The work presents in a condensed narrative form certain portions from the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata-purana.
The book treats of the fluctuating fortunes of the Pandavas, after eluding the Kauravas' murderous machinations; of Sri Krishna's pivotal role in the rising prosperity of the Pandavas; and of the unhappy circumstances under which the Pandavas, being obliged by Kshatradharma to accept twice the Kauravas' evil challenge at dice-play, lay and lose a vital wager, and repair to the forest in order to pass through a painful stipulated period of twelve-year exile and one year stay in some inhabited place, preserving their incognito.