The five Pandavas and the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra grew up studying and playing together. Kripacharya taught them the arts of war. Bhima was the strongest and most powerful among the boys and bullied the others quite often. Duryodhana disliked Bhima and was becoming more and more jealous of Yudhishthira. Pandu had been made the king instead of his elder brother, Dhritarashtra, who was blind. That meant that Pandu’s son would succeed his father as king. Duryodhana and his brothers once poisoned Bhima during an outing and threw him into a river. Duryodhana and his brothers returned without Bhima. Kunti and her sons were worried. In the river, Bhima was bitten by poisonous snakes and that drew out the poison given to him earlier. He recovered and returned to Hastinapura. Duryodhana was enraged. Vidura warned Kunti against Duryodhana’s evil nature and Yudhishthira asked Bhima to be ever alert and cautious.
Childhood
