Chapter 62
“Nala said, ‘Surely, thy father’s kingdom is as my own. But thither Iwill not, by any means, repair in this extremity. Once I appeared therein glory, increasing thy joy. How can I go there now in misery,augmenting thy grief?’
“Vrihadaswa continued, ‘Saying this again and again unto Damayanti, kingNala, wrapped in half a garment, comforted his blessed wife. And bothattired in one cloth and wearied with hunger and thirst, in course oftheir wanderings, at last they came to a sheltered shed for travellers.And arrived at this place, the king of the Nishadhas sat down on the bareearth with the princes of Vidarbha. And wearing the same piece of cloth(with Damayanti), and dirty, and haggard, and stained with dust, he fellasleep with Damayanti on the ground in weariness. And suddenly plunged indistress, the innocent and delicate Damayanti with every mark of goodfortune, fell into a profound slumber. And, O monarch, while she slept,Nala, with heart and mind distraught, could not slumber calmly as before.And reflecting on the loss of his kingdom, the desertion of his friends,and his distress in the woods, he thought with himself, ‘What availeth myacting thus? And what if I act not thus? Is death the better for me now?Or should I desert my wife? She is truly devoted to me and suffereth thisdistress for my sake. Separated from me, she may perchance wander to herrelatives. Devoted as she is to me, if she stayeth with me, distress willsurely be hers; while it is doubtful, if I desert her. On the other hand,it is not unlikely that she may even have happiness some time.’Reflecting upon this repeatedly, and thinking of it again and again, heconcluded, O monarch, that the desertion of Damayanti was the best coursefor him. And he also thought, ‘Of high fame and auspicious fortune, anddevoted to me, her husband, she is incapable of being injured by any oneon the way on account of her energy.’ Thus his mind that was influencedby the wicked Kali, dwelling upon Damayanti, was made up for desertingher. And then thinking of his own want of clothing, and of her being cladin a single garment, he intended to cut off for himself one half ofDamayanti’s attire. And he thought, ‘How shall I divide this garment, sothat my beloved one may not perceive?’ And thinking of this, the royalNala began to walk up and down that shed. And, O Bharata, pacing thus toand fro, he found a handsome sword lying near the shed, unsheathed. Andthat repressor of foes, having, with that sword cut off one half of thecloth, and throwing the instrument away, left the daughter of Vidharbhainsensible in her sleep and went away. But his heart failing him, theking of the Nishadhas returned to the shed, and seeing Damayanti (again),burst into tears. And he said, ‘Alas! that beloved one of mine whomneither the god of wind nor the sun had seen before, even she sleepethto-day on the bare earth, like one forlorn. Clad in this severed piece ofcloth, and lying like one distracted, how will the beauteous one ofluminous smiles behave when she awaketh? How will the beautiful daughterof Bhima, devoted to her lord, all alone and separated from me, wanderthrough these deep woods inhabited by beasts and serpents? O blessed one,may the Adityas and the Vasus, and the twin Aswins together with theMarutas protect thee, thy virtue being thy best guard.’ And addressingthus his dear wife peerless on earth in beauty, Nala strove to go, reftof reason by Kali. Departing and still departing, king Nala returnedagain and again to that shed, dragged away by Kali but drawn back bylove. And it seemed as though the heart of the wretched king was rent intwain, and like a swing, he kept going out from cabin and coming backinto it. At length after lamenting long and piteously, Nala stupefied andbereft of sense by Kali went away, forsaking that sleeping wife of his.Reft of reason through Kali’s touch, and thinking of his conduct, theking departed in sorrow, leaving his, wife alone in that solitaryforest.'”
