The story begins with Bhishma, the son of Shantanu and Ganga, taking his oath of celibacy to

convince Satyavati to marry his father Shantanu, the king of Hastinapura. Shantanu and

Satyavati marry and have 2 children - Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. Both die without any
children, but Veda Vyasa, the son of Satyavati prior her marriage is requested to impregnate
Vichitravirya's 2 wives Ambika and Ambalika. Besides the queen Vyasa also impregnates a
maid. Soon, Ambika gives birth to Dhritarashtra, born blind, Ambalika gives birth to Pandu, born
pale and Parashrami gives birth to Vidura.
25 years later, Dhritarashtra is married to Gandhari, the princess of Gandhara Kingdom; because
of her boon of bearing a hundred sons. After knowing her would-be-husband is blind she decided
to blindfold herself to share her husband's pain. This angers Shakuni, the brother of Gandhari,
and he vows to destroy Bhishma, as it was him who had brought the proposal for Gandhari's
marriage. Dhritarashtra is denied the throne for being blind, and the throne is given to Pandu.
Pandu marries Kunti, a princess of Kunti Kingdom and Madri of Madra Kingdom. Pandu is later
cursed by Sage Kindama, that he will die if he attempts to impregnate his wives. Pandu,
heartbroken, renounces the kingdom with his 2 wives. After this Dhritarashtra becomes de-facto
king of Hastinapur.
Kunti uses her boon, given to her by Sage Durvasa, to invoke gods of her choice and obtain
children from them. She begets Yudhishthira from Yama (the god of death and
righteousness), Bhima from Vayu (the god of wind) and Arjuna from Indra (the king of the gods).
She also chants the boon for Madri, and Madri obtains twins - Nakula and Sahadeva - from
the Ashwini Kumaras. Gandhari gives birth to a lump of flesh after being pregnant for nearly 18
months, and but the lump of flesh is cut in 101 pieces by veda vyasa, and these pieces are
transformed into children - the 100 Kauravas and Dushala - by the sage Vyasa.
Years pass, and the Kauravas grow up to be evil, led by their eldest brother Duryodhana, who is
highly influenced by his uncle Shakuni contrary to Pandavas who are righteous. Pandavas return
to Hastinapur with Kunti, after the death of Pandu and Madri. All princes are sent to study
to Dronacharya
Years pass, and the princes return to Hastinapur, where they are engaged into a competition of
showcasing their skills. Arjuna wins the competition, but Karna, son of a charioteer, gatecrashes
the competition and challenges Arjuna. Kunti realizes that Karna is her son whom she had
obtained from Surya, the Sun God, long before marriage. Arjuna, in between, also befriends Lord
Krishna, his cousin (Lord Krishna's father was Vasudev, brother of Kunti) and King of Dwarka.
The Kaurava along with Karna tries to kill the Pandavas, but the Pandavas save themselves.
Pandavas force themselves into exile, pretending to be dead. Bheema marries Hidimba, an
ogress, and the couple begets a son, Ghatotkacha. The Pandavas then together
marry Draupadi, the princess of Panchala, born from fire. The Pandavas return to Hastinapur and
justify their polyandry. Soon, the Kuru Kingdom is divided - The Pandavas get a new kingdom
- Khandavprastha. Arjuna destroys the Khandava. They renovate the town, and rename it
as Indraprastha. Prosperity of Indraprastha angered Duryodhana. A jealous Duryodhana
summons Pandavas for a dice game, where Yudhishthira lost his kingdom, brothers and their
common wife. Draupadi is dragged and humiliated in open-court, however Krishna saves her
honour at the end. The Pandavas and Draupadi, as a result of losing, are forced into a 12-year
exile and a year of incognito. After excile Pandavas reunite with their children -
the Upapandavas (the 5 sons of Draupadi) and Abhimanyu (the son of Arjuna and Subhadra).
Abhimanyu is married to Uttaraa, the daughter of King Virata and Queen Sudeshna.
The Pandavas' peace treaty with the Kauravas fails to materialise, hence confirming that a war
will happen. Both, the Pandavas and Kauravas, gather their respective armies by allying with
different tribes and kingdoms.
Just before the Kurukshetra War, Arjuna obtains the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita from
Krishna. The war begins and continues for 18 days - both the sides face mass destruction. The
Pandavas and Kauravas lose all of their sons, in-laws and allies, and the war officially ends after
Duryodhana, the only remaining Kaurava, is killed by Bhima. Ashwatthama - Duryodhana's friend
- raids the Pandava camp at night - and kills many soldiers, Dhrishtadyumna (the brother of
Draupadi and the CIC of the Pandavas) and the Upapandavas while they are sleeping.
Ashwatthama also unsuccessfully tries to kill Uttaraa's unborn baby, but the baby is revived, and
named as Parikshit by Krishna. Krishna also curses Ashwatthama for his heinous act. Gandhari
curses Krishna for letting the war happen as she lost all of her sons and grandsons. The show
ends, after Yudhishthira is finally crowned by Krishna, as the king of Hastinapur.