Chapter 57

“Vrihadaswa continued, ‘Then at the sacred hour of the holy lunar day ofthe auspicious season, king Bhima summoned the kings to the Swayamvara.And hearing of it, all the lords of earth smit with love speedily camethither, desirous of (possessing) Damayanti. And the monarchs entered theamphitheatre decorated with golden pillars and a lofty portal arch, likemighty lions entering the mountain wilds. And those lords of earth deckedwith fragrant garlands and polished ear-rings hung with jewels seatedthemselves on their several seats. And that sacred assembly of Kings,graced by those tigers among men, resembled the Bhogavati swarming withthe Nagas, or a mountain cavern with tigers. And their arms were robust,and resembling iron maces, and well-shaped, and graceful, and lookinglike five-headed snakes. And graced with beautiful locks and fine nosesand eyes and brows, the countenance of the kings shone like stars in thefirmament. And (when the time came), Damayanti of beauteous face,stealing the eyes and hearts of the princes by her dazzling light,entered the hall. And the glances of those illustrious kings wererivetted to those parts of her person where they had chanced to fallfirst, without moving at all. And when, O Bharata, the names of themonarchs were proclaimed, the daughter of Bhima saw five persons allalike in appearance. And beholding them seated there, without differenceof any kind in form, doubt filled her mind, and she could not ascertainwhich of them was king Nala. And at whomsoever (among them) she looked,she regarded him to be the king of the Nishadhas. And filled withanxiety, the beauteous one thought within herself, ‘Oh, how shall Idistinguish the celestials, and how discern the royal Nala?’ And thinkingthus, the daughter of Vidarbha became filled with grief. And, O Bharata,recollecting the marks belonging to the celestials, of which she hadheard, she thought, ‘Those attributes of the celestials, of which I haveheard from the aged, do not pertain to any of these deities present hereupon the earth.’ And revolving the matter long in her mind, andreflecting upon it repeatedly, she decided upon seeking the protection ofthe gods themselves. And bowing down unto them with mind and speech, withfolded hands, she addressed them trembling, ‘Since I heard the speech ofthe swans, I chose the king of the Nishadhas as my lord. For the sake oftruth, O, let the gods reveal him to me. And as in thought or word I havenever swerved from him, O, let the gods, for the sake of that truth,reveal him to me. And as the gods themselves have destined the ruler ofthe Nishadhas to be my lord, O, let them, for the sake of that truth,reveal him to me. And as it is for paying homage unto Nala that I haveadopted this vow, for the sake of that truth, O, let the gods reveal himunto me, O, let the exalted guardians of the worlds assume their ownproper forms, so that I may know the righteous king.’ Hearing thesepiteous words of Damayanti, and ascertaining her fixed resolve, andfervent love for the king of Nishadhas, the purity of her heart and herinclination and regard and affection for Nala, the gods did as they hadbeen adjured, and assumed their respective attributes as best they could.And thereupon she beheld the celestials unmoistened with perspiration,with winkless eyes, and unfading garlands, unstained with dust, andstaying without touching the ground. And Naishadha stood revealed to hisshadow, his fading garlands, himself stained with dust and sweat, restingon the ground with winking eyes. And, O Bharata, discerning the gods andthe virtuous Nala the daughter of Bhima chose Naishadha according to hertruth. And the large-eyed damsel then bashfully caught the hem of hisgarment and placed round his neck a floral wreath of exceeding grace. Andwhen that fair-complexioned maiden had thus chosen Nala for her husband,the kings suddenly broke out into exclamations of Oh! and Alas! And, OBharata, the gods and the great Rishis in wonder cried Excellent!Excellent!, applauding the king the while. And, O Kauravya, the royal sonof Virasena, with heart filled with gladness, comforted the beauteousDamayanti, saying, ‘Since thou, O blessed one, hast chosen a mortal inthe presence of the celestials, know me for a husband even obedient tothy command. And, O thou of sweet smiles, truly do I tell thee this thatas long as life continueth in this body of mine, I will remain thine andthine alone. Damayanti also, with folded hands paid homage unto Nala inwords of like import. And the happy pair beholding Agni and the othergods mentally sought their protection. And after the daughter of Bhimahad chosen Naishadha as her husband, the Lokapalas of exceedingeffulgence with pleased hearts, bestowed on Nala eight boons. And Sakra,the lord of Sachi, bestowed on Nala the boon that he should be able tobehold his godship in sacrifices and that he should attain to blessedlegions thereafter, and Hutasana bestowed on him the boon of his ownpresence whenever Naishadha wished, and regions also bright as himself.And Yama granted him subtle taste in food as well as pre-eminence invirtue. And the lord of waters granted Nala his own presence whenever hedesired, and also garlands of celestial fragrance. And thus each of thembestowed upon him a couple of boons. And having bestowed these the godswent to heaven. And the kings also, having witnessed with wonderDamayanti’s selection of Nala, returned delighted whence they had come.And on the departure of those mighty monarchs, the high-souled Bhima,well pleased, celebrated the wedding of Nala and Damayanti. And havingstayed there for a time according to his desire, Naishadha, the best ofmen, returned to his own city with the permission of Bhima. And havingattained that pearl of a woman, the virtuous king, O monarch, began topass his days in joy, like the slayer of Vala and Vritra in the companyof Sachi. And resembling the sun in glory, the king, full of gladness,began to rule his subjects righteously, and give them great satisfaction.And like unto Yayati, the son of Nahusha, that intelligent monarchcelebrated the horse sacrifice and many other sacrifices with abundantgifts to Brahmanas. And like unto a very god, Nala sported with Damayantiin romantic woods and groves. And the high-minded king begat uponDamayanti a son named Indrasena, and a daughter named Indrasena. Andcelebrating sacrifice, and sporting (with Damayanti) thus, the king ruledthe earth abounding in wealth.'”