INDIA. PART III.

tions.

and the gracious lady bade her take up her abode in the HISTORY OF palace, whilst the servants of the household went abroad in search of Nala. And Damayantí said to the mother of the Takes service Raja: "O mother of heroes, I will dwell with you, but I under condiwill not eat the victuals left by others, nor wash the feet of others, nor converse with strange men." And the mother Becomes comof the Raja agreed, and called her daughter Sunandá, and Princess bade her take Damayantí to be her friend. And Damayantí dwelt in the palace many days as friend and companion of the Princess Sunandá.

6. Adventures of Nala.

panion to the

Sunanda.

Now when Raja Nala left Damayantí in the hut, he be- Nala rescues a held a great fire in the forest, and he heard a voice crying: circle of fire.

Hasten, Nala, and come hither!" And Nala remembered that on his bridal day the god Agni had given him power over fire; and he plunged into the bright flame, and saw the Raja of Serpents coiled up in a ring. And the Serpent said :-"I deceived the sage Nárada, and he has cursed me that fire should surround me until you save me." And the Serpent shrank to the size of a finger, and Nala lifted him

up

serpent from a

changed by the

and carried him out of the fire. Then the Serpent bit Nala's form Nala, and immediately the form of Nala was changed into serpent. that of a deformed dwarf, so that no man could know him. And the Serpent said to Nala :-"My poison shall work on the evil spirit who has entered your soul, until he leaves you free Take now the name of Váhuka and enter the service of Rituparna, Raja of Ayodhyá; and you shall teach him the art of taming horses, and he shall teach you all the secrets of the dice: Therefore, sorrow no more, O Nala, for you shall see again your wife, your children, and your Raj; and when you would again resume your proper form, put on this change of raiment and think of me." So saying, the Serpent gave a change of raiment to Nala, and vanished away from his sight.

Nala takes