Chapter 59

“Vrihadaswa said, ‘Having made this compact with Dwapara, Kali came tothe place where the king of the Nishadhas was. And always watching for ahole, he continued to dwell in the country of the Nishadhas for a longtime. And it was in the twelfth year that Kali saw a hole. For one dayafter answering the call of nature, Naishadha touching water said histwilight prayers, without having previously washed his feet. And it wasthrough this (omission) that Kali entered his person. And havingpossessed Nala, he appeared before Pushkara, and addressed him, saying,’Come and play at dice with Nala. Through my assistance thou wilt surelywin at the play. And defeating king Nala and acquiring his kingdom, dothou rule the Nishadhas.’ Thus exhorted by Kali, Pushkara went to Nala.And Dwapara also approached Pushkara, becoming the principal die calledVrisha. And appearing before the warlike Nala, that slayer of hostileheroes, Pushkara, repeatedly said, ‘Let us play together with dice.’ Thuschallenged in the presence of Damayanti, the lofty-minded king could notlong decline it. And he accordingly fixed the time for the play. Andpossessed by Kali, Nala began to lose, in the game, his stakes in gold,and silver, and cars with the teams thereof, and robes. And maddened atdice, no one amongst his friends could succeed in dissuading thatrepresser of foes from the play that went on. And thereupon, O Bharata,the citizens in a body, with the chief councillors, came thither tobehold the distressed monarch and make him desist. And the charioteercoming to Damayanti spake to her of this, saying, ‘O lady, the citizensand officers of the state wait at the gate. Do thou inform the king ofthe Nishadhas that the citizens have come here, unable to bear thecalamity that hath befallen their king conversant with virtue andwealth.’ Thereupon Bhima’s daughter, overwhelmed with grief and almostdeprived of reason by it, spake unto Nala in choked accents, ‘O king, thecitizens with the councillors of state, urged by loyalty, stay at thegate desirous of beholding thee. It behoveth thee to grant them aninterview.’ But the king, possessed by Kali, uttered not a word in replyunto his queen of graceful glances, uttering thus her lamentations. Andat this, those councillors of state as also the citizens, afflicted withgrief and shame, returned to their homes, saying, ‘He liveth not.’ And, OYudhishthira, it was thus that Nala and Pushkara gambled together formany months, the virtuous Nala being always worsted.'”