Chapter 63

Vrihadaswa said, “O king, after Nala had gone away, the beauteousDamayanti, now refreshed, timorously awoke in that lonely forest. And Omighty monarch, not finding her lord Naishadha, afflicted with grief andpain, she shrieked aloud in fright, saying, ‘O lord? O mighty monarch! Ohusband, dost thou desert me? Oh, I am lost and undone, frightened inthis desolate place. O illustrious prince, thou art truthful in speech,and conversant with morality. How hast thou then, having pledged thyword, deserted me asleep in the woods? Oh, why hast thou deserted thyaccomplished wife, even devoted to thee, particularly one that hath notwronged thee, though wronged thou hast been by others? O king of men, itbehoveth thee to act faithfull, according to those words thou hadstspoken unto me before in the presence of the guardians of the worlds. Obull among men, that thy wife liveth even a moment after thy desertion ofher, is only because mortals are decreed to die at the appointed time. Obull among men, enough of this joke! O irrepressible one, I am terriblyfrightened. O lord, show thyself. I see thee! I see thee, o king! Thouart seen, O Naishadha, Hiding thyself behind those shrubs, why dost thounot reply unto me? It is cruel of thee, O great king, that seeing me inthis plight and so lamenting, thou dost not, O king, approach and comfortme. I grieve not for myself, nor for anything else. I only grieve tothink how thou wilt pass thy days alone, O king. In the evening oppressedwith hunger and thirst and fatigue, underneath the trees, how wilt ittake with thee when thou seest me not?’ And then Damayanti, afflictedwith anguish and burning with grief, began to rush hither and thither,weeping in woe. And now the helpless princess sprang up, and now she sankdown in stupor; and now she shrank in terror, and now she wept and wailedaloud. And Bhima’s daughter devoted to her husband, burning in anguishand sighing ever more, and faint and weeping exclaimed, ‘That beingthrough whose imprecation the afflicted Naishadha suffereth this woe,shall bear grief that is greater than ours. May that wicked being whohath brought Nala of sinless heart this, lead a more miserable lifebearing greater ills.’

“Thus lamenting, the crowned consort of the illustrious (king) began toseek her lord in those woods, inhabited by beasts of prey. And thedaughter of Bhima, wailing bitterly, wandered hither and thither like amaniac, exclaiming, ‘Alas! Alas! Oh king!’ And as she was wailing loudlylike a female osprey, and grieving and indulging in piteous lamentationsunceasingly, she came near a gigantic serpent. And that huge and hungryserpent thereupon suddenly seized Bhima’s daughter, who had come near andwas moving about within its range. And folded within serpent’s coils andfilled with grief, she still wept, not for herself but for Naishadha. Andshe said ‘O lord, why dost thou not rush towards me, now that I amseized, without anybody to protect me, by this serpent in these desertwilds? And, O Naishadha, how will it fare with thee when thou rememberestme? O lord, why hast thou gone away, deserting me today in the forest?Free from thy course, when thou wilt have regained thy mind and sensesand wealth, how will it be with thee when thou thinkest of me? ONaishadha, O sinless one, who will soothe thee when thou art weary, andhungry, and fainting, O tiger among kings?’ And while she was wailingthus, a certain huntsman ranging the deep woods, hearing herlamentations, swiftly came to the spot. And beholding the large-eyed onein the coils of the serpent, he rushed towards it and cut off its headwith his sharp weapon. And having struck the reptile dead, the huntsmanset Damayanti free. And having sprinkled her body with water and fed andcomforted her. O Bharata, he addressed her saying, ‘O thou with eyes likethose of a young gazelle, who art thou? And why also hast thou come intothe woods? And, O beauteous one, how hast thou fallen into this extrememisery’ And thus accosted, O monarch, by that man, Damayanti, O Bharata,related unto him all that had happened. And beholding that beautifulwoman clad in half a garment, with deep bosom and round hips, and limbsdelicate and faultless, and face resembling the full moon, and eyesgraced with curved eye-lashes, and speech sweet as honey, the hunterbecame inflamed with desire. And afflicted by the god of love, thehuntsman began to soothe her in winning voice and soft words. And as soonas the chaste and beauteous Damayanti, beholding him understood hisintentions, she was filled with fierce wrath and seemed to blaze up inanger. But the wicked-minded wretch, burning with desire became wroth,attempted to employ force upon her, who was unconquerable as a flame ofblazing fire. And Damayanti already distressed upon being deprived ofhusband and kingdom, in that hour of grief beyond utterance, cursed himin anger, saying, ‘I have never even thought of any other person thanNaishadha, therefore let this mean-minded wrath subsisting on chase, falldown lifeless.’ And as soon as she said this, the hunter fell downlifeless upon the ground, like a tree consumed by fire.” 131