With Bhishma standing as the unbreakable pillar of the state, Satyavati's sons take the throne, but they die young and childless. To save the Kuru dynasty from extinction, the sage Vyasa is summoned to perform Niyoga (a ritual for procreation) with the widowed queens. The results are a reflection of the mothers' internal states. Ambika closes her eyes in fear of Vyasa's terrifying ascetic appearance; her son, Dhritarashtra, is born blind. Ambalika turns pale with fright; her son, Pandu, is born sickly and pale.
As they grow, the dynamic is clear: Dhritarashtra has the strength of a hundred elephants but lacks the sight to lead. Pandu is energetic and skilled in archery, eventually being crowned King because a blind man cannot rule under ancient law. This slight becomes the foundational rot of the Kuru family. Dhritarashtra simmers in resentment, comforted only by his wife, Gandhari, who voluntarily blinds herself with a silk cloth to share her husband's darkness.
Meanwhile, Pandu marries Kunti and Madri. While hunting, he accidentally kills a sage who was in the form of a deer. With his dying breath, the sage curses Pandu: "The moment you approach a woman with desire, you shall die." Devastated, Pandu retreats to the forest with his wives, leaving the administration of the kingdom back in the hands of his blind brother.
In the silence of the forest, Kunti reveals a secret. Long ago, she received a mantra to summon any god and bear their child. One by one, the gods descend. Dharmraj gives her Yudhisthira; Vayu gives her the mighty Bhima; Indra gives her Arjuna. Madri uses the mantra to summon the Ashwini twins, giving birth to Nakula and Sahadeva.
While the five "Pandavas" grow up in the purity of the forest, back in the smoky halls of Hastinapur, Gandhari has given birth to a lump of flesh that, when divided into a hundred jars, begins to pulse with a dark, vengeful life.