When Kindness Is Met With Cruelty

The Pandavas' history with Duryodhana begins in childhood and is one long record of good faith met badly — the house of lac, the poisoning of Bhima, the invitation to a game that was never a game. Nothing they extend is reciprocated, and the epic is unsentimental about it.

What it does not conclude is that kindness was the mistake. Yudhishthira's willingness to keep negotiating is criticised inside the story by his own family, and the text leaves the argument open rather than settling it.