English
Nala and Damayanti
Source: Mahabharata, Vana Parva (Nalopakhyana Parva)
Nala, king of Nishadha, was matchless in looks, virtue and the knowledge of horses. Damayanti, daughter of King Bhima of Vidarbha, was just as gifted. They had never seen each other, yet hearing of each other's qualities, each had quietly fallen in love.
One day Nala caught a golden swan in a garden. The swan said, "Let me go, and I will go to Damayanti and sing your praises so that she will want no one but you." And so it did.
Damayanti's swayamvara was announced. On the way, Nala met four gods: Indra, Agni, Varuna and Yama. They too wished to marry Damayanti, and asked Nala to be their messenger. Having given his word, Nala swallowed his own longing and honestly delivered the gods' message to her.
At the swayamvara Damayanti saw five identical men, all in Nala's form. Pleased by her prayer, the gods revealed their signs: no sweat, no blinking, garlands unwilted, feet not touching the ground. Damayanti placed the garland on the real Nala.
But Kali arrived late. Angry that Nala had been chosen, he waited twelve years for a single lapse. One day Nala forgot to wash his feet before his evening prayer, and Kali entered him.
Under Kali's sway, Nala lost his kingdom and wealth at dice to his brother Pushkara. Damayanti sent the children to her father and followed her husband into the forest. There birds flew off with Nala's only garment, and the two shared a single cloth.
One night, Damayanti fell asleep, exhausted. Clouded by Kali, Nala cut the cloth in half... and walked away, leaving his sleeping wife alone in the forest.
Waking, Damayanti wandered the forest in grief. A python seized her; a hunter rescued her but then turned wicked, and fell dead at her curse. Wandering on, she joined a merchant caravan to the kingdom of Chedi and lived there as an attendant to the queen mother.
Meanwhile Nala rescued the serpent Karkotaka from a forest fire. Karkotaka bit him, and his form changed. The serpent said, "In this form no one will know you, and my poison will keep burning Kali inside you." He also gave Nala divine garments that would restore his true form when worn.
Under the name Bahuka, Nala became charioteer to King Rituparna of Ayodhya. At night, alone, he would recite a verse remembering his lost wife.
A Brahmin named Sudeva recognised Damayanti, and she returned to Vidarbha. She sent Brahmins from land to land with one question: "O gambler, where did you go, cutting half the cloth and leaving your beloved in the forest?" In Ayodhya, Bahuka answered it, and Damayanti understood.
So she devised a plan. Word was sent to Rituparna that Damayanti's second swayamvara would be the very next day. Only Nala could cover such a distance in a day. Bahuka drove so fast that Rituparna was astonished. On the way Rituparna taught him the science of dice, and at that moment Kali left Nala's body.
In Vidarbha, Damayanti had her maid Keshini watch Bahuka. Pots filled with water at his glance, grass caught fire at his touch. And when Bahuka embraced his own children and wept, no doubt remained.
Face to face, Damayanti swore to her faithfulness, and Vayu, the wind god, bore witness from the sky. Nala put on Karkotaka's garment and returned to his true form. The separated husband and wife were united again.
Nala challenged Pushkara to dice once more, and this time, with his new skill, won back his kingdom. Even so, he forgave Pushkara and sent him off with affection.
What this story teaches
Hardship tests love, but with patience, wisdom and faithfulness even a broken bond can be made whole again.
In the Mahabharata, the sage Brihadashva tells this story to a grieving Yudhishthira during the exile. Within the story Kali himself promises that those who tell and hear Nala's story will have no fear of him.
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