Adi Parva — Section 2 of 2 in this original, condensed prose retelling of the eighteen-parva Mahabharata.
Pandu’s five sons and Dhritarashtra’s hundred sons grow up in the same royal world yet compete for status. The Pandavas face danger in the house of lac and escape. Arjuna wins Draupadi’s hand in a contest; she becomes wife to the five brothers in the epic tradition. The Pandavas eventually establish Indraprastha and build a remarkable court.
Read this episode in sequence with the other parvas to understand the full storyline, including its moral ambiguity and tragic consequences.