Abridged and adapted with a hefty dose of realism that brings the myths and legends into the world of reality.
Is Yudhishthira, the first-born Pandava, the rightful heir to the Hastinapura throne?
Is Duryodhana, the first-born Kaurava, the usurper?
Forget Karna, for there is a prince born even before him!
Alagan's first book of his Mahabharata trilogy hints of a third prince who has a solid claim to the throne; a prince who could have averted the Kurukshetra War.
Unlike the Pandavas, Kunti and Madri did not conceive the third prince, and he was not born to the gods. And unlike the Kauravas, Gandhari's boon from Lord Shiva did not produce the third prince.
He was born to mortal parents.
Even Vyasa, author of Mahabharata, his family epic, speaks of the third prince but only in passing; ignores his right to the throne; giving credence to the claim that the victors write history.
But that does not alter the truth.
Who was the true first-born prince?
There is a hint of him in Book One, Mahabharata: The Beginning. See if you can spot him.
Mahabharata (trilogy)
The Beginning (Book 1)
Dice Game & Exile (Book 2)
Kurukshetra War (Book 3)