Mahabharata Vol. 2 (Penguin Translated Texts) (48 page)

‘“O great king! Pushkara had an announcement made in the city. ‘I will put to death anyone who sides with Nala.’ O Yudhishthira! Because of Pushkara’s words and because of his hatred, none of the citizens displayed any homage towards him.
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Thus, though he was deserving of respect, he received no respect, though he was near the city. The king lived there for three nights, surviving only on water.

‘“After several days had passed, Nala began to suffer from hunger. He saw some birds and their plumage seemed to be made of gold. The powerful lord of Nishadha began to think that this would be his food now and also his riches.
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He then covered them with the garment he was wearing. All of them grasped that garment and ascended into the sky. When they rose up, the birds saw Nala standing on the ground, naked, miserable and with his face downcast. They uttered these words, ‘O greatly foolish one! We are the dice. We came here to take away your garment. For we would have found no pleasure had you gone away with your garment.’ On seeing the dice depart and himself naked, King Punyashloka told Damayanti, ‘O unblemished one! These are the ones whose wrath robbed me of my riches. I cannot find a means of livelihood. I am miserable and hungry. Because of them, those of the Nishadha kingdom show me no homage. They
have now become birds and have robbed me of my garment. I am your husband and face this great calamity. I am miserable and have lost my senses. Listen to my words, because they are for your own welfare. There are many roads here that head in a southern direction. They pass Avanti and Mount Rikshavat. There is the great mountain range of Vindhya and the river Payoshni that flows into the ocean. There are the hermitages of maharshis, with a lot of flowers and fruit. This road leads to Vidarbha and that one goes to Koshala. Beyond them, towards the south, is the region of Dakshinapatha.’
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Damayanti was oppressed by grief and her voice was choked with tears. She spoke these piteous words to Nishadha, ‘O king! My heart trembles and my limbs are going numb, as I repeatedly think about your resolution. You have lost your kingdom. You have lost your riches. You are naked, hungry and fatigued. How can I leave you in this secluded forest and leave? O great king! When you are fatigued and hungry and think about your earlier happiness in this terrible forest, I will reduce your misery. I tell you truthfully. It is the view of physicians that for all kinds of misery, there is no medicine that is equal to a wife.’ Nala replied, ‘O Damayanti! O slim-waisted one! What you have said is certainly true. When a man is in misery, there is no medicine or friend equal to a wife. O timid one! Why are you afraid? I do not wish to abandon you. O unblemished one! I would abandon myself before abandoning you.’ Damayanti said, ‘O great king! If you did not wish to abandon me, why did you point out the road that leads in the direction of Vidarbha? O king! I also know that you should not abandon me. O lord of the earth! But since your mind is deluded, you might choose to do that. O supreme among men! You have repeatedly pointed out the road to me. O one with the radiance of immortals! That is the reason my sorrow is increasing. O king! If it is your intention that I should go to Vidarbha, then if you so desire, let us go there together. O one who shows respect! The king of Vidarbha will show you homage. O king! Honoured by him, you will dwell happily in our house.’”’

‘“Nala said, ‘There is no doubt that your father’s kingdom is my own. But I will never go there in these difficult circumstances. There was a time when I went there in my prosperity and increased your happiness. How can I go there in my misery and increase your unhappiness?”’

