"Wisest of men, this is the third time I have tested you. You chose to remain in hell for the sake of your brothers. It is inevitable that kings and rulers must go through hell if only for a while. So it was that for the thirtieth part of a day you too were doomed to suffer the pangs of hell." MB 106 (Mahabharata Retold By C. Rajagopalachari)
A little while ago I read and recorded a simple version of the Mahabharata by C. Rajagopalachari. There are about 100 short chapters. it is an abbreviated version. The original Mahabharata is very very long. But it is written very nicely and fairly easy to understand and follow. the Mahabharata is actually a history of ancient India. Five thousand years ago there was a world war in which all the leaders of the civilized world were killed. Millions of soldiers died also. When they fought it was in a designated area, not like today where the civilians are attacked. Only the soldiers fought. the entire world changed dramatically. The way governments worked etc. It was turning point in human civilization. They also had nuclear weapons but the weapons were launched by mantras. They had weather weapons also. But their sciences were more subtly controlled, mostly by sound. But no less effective. Just a different type of science. I hope you find this series interesting and valuable and it helps to broaden your horizons.
The text can be found here:
http://www.krishnapath.org/library/mahabharata-free-download/