Veer Arjun was declared the champion warrior from amongst the Kaurava and Pandava princes. The incident sowed the seed of jealousy in the heart of Duryodhana, the eldest prince amongst the Kauravas. Unable to bear the fame of the prowess of Arjun and with a view to beat him, they formed life-long alliance with Karna.
Yudhisthira, the son of Maharaja Dhritarashtra’s elder brother Pandu, was declared the heir to the throne. Though all consented, one heart was burning with jealousy at this decision. It was Duryodhana’s. He, with the help of his uncle Shakuni, hatched a plot to burn the five Pandavas alive. But thanks to the courage and power of Bhim, all five brothers and their mother Kunti came out of the ordeal unscathed. They lived incognito as Brahmins. Kauravas believed that Pandavas were dead and rejoiced.
The “Swayamvar” of Draupadi was announced. An extremely difficult condition was to be fulfilled by the competitors to win the hand of Draupadi. The Kauravas failed in their attempts. Arjun was successful and he won Draupadi. Draupadi was endowed with the blessing that the man who married her, would be the King Emperor.
Again the ambers of the fire of jealousy burst out as the Pandavas demanded their share of the Kingdom. This enraged Duryodhana and under the advice of uncle Shakuni he gave them a waste piece of land. The pandavas, with their untiring efforts and skill, turned it into a fine city – Indraprastha.
Gradually the Pandavas extended their kingdom throughout the length and breadth of Bharat through peaceful efforts and thus Draupadi’s blessing was fulfilled. They then made preparations for the greatest Yajna – the Rajasuya Yajna – and the invited all the kings and princes to the function. Kauravas were also invited.
Kauravas were aware of Yudhisthira’s weakness for gambling. On this occasion, they invited Yudhisthira to a game of dice. In the heat of the game Yudhisthira lost everything – his kingdom and even Draupadi.
Draupadi was forcibly brought into the assembly where the game was played and the success drunk Kauravas proceeded to undress her. The pleas of Draupadi fell on deaf ears and that generated the spark of the war between the forces of the evil and the good. As per the conditions of the game, Pandavas lived in exile for thirteen years. After the expiry of the term Lord Krishna approached Kauravas with a proposal to restore the share of Pandavas to them, but the Kauravas turned the proposal down.
And then the “Mahabharata” –the world’s first great war took place. Arjun was downhearted as he saw that he had to fight against his own kith and kin.
Lord Krishna explained to him his duty which is embodied in “Bhagwadgita”. Veer Arjun won the war and the good triumphed over the evil.
[from the official press booklet]