On the throne of Hastinapura, the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan, the two collateral branches of the family are involved in the struggle for the throne.
Although the Kaurava are the eldest branch of the family, Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava, is younger than Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava. The struggle culminates in the great battle of Kurukshetra, in which the Pandavas are victorious. The battle produces complex conflicts of kinship and friendship, with examples of family loyalty and duty taking precedence over what is right, as well as the other way around.