Bhishma, Dronacharya, and Vidur called a meeting to designate the next king, in place of Dhritarashtra. Two options were discussed. First, Yudhisthir being the eldest of the Kuru princes was considered for nomination. Second view, supported by Dhritarashtra and his brother-in-law Shakuni (brother of his wife queen Gandhari and maternal uncle of Duryodhan) was to select Duryodhan as the future king. But the opinion of Bhishma, Dronacharya, Kripacharya (Guru of the Royal House), and Vidur of nominating Yudhisthir as the heir-apparent prevailed.

Jealous Duryodhan plans to kill Pandavs

This naturally caused huge disappointment in Duryodhan's camp. Uncle Shakuni was well known for his villainous nature and cunning. He was displeased with the fact that his nephew Duryodhan was denied the chance to become the king.

For this purpose in particular, he had come to stay at Hastinapur. He was well aware of the value and power of a king. Therefore, he lost no opportunity to humiliate and even to attempt to kill the pandavs.

Soon the desired opportunity came to the evil minded Duryodhan and Shakuni to put an end to pandavs.

Palace of Lac (combustible material)

In nearby town of Varnavat, a grand exhibition used to be arranged every year. The organizers always sent an invitation to the King of Hastinapur to send some members of Royal Family to grace the occasion. This time, Duryodhan and Shakuni persuaded Dhritarashtra to send Pandavs to Varnavat.

The king agreed, and accordingly Pandavs were informed. Yudhisthir and brothers were also happy to get the opportunity to mix with the people of their kingdom and get first hand information about their problems or wellbeing.

Therefore, accompanied by their mother, Kunti, Pandavs decided to attend the exhibition at Varnavat.

As was customary, the organizers decided to build a temporary palatial house for their stay. The job was entrusted to one expert contractor whom Shakuni knew very well. Bribing the fellow, Duryodhan and Shakuni deliberated a secret plan to put an end to the life of pandavs.

It was decided that the palace that would house the Pandavs should be constructed out of highly inflammable material like Lac, resins, hemp, oil, fat, etc. The contractor completed his job very meticulously and it was not possible to detect any foul play from cursory outward examination of the house.

Duryodhan and uncle Shakuni arranged to send their secret agent in the guise of a servant who was instructed to put the house on fire when Pandavs would be fast asleep. Death due to burns would appear as an accident.

This plan was sure to succeed had the spies of Vidur( the Prime Minister and well wisher of pandavs) not told Vidur about the same. Vidur, on his part, alerted the Pandavs about the 'death trap' and a solution was offered in the form of digging an underground tunnel in advance to fool the Kauravas. The tunnel opened in far-off forest.

The house was torched as planned and it burnt to ashes within no time. Pandavs had already left through the tunnel, but five workers and servants were charred to death. Everyone, including Karna, took Pandavs to be dead.

The narrow escape put Kunti in a state of shock and apprehension. She could not put her sons at the mercy of Duryodhan and Shakuni. She was afraid they would again make an attempt on their lives. Therefore, she pleaded with her sons to live incognito for the time being.

Accordingly, they stayed in the forest for a few days.