Chapter 65

“Vrihadaswa said, ‘Having heard the words of the leader of that caravan,Damayanti of faultless limbs proceeded with that caravan itself anxiousto behold her lord.And after having proceeded for many days themerchants saw a large lake fragrant with lotuses in the midst of thatdense and terrible forest. And it was beautiful all over, and exceedinglydelightful, (with banks) abounding in grass and fuel and fruits andflowers. And it was inhabited by various kinds of fowls and birds, andfall of water that was pure and sweet. And it was cool and capable ofcaptivating the heart. And the caravan, worn out with toil, resolved tohalt there. And with the permission of their leader, they spreadthemselves around those beautiful woods. And that mighty caravan findingit was evening halted at that place. And (it came to pass that) at thehour of midnight when everything was hushed and still and the tiredcaravan had fallen asleep, a herd of elephants in going towards amountain stream to drink of its water befouled by their temporal juice,saw that caravan as also the numerous elephants belonging to it. Andseeing their domesticated fellows the wild elephants infuriated and withthe temporal juice trickling down rushed impetuously on the former, withthe intention of killing them. And the force of the rush of thoseelephants was hard to bear, like the impetuosity of peaks lessened frommountain summits rolling towards the plain. The rushing elephants foundthe forest paths to be all blocked up, for the goodly caravan wassleeping obstructing the paths around that lake of lotuses. And theelephants all of a sudden, began to crush the men lying insensible on theground. And uttering cries of ‘Oh!’ and ‘Alas!’ the merchants, blinded bysleep, fled, in order to escape that danger, to copses and woods forrefuge. And some were slain by the tusks, and some by the trunks, andsome by the legs of those elephants. And innumerable camels and horseswere killed, and crowds of men on foot, running in fright, killed oneanother. And uttering loud cries some fell down on the ground, and somein fear climbed on trees, and some dropped down on uneven ground. And, Oking, thus accidentally attacked by that large herd of elephants, thatgoodly caravan suffered a great loss. And there arose a tremendous uproarcalculated to frighten the three worlds, ‘Lo! a great fire hath brokenout. Rescue us.

Do ye speedily fly away. Why do ye fly? Take the heaps of jewelsscattered around. All this wealth is a trifle. I do not speak falsely, ‘Itell you again, (exclaimed some one) think on my words, O ye distractedone!’ With such exclamation they ran about in fright. And Damayanti awokein fear and anxiety, while that terrible slaughter was raging there. Andbeholding slaughter capable of awaking the fear of all the worlds, andwhich was so unforeseen, the damsel of eyes like lotus leaves rose up,wild with fright, and almost out of breath. And those of the caravan thathad escaped unhurt, met together, and asked one another, ‘Of what deed ofours is this the consequence? Surely, we have failed to worship theillustrious Manibhadras, and likewise the exalted and gracefulVaisravana, the king of the Yaksha. Perhaps, we have not worshipped thedeities that cause calamities, or perhaps, we have not paid them thefirst homage. Or, perhaps, this evil is the certain consequence of thebirds (we saw). Our stars are not unpropitious. From what other cause,then hath this disaster come?’ Others, distressed and bereft of wealthand relatives, said, ‘That maniac-like woman who came amongst this mightycaravan in guise that was strange and scarcely human, alas, it is by herthat this dreadful illusion had been pre-arranged. Of a certainty, she isa terrible Rakshasa or a Yaksha or a Pisacha woman. All this evil is herwork, what need of doubts? If we again see that wicked destroyer ofmerchants, that giver of innumerable woes, we shall certainly slay thatinjurer of ours, with stones, and dust, and grass, and wood, and cuffs.’And hearing these dreadful words of the merchants, Damayanti, in terrorand shame and anxiety, fled into the woods apprehensive of evil. Andreproaching herself she said, ‘Alas! fierce and great is the wrath of Godon me. Peace followeth not in my track. Of what misdeed is this theconsequence? I do not remember that I did ever so little a wrong to anyone in thought, word, or deed. Of what deed, then, is this theconsequence? Certainly, it is on account of the great sins I hadcommitted in a former life that such calamity hath befallen me, viz., theloss of my husband’s kingdom, his defeat at the hands of his own kinsmen,this separation from my lord and my son and daughter, this my unprotectedstate, and my presence in this forest abounding in innumerable beasts ofprey!'”

