If there ever was an epic that has touched upon every conceivable human emotion and posed the most complex questions it has to be the Mahabharata, the story of a great war fought in the name of dharma. The rivalry between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, royal first cousins who fought for the throne at Hastinapura ended in the war at Kurukshetra. Was it the eldest Kaurava brother Duryodhana's resentment towards his cousins that sparked the flame? Or was it the eldest Pandava Yudhishtira's belief that he was the rightful heir to the throne? Or was it the force of the elements beyond their control that nudged them towards a pre-ordained path? The majestic Karna, abandoned by his mother Kunti and wronged by fate, makes his entry. Duryodhana gains an ally in Karna who ironically is the eldest Pandava. In the first of this three-part series, meet the many characters who played their parts big and small in escalating the tension between the sons of two royal brothers.