MahabharataVana Parva: The book of the forest
Vana Parva of the Mahabharata (the book of the forest): a summary in plain words, book 3 of 18.
The Pandavas, with Draupadi, spend twelve years in the forest. It is a very long book, full of stories told to console them, including the tales of Nala and Damayanti, Savitri and Satyavan, and a short version of the Ramayana. Arjuna goes to the Himalaya, pleases Shiva and wins the Pashupata weapon, and visits the heaven of Indra. Yudhishthira is tested at a lake by a yaksha, who is in fact Dharma, his father, with a series of questions; he answers them and wins the life of his brothers.
This is book 3 of the eighteen parvas of the Mahabharata. See all eighteen and the characters.
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A retelling in our own words of a story told in many ways across India and Asia. Tellers differ on many episodes. It is not a scholarly translation.