“The next day, O king, the remnant of that caravan left the placebewailing the destruction that had overtaken them and lamenting for theirdead brothers and fathers and sons and friends. And the princess ofVidarbha began to lament, saying, ‘Alas! What misdeed have I perpetrated!The crowd of men that I obtained in this lone forest, hath been destroyedby a herd of elephants, surely as a consequence of my ill luck. Withoutdoubt, I shall have to suffer misery for a long time. I have heard fromold men that no person dieth ere his time; it is for this that mymiserable self hath not been trodden to death by that herd of elephants.Nothing that befalleth men is due to anything else than Destiny, for evenin my childhood I did not commit any such sin in thought, word, or deed,whence might come this calamity. Methinks, I suffer this severance frommy husband through the potency of those celestial Lokapalas, who had cometo the Swayamvara but whom I disregarded for the sake of Nala.’ Bewailingthus, O tiger among kings, that excellent lady, Damayanti, devoted to herhusband, went, oppressed with grief and (pale) as the autumnal moon, withthose Brahmanas versed in the Vedas that had survived the slaughter ofthe caravan. And departing speedily, towards evening, the damsel came tothe mighty city of the truth-telling Suvahu, the king of the Chedis. Andshe entered that excellent city clad in half a garment. And the citizenssaw her as she went, overcome with fear, and lean, melancholy, her hairdishevelled and soiled with dust, and maniac-like. And beholding herenter the city of the king of the Chedis, the boys of the city, fromcuriosity, began to follow her. And surrounded by them, she came beforethe palace of the king. And from the terrace the queen-mother saw hersurrounded by the crowd. And she said to her nurse, ‘Go and bring thatwoman before me. She is forlorn and is being vexed by the crowd. She hathfallen into distress and standeth in need of succour. I find her beautyto be such that it illumineth my house. The fair one, though looking likea maniac, seemeth a very Sree with her large eyes.’ Thus commanded, thenurse went out and dispersing the crowd brought Damayanti to thatgraceful terrace. And struck with wonder, O king, she asked Damayanti,saying, ‘Afflicted though thou art with such distress, thou ownest abeautiful form. Thou shinest like lightning in the midst of the clouds.Tell me who thou art, and whose. O thou possessed of celestial splendour,surely, thy beauty is not human, bereft though thou art of ornaments. Andalthough thou art helpless, yet thou art unmoved under the outrage ofthese men.’ Hearing these words of the nurse, the daughter of Bhima said,Know that I am a female belonging to the human species and devoted to myhusband. I am a serving woman of good lineage. I live wherever I like,subsisting on fruit and roots, and whom a companion, and stay whereevening overtaketh me. My husband is the owner of countless virtues andwas ever devoted to me. And I also, on my part, was deeply attached tohim, following him like his shadow. It chanced that once he becamedesperately engaged at dice. Defeated at dice, he came along into theforest. I accompanied my husband into the woods, comforting the hero cladin a single piece of cloth and maniac-like and overwhelmed with calamity.Once on a time for some cause, that hero, afflicted with hunger andthirst and grief, was forced to abandon that sole piece of covering inthe forest. Destitute of garment and maniac-like and deprived of hissenses as he was, I followed him, myself in a single garment. Followinghim, I did not sleep for nights together. Thus passed many days, until atlast while I was sleeping, he cut off half of my cloth, and forsook mewho had done him no wrong. I am seeking my husband but unable to find himwho is of hue like the filaments of the lotus, without being able to castmy eyes on that delight of my heart, that dear lord who owneth my heartand resembleth the celestials in mien, day and night do I burn in grief.”

“Unto Bhima’s daughter thus lamenting with tearful eyes, and afflictedand speaking in accents choked in grief, the queen-mother herself said,’O blessed damsel, do thou stay with me. I am well pleased with thee. Ofair lady, my men shall search for thy husband. Or, perhaps he may comehere of his own accord in course of his wanderings. And, O beautifullady, residing here thou wilt regain thy (lost) lord.’ Hearing thesewords of the queen mother, Damayanti replied, ‘O mother of heroes, I maystay with thee on certain conditions. I shall not eat the leavings on anydish, nor shall I wash anybody’s feet, nor shall I have to speak withother men. And if anybody shall seek me (as a wife or mistress) he shouldbe liable to punishment at thy hands. And, further, should he solicit meover and over again, that wicked one should be punished with death. Thisis the vow I have made. I intend to have an interview with thoseBrahmanas that will set out to search for my husband. If thou canst doall this, I shall certainly live with thee. If it is otherwise, I cannotfind it in my heart to reside with thee.’ The queen-mother answered herwith a glad heart, saying, ‘I will do all this. Thou hast done well inadopting such a vow!'”

“Vrihadaswa continued, ‘O king, having spoken so unto the daughter ofBhima, the queen-mother, O Bharata, said to her daughter named Sunanda,’O Sunanda, accept this lady like a goddess as thy Sairindhri! Let her bethy companion, as she is of the same age with thee. Do thou, with heartfree from care, always sport with her in joy.’ And Sunanda cheerfullyaccepted Damayanti and led her to her own apartment accompanied by herassociates. And treated with respect, Damayanti was satisfied, and shecontinued to reside there without anxiety of any kind, for all her wisheswere duly gratified.'”