‘Brihadashva said, “Thus King Nala repeatedly spoke to Damayanti. He comforted the fortunate one, now covered in only half her garment.
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With only a single garment between them, they roamed here and there. They were hungry, thirsty and fatigued, and eventually arrived at a public dwelling house.
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On reaching that dwelling house, the king who was the lord of Nishadha sat down with the daughter of Vidarbha on the bare ground. He was naked and filthy. His hair was dishevelled and he was covered with dust. He was tired. With Damayanti, he slept on the ground. The fortunate and delicate Damayanti, devoted to austerities, had suddenly been overtaken by misfortune. She slept. O lord of the earth! As Damayanti slept, King Nala could not sleep, as he had slept earlier, because his mind was agitated with grief. He thought about the loss of his kingdom and the desertion by all his well-wishers and the difficulties in the forest. He kept thinking about these. What will happen from my acting in this way? What will happen from my not acting in this way? Is it better for me to die? Or should I abandon her? She is devoted to me and has suffered this unhappiness for my sake. But without me, it is possible that she might go to her relatives. If she is with me, this supreme one will certainly confront more unhappiness. But if I desert her, it is possible that she might find happiness. The lord of men reflected on these repeatedly in many ways. Then he decided that it would be superior if he deserted Damayanti. Realizing that he had
no garments and that she had only a single garment, the king thought that he would tear her garment in half. But how could one tear the garment without the beloved one waking up? Thinking thus, King Nala began to wander around that dwelling house. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Nala walked here and there. Then, near that dwelling house, he found an excellent and unsheathed sword. That scorcher of enemies used it to slice off half the garment. Leaving the daughter of Vidarbha asleep, he swiftly went away, bereft of his consciousness. But his heart was tied to her and he returned again to the dwelling house. On seeing Damayanti there, the king of Nishadha wept, ‘My beloved one was earlier not seen by the wind or the sun. She is now sleeping, without any protection, on the ground of this dwelling house. The sweet-smiling one is clad in a sliced-off garment. When she regains consciousness, the one with the beautiful hips will be like one maddened. What will she do? Alone and deserted by me, how will this faithful and beautiful daughter of Bhima roam in this terrible forest, frequented by animals and predators?’ Departing again and again, King Nala returned to the dwelling house again and again. He was drawn away by Kali but was drawn back by his love. It seemed as if the heart of the miserable one was divided into two. Like a swing, it went to the dwelling house and back from it. But Nala was attracted by Kali and deluded. Lamenting piteously many times, he deserted his sleeping wife. Touched by Kali, his soul was tainted and without thinking about it, the king went away, abandoning his miserable wife in that deserted forest.”’

‘Brihadashva said, “When King Nala had departed, Damayanti awoke, having overcome her fatigue. The one with the beautiful hips was terrified in that deserted forest. She could not see her husband and was immersed in sorrow and misery.

‘“Frightened because of Nishadha, she cried out aloud, ‘O great king! O protector! O great king! O lord! Why did you forsake me? I am dead! I am destroyed! I am terrified in this deserted forest. O great king! You have always been knowledgeable in dharma. You have always spoken the truth. How could you have uttered a falsehood? While I was asleep, how could you have forsaken me in this forest? Why have you departed, abandoning a wife who was obedient and devoted to you, especially when she has caused you no harm? You have been wronged by your enemies. O lord of men! In earlier times, you had uttered some words in the presence of the lords of the worlds. How can you possibly make them come true? O bull among men! There has been enough of this jest. Let it not go any further. O invincible one! I am terrified. O lord! Show yourself to me. O king! I have seen you! I have seen you! O Nishadha! Stay there! I have seen you hidden behind the creepers. Why don’t you reply to me? O Indra among kings! You are cruel! O king! You see me lamenting in this state, but do not come and comfort me in your arms. I am not sorrowing because of my own self, or because of anything else. O king! I am sorrowing because you will have to be alone. O king! In the evening, you will be thirsty, hungry and exhausted from labour. You will be under a tree and how will you exist without seeing me?’ Thus she was immersed in terrible grief and blazing in her anger. Weeping and miserable, she dashed here and there. In one instant, the lady would stand up. In another instant, she would fall down unconscious. In one instant, she was frightened. In another instant, she wept loudly. Bhima’s faithful daughter was tormented by terrible grief. She was distraught and sighed again and again. Then she spoke in a tearful voice, ‘Nishadha is suffering because of the curse of some being and may he also be miserable in grief. Whatever sorrow befalls us, may his sorrow be greater. May the evil-minded one who has done this evil to Nala meet with greater sorrow. May he live a life that is full of unhappiness.’ Thus did the wife of the great-souled king lament. She searched for her husband in that forest frequented by wild beasts. Bhima’s daughter was like one maddened. She
lamented and ran here and there, crying ‘Alas! O king!’ She dashed like one who had lost her senses.

