M124 - Childhood of Pandavas and Kauravas

After King Pandu's demise, the  sages consulting among themselves decided to take Kunti and the five sons of Pandu to Hastinapura and hand them over to Bhishma and Drhitarashtra, Accordingly, they left for Hastinapura taking Kunti, the Pandavas. Sages were not just interested in their own salvation, but in the protection and advancement of the people in general. Knowing Pandavas to be future Kings of the earth, the great sages made arrangements for them to be placed under proper guidance.
 
Shakuni perceived Pandavas as a challenge to his dear Duryodhan’s claim to the throne and since beginning Duryodhan has been set against them re-insisting it in Duryodhan’s mind if there’s was somebody who was the legitimate heir to the throne, it was he and not the five random kids from the jungle. The elders of the Kuru family and the subjects of Hastinapur welcomed the Pandavas with affection. Duryodhan, along with his 99 brothers, saw them as weeds to be wiped out of the palace farm as soon as possible.

Bhima excelled the Kauravas in speed of action, in striking objects with accuracy of aim, in consuming food and in scattering food. He would also pull their hairs playfully and laugh when they cried out of pain. Sometimes, he would pull them by the hair and draw them along, causing injuries to their knees, heads or shoulders in the process. Sometimes, he would hold ten of them and drown them in water and release them only after they felt extremely suffocated. When a Kauravasclimbed up a tree for plucking fruits, Bhima would kick the tree with his foot, bringing down some fruits and the fruitplucker too!  Bhima tormented the Kauravas in many such childish ways but he had no malice towards them.

The bodies of the sons of Dhritarashtra would be ever sore with bruises as a result of Bhima's practical jokes. Small wonder that the sons of Dhritarashtra nursed a deep hatred for Bhima from their very infancy. Having seen and experienced the might of Bhima, Duryodhana began to develop hostility and hatred towards Pandavas.
 


The childhood of the hundred princes in the palace was, however, very different from that of the five princes who were born in the forest.
Duryodhan was grown up under the care of Shakuni, who constantly nurtured hatred in his mind against the Pandavas stating that they were the sons of the man because of whom Duryodhan’s father couldn’t become the king. 
Yudhishthir was grown up under the care of his father, Pandu, who taught him only about righteousness, serving the nation and how to be the ideal king. The eldest sons of both fathers definitely received more attention than the rest of the sons as in the eyes of the elders they would be the king.

When the princes would ask: Who’s a great king?
Shakuni to Duryodhan: A great king is the one who has his set of loyalists, who is aware of his enemies and wipes them whenever there’s an opportunity. A great king does anything in his capacity to safeguard his right to the throne.
Pandu to Yudhishthir: A great king is the one who lives for his subjects, who works for their improvement and uplift, who helps them in droughts and natural catastrophes and safeguards them in the boundary of his nation.

When the princes would ask: What is the duty of a kshatriya?
Shakuni to Duryodhan: To become a powerful warrior, the one whom everybody should be afraid of. No one should dare to raise an eyebrow against him and the one who does should not be left with an eye!
Pandu to Yudhishthir: To become a powerful warrior, so that he can save his people and their fundamental rights. A true Kshatriya acquires martial skills not to dominate but prevent domination of the weak.

Both the princes were growing to become kings but of opposite kinds. But only the wiser Bhishma and Vidura could sense the problem ahead. A kingdom could not have two kings. One thing that was common to both the princes, however, was the ultimate loyalty of their younger brothers towards them. While the ninety-nine sons of Dhritarashtra would do whatever Duryodhan would demand, the younger Pandavas would also never refute an order of Yudhishthira.

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