Bhimasena and Karna

Jealous of Bhima's celebrated strength and greedy for the kingdom, Duryodhana resolves to kill him as the first step to seizing power. He executes a series of murder attempts: drowning, snake bites, and poison. Each plot fails against Bhima's superhuman resilience, but the Pandavas, warned by Vidura, now know the depth of their cousin's hatred.

When Bhima mocks Karna as unworthy of fighting Arjuna, Duryodhana rises in fury. He argues that a warrior's worth is in his strength, not his birth, and crowns Karna king of Anga on the spot. His challenge silences the arena and changes the course of the rivalry forever.

At the height of his triumph, crowned king of Anga by Duryodhana, Karna's charioteer father enters the arena. Bhimasena seizes the moment to publicly jeer at Karna's lowly lineage, declaring him as unfit for royalty or combat as a dog is for a sacred offering.

Tormented by Bhima's strength, Arjuna's skill, and the citizens' open praise for the Pandavas, Duryodhana burns with a jealousy that curdles into conspiracy. With Karna and Shakuni, he attempts to kill his cousins through various secret means.

Bhima marches east towards the powerful kingdom of Magadha, absorbing defeated kings into his own force. He subjugates Jarasandha's son in his mountain fortress, then turns to face his brother's greatest rival: the mighty and proud warrior Karna.

Yudhishthira orders the journey to Hastinapura. The Pandavas travel with Draupadi and their retinue, their regal prosperity blazing. In Hastinapura, Yudhishthira respectfully meets Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, and all the elders and Kuru princes. Their visible success stirs no delight in Dhritarashtra's daughters-in-law.

Shakuni has already won Yudhishthira's wealth. He asks if the Pandava has anything left to gamble. Compelled by the game, Yudhishthira begins to stake what remains: his kingdom, his brothers, himself, and finally his wife Draupadi. Each time, Shakuni casts the dice and declares victory.

When the attendant is too afraid to lay hands on Draupadi, Duryodhana orders his brother Duhshasana to bring her by force. Duhshasana grabs her by her long, blue hair—hair once sanctified at a royal sacrifice—and drags her into the sabha as she protests her state and her dignity.

Enraged by Vikarna’s defense and the assembly’s approval, Karna delivers a brutal rebuttal. He declares Draupadi lawfully won and, because she has five husbands, a courtesan. He orders Duhshasana to strip the Pandavas and Draupadi.

Hearing Karna's insults and seeing Duryodhana expose his thigh to Draupadi, Bhima is consumed by fury. Restrained by dharma and loyalty to Yudhishthira, he vents his rage verbally and publicly vows to break Duryodhana's thigh in battle.

Moved by Bhima's vows, Arjuna makes his own. He swears a solemn oath that he will kill Karna and all who follow him in battle, and that the Kauravas must return the kingdom in the fourteenth year or face total destruction.

Provoked by Duhshasana's mockery and Duryodhana's cruel imitation of his walk, Bhima publicly swears to kill Duryodhana with a club, drink Duhshasana's blood, and assigns the deaths of Karna and Shakuni to his brothers.

With the Pandavas gone to the forest, Dhritarashtra sits in his palace, consumed by a grief that puzzles his charioteer Sanjaya. The blind king then lays bare the full horror of what happened in the assembly hall — the disrobing, the omens, the warnings he ignored — and admits that his own love for his son has doomed them all.