‘“She repeatedly sorrowed and lamented in piteous tones, like a female osprey, and dried up.
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Suddenly, Bhima’s daughter came upon a boa constrictor.
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As she came near, the giant one, who was hungry, grasped her. As she was being devoured by the serpent,
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she was overcome by grief. She wasn’t sorrowful because of her own self, but sorrowed more about Nishadha. ‘O protector! I am being devoured in this deserted forest by this serpent, like one unprotected. Why don’t you rush here? O Nishadha! How will you live when my memories come back to you? You will be freed from evil. You will again obtain your senses, your intelligence and your riches. O Nishadha! O tiger among kings! O giver of respect! When you are tired and hungry and exhausted, who will reduce your fatigue?’ At that time, a hunter of animals was roaming in the deep forest. He heard the sound of her cries and swiftly came to where she was. He saw the long-eyed one there, being devoured by the serpent. The hunter of animals swiftly came to her aid. With a sharp weapon, he severed the serpent’s head. The one who lived off hunting slashed at the serpent until it was motionless. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The hunter freed her and cleaned her with water. He comforted her and asked her if she had eaten some food. ‘O one with the eyes of a deer! Whom do you belong to? Why have you come to this forest? O beautiful one! How is it that you have encountered this great difficulty?’ O lord of the earth! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On his asking, Damayanti told him everything, exactly as it had occurred.

‘“The hunter of animals saw that she was covered with only half a garment. Her breasts and hips were heavy. Her limbs were unblemished and delicate. Her face was like the full moon. The lashes of her eyes were curved and her speech was sweet. On seeing this, he was overcome by desire. In this state, the hunter
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spoke to her in soft and gentle
words. But the beautiful one saw that he was comforting her out of desire. Damayanti was devoted to her husband. On realizing the wishes of the evil one, she was consumed by a terrible rage and seemed to blaze in anger. The evil-minded and mean one was about to violate her out of desire, but saw that the inviolate one seemed to be like the flame of a blazing fire. Deprived of her husband and her kingdom, the miserable Damayanti cursed in her anger, since the time of using words had passed. ‘If I have never thought of anyone other than Nishadha, then let this mean one, who makes a living out of animals, fall down dead.’ As soon as she had uttered these words, the one who made a living out of animals fell down lifeless on the ground, like a tree consumed by fire.”’

‘Brihadashva said, “When the lotus-eyed one had slain the killer of animals, she entered another deserted and dreadful forest, resounding with the sounds of many crickets. The forest was full of lions, tigers, boars, bears, rurus and elephants. It was full of large numbers of diverse birds and was frequented by mlecchas and bandits. It was dense with shala trees, bamboos,
dhava
s,
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ashvatthas,
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tinduka
s,
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ingudas,
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kimshukas,
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arjunas,
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arishta
s,
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chandana
s,
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shalmala
s,
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jambu
s,
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mangoes, lodhras,
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khadira
s,
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shaka
s,
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cane,
kashmari
s,
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amalaka
s,
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plaksha
s,
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kadambas,
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udumbura
s,
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badari
s,
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bilvas,
nyagrodha
s,
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priyalas,
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talas,
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kharjura
s,
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haritaka
s
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and
vibhitaka
s.
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She saw mountains that were full of a hundred different kinds of minerals, groves that resonated with the sounds of birds, caves that were extraordinary to behold, rivers, lakes, ponds, many types of animals and birds, a large number of pishachas, serpents and rakshasas that were terrible in form, pools, tanks, mountain peaks everywhere, streams and wonderful oceans. There the daughter of the king of Vidarbha saw herds of buffaloes, boars, bears, monkeys and serpents. With supreme energy, fame, steadfastness and beauty, the daughter of Vidarbha began to roam around alone, looking for Nala. King Bhima’s daughter was not frightened of anything. She wandered in that terrible forest, oppressed by her husband’s misfortune. O king! Vidarbha’s daughter lamented in great misery. Her limbs suffered from sorrow over her husband and sought refuge on a slab of stone.