Chapter 78

“Vrihadaswa said, ‘O son of Kunti, the ruler of the Nishadhas havingdwelt there for a month, set out from that city with Bhima’s permissionand accompanied by only a few (followers) for the country of theNishadhas. With a single car white in hue, sixteen elephants, fiftyhorses, and six hundred infantry, that illustrious king, causing theearth itself to tremble, entered (the country of the Nishadhas) withoutloss of a moment and swelling with rage. And the mighty son of Virasena,approaching his brothers Pushkara said unto him, ‘We will play again, forI have earned vast wealth. Let Damayanti and all else that I have be mystake, let, O Pushkara, thy kingdom be thy stake. Let the play beginagain. This is my certain determination. Blessed be thou, let us stakeall we have along with our lives. Having won over and acquired another’swealth or kingdom, it is a high duty, says the ordinance, to stake itwhen the owner demands. Or, if thou dost not relish play with dice, letthe play with weapons begin. O king, let me or thyself have peace by asingle combat. That this ancestral kingdom should, under allcircumstances and by any means, be recovered, there is the authority ofsages for holding. And, O Pushkara, choose thou one of these twothings–gambling with dice or bending the bow in battle!’ Thus addressedby Nishadha, Pushkara, sure of his own success, laughingly answered thatmonarch, saying, ‘O Naishadha, it is by good fortune that thou hastearned wealth again to stake. It is by good fortune also that Damayanti’sill-luck hath at last come to an end. And O king, it is by good fortunethat thou art still alive with thy wife, O thou of mighty arms! It isevident that Damayanti, adorned with this wealth of thine that I willwin, will wait upon me like an Apsara in heaven upon Indra. O Naishadha,I daily recollect thee and am even waiting for thee, since I derive nopleasure from gambling with those that are not connected with me byblood. Winning over to-day the beauteous Damayanti of faultless features,I shall regard myself fortunate, indeed, since she it is that hath everdwelt in my heart.’ Hearing these words of that incoherent braggart, Nalain anger desired to cut off his head with a scimitar. With a smile,however, though his eyes were red in anger, king Nala said, ‘Let us play.Why do you speak so now? Having vanquished me, you can say anything youlike.’ Then the play commenced between Pushkara and Nala. And blessed beNala who at a single throw won his wealth and treasures back along withthe life of his brother that also had been staked. And the king, havingwon, smilingly said unto Pushkara, ‘This whole kingdom without a thorn inits side is now undisturbedly mine. And, O worst of kings, thou canst notnow even look at the princess of Vidarbha. With all thy family, thou artnow, O fool, reduced to the position of her slave. But my former defeatat thy hands was not due to any act of thine. Thou knowest it not, Ofool, that it was Kali who did it all. I shall not, therefore, impute tothee the faults of others. Live happily as thou choosest, I grant theethy life. I also grant thee thy portion (in the paternal kingdom) alongwith all necessaries. And, O hero, without doubt, my affection towardsthee is now the same as before. My fraternal love also for thee willnever know any diminution. O Pushkara, thou art my brother, live thou fora hundred years!'”

“And Nala of unbaffled prowess, having comforted his brother thus gavehim permission to go to his own town, having embraced him repeatedly. AndPushkara himself, thus comforted by the ruler of the Nishadhas salutedthat righteous king, and addressed him, O monarch, saying these wordswith joined hands, ‘Let thy fame be immortal and live thou happily forten thousand years, thou who grantest me, O king, both life and refuge.And entertained by the king, Pushkara dwelt there for a month and thenwent to his own town accompanied by large force and many obedientservants and his own kindred, his heart filled with joy. And that bullamong men all the while blazed forth in beauty of person like a secondSun. And the blessed ruler of the Nishadhas, having established Pushkaraand made him wealthy and freed him from troubles, entered his richlydecorated palace. And the ruler of the Nishadhas, having entered hispalace, comforted the citizens. And all the citizens and the subjectsfrom the country horripilated in joy. And the people headed by theofficers of state said with joined hands, ‘O king, we are truly gladto-day throughout the city and the country. We have obtained to-day ourruler, like the gods their chief of a hundred sacrifice!'”