It was all the more in Duryodhana . He was proud and ambitious. He would not stand being belittled by someone younger to him, like Bheema. If he could somehow kill Bheema, he could finish his other brothers off after him. Then, he would inherit the vast kingdom of the Kurus. He started scheming to create an opportunity .
We shall learn what he did soon enough.

(Refer to www.kunjunny.blogspot.com for one of the last episodes of Mahabharatam )