Charles Augustus Kincaid

“ The king went back to Damayanti and said in his grief, "O Queen, it is useless any longer to stay with one who is the victim of ill fortune. The dice in the guise of birds have spoiled me of my loin cloth, my sole possession. Do you, therefore, go back to Vidarbha and live with King Bhima and leave me to suffer alone." But the queen smiled bravely at him. "Nay, O King," she said, "it is because you have fallen on evil days that I cannot leave you. For, in times of trouble, there is no such remedy as a wife's love. ”

“ And getting ready their heavenly chariots, they too set forth to join the heroes who thronged Vidarbha, hoping that they might win Damayanti's favour. As the chariots sped through the air, the gods saw King Nala walking on the earth below them. Such was his stature and so superb was his bearing, that the hearts of the four gods sank within them. "Immortals though we be," they murmured, "our beauty pales before that of King Nala. If he is our rival we cannot hope that Damayanti will pass him by for one of us." Then they drove their cars to earth and alighted close to where Nala walked. ”

“ At first he feared for his daughter's health. Then he thought to himself, "She is now a grown woman. Let us bestir ourselves about her marriage." And at once he set himself to prepare for Damayanti's Swayamvara. To all the courts of India he sent heralds and in each court the heralds proclaimed, "O Kings and Heroes, King Bhima of Vidarbha will hold the Swayamvara of Damayanti. Then she will choose the bravest and fairest youth in India to be her husband. Come therefore and win, if you may, the hand of the loveliest princess in all the world." ”

“ Are you a mortal woman or are you, as we think, a spirit from the forest come to do us harm?" "No," said Damayanti sadly smiling, "I am no evil spirit but the daughter of a king. I seek my husband Nala King of the Nishadas. Tell me, fair sir, whether by any chance you have seen him," "O Queen," said the leader of the merchants, "I have met neither King Nala nor any other man in this forest; for only wild elephants and lions and other beasts of prey live here." ”

“ Then the two brothers began once more to dice. And Nala by means of the knowledge he had learnt from King Rituparna soon defeated Pushkara, who thus lost in a few moments not only the kingdom which he had won, but his life. And King Nala said to him with a laugh, "Now that you are a slave, Pushkara, do you still hope to win Damayanti's love?" Then he paused and his heart melted towards his brother. "Pushkara," he said softly, "it was not you but Kali who worked my ruin. I shall not punish you for another's fault. You are a free man and I shall give you as before a younger brother's portion." ”

“ When the swan had led Damayanti into a hidden corner of the garden, it let Damayanti catch it and then spoke to her with human speech. "Fair princess," said the golden swan, "in the kingdom of the Nishadas lives the handsomest prince in all the world. On my powerful pinions I often cross over the earth and sometimes even enter the skies of heaven. But never have I seen a youth either mortal or immortal who can compare in beauty with Nala, King of the Nishadas. ”

“ Then the proud blood of Aryan kings boiled in the queen's veins and from heaven she called down on the hunter a fearful curse. "If it be true," she cried, "that I have never given a thought to any man save only my husband, King Nala, may the gods strike this wretch dead at my feet." The Immortals heard her prayer and as she spoke a great flame shot down from heaven and enveloped the hunter. Damayanti, blinded by the flame, turned her eyes away. ”

“ There hungry and thirsty they flung themselves down on the ground. And the queen, worn out with fatigue and sorrow, fell into a deep slumber. But King Nala's mind was so troubled that sleep would not come to him. For a time he tossed about restlessly. Then the wicked god Kali, who possessed him, tempted him to rise and go out, leaving his wife alone in the wayside inn. "To take her with me," said the hapless king, "is but to take her to her death. If I leave her she will make her way to Vidarbha where King Bhima will lavish on her all she needs." ”

“ And I tell you truly that your grief shall pass away and that you shall once more be joined to your noble husband Nala King of the Nishadas." Damayanti rose and was about to thank the sage from the bottom of her heart. When lo! before her eyes, the gardens smiling with blossoms and the orchards laden with fruit, the laughing stream and the huts shaded by leafy trees vanished. And she stood once more alone in the heart of the forest. The queen rubbed her eyes, for she could scarcely believe them. "Where are those kind old men?" she asked herself. ”

“ On reaching the chief city, he sent word to his brother Pushkara that he had earned vast wealth and wished again to dice with him. On hearing the message Pushkara received King Nala and asked him what he would stake on the throw of the dice. "Let your stake" answered King Nala, "be your kingdom and your life. My stake shall be my wealth and my peerless queen, Damayanti. And if you do not care for such high stakes, take your bow and arrows and let us fight each other in the open plain outside the city." ”

“ Many of the merchants perished and some of those who escaped abused Damayanti as an evil spirit and the cause of their ill fortune. The queen, fearing for her life, left them and fled into the forest. There she met some Brahmans, for the merchants had come near to the city of Suvahu, King of the Chedis. The Brahmans led her to the gates of the city, and she entered it. But her hair was loose, her single garment hardly held together, and her face was worn with grief and hardship. And as she walked through the streets, the children, thinking her a mad woman, ran after her and mocked her. ”

“ If he wants fire he holds up grass in the sun's rays and instantly it is ablaze. Once I saw him take flowers in his hand and crush them. But the flowers instead of fading grew more beautiful and had a richer perfume than before." But Damayanti was not yet satisfied. "O Keshini," she said, "go to the kitchen and bring me some of the food which Vahuka has cooked for King Rituparna"; and Keshini did so. And Damayanti, for whom Nala had often cooked dishes in the past, recognized the mode of cooking as King Nala's. ”

“ For he is the loveliest youth in all the land of the Aryas." With these words Indra and the three gods with him went on, leaving Kali and Dwapara silent. But the fury of Kali burnt fiercely within him and a few moments later he said, "O Dwapara, I cannot suffer that Nala enjoy the beauty of Damayanti. I shall enter into him and possess him. And I shall drive him forth from his kingdom, and from the arms of his bride. Thus all men shall know that it is evil to slight the Immortals."
Then Kali turned from Vidarbha and went to the country of the Nishadas. ”

“ Then Damayanti, still uncertain whether Vahuka was her husband, bade Keshini watch him closely and learn whether he shewed any signs of royal origin; and for several days Keshini watched Vahuka closely. Then going to Damayanti she said, "Vahuka must indeed be a king, for he masters even the elements themselves. If he comes to a door too small for him to pass through erect, he does not stoop. But the door, to do him honour, grows higher. If he wants water, he merely looks at his water vessels and they instantly fill with water. ”

“ For Damayanti, daughter of King Bhima is once more about to hold a Swayamwara. And all the Aryan heroes are thronging to it. For her husband King Nala has fled away and no one knows whether he is alive or dead.'"
Sudeva bowed and departed. Soon he reached the city of Ayodhya and there gave Damayanti's message to King Rituparna. The king at once decided to go to Vidarbha, for the fame of Damayanti's beauty had spread over all the earth. Immediately he bade Vahuka harness the fastest horses in his stables that he might hurry with all speed to the Swayamwara of Queen Damayanti. ”

“ And she prayed so earnestly that the four gods pitied her and said to themselves, "Truly the maid loves Nala and in her heart there is no room for another. Let her then choose him and have her will." Her prayer finished, Damayanti looked again at the five Nalas in front of her and she saw that the feet of four of them did not rest on the ground and that no sign of dust or heat was to be seen on their bodies. ”

“ For three whole nights and days she wandered, her feet leading her to the North. At last she saw stretched in front of her gardens full of beautiful flowers and orchards laden with beautiful fruit. And by rivulets that flashed in the golden sunlight, there rose huts made of leaves and branches. ”

“ But King Nala longed to return to his kingdom, the country of the Nishadas. For he had learnt the whole art of dicing from King Rituparna. And he knew that if he gambled again with Pushkara he would certainly recover all he had lost from him. So he took leave of King Bhima, and with a small escort started again for the country of the Nishadas. ”

“ When he had come she said, "O Varshanaya, the king has always treated you with kindness and honour. Now do you in return shew kindness to me. Harness a chariot and a team of swift horses, and take my son Indrasena and my daughter Indrasena to the palace of my father Bhima, King of Vidarbha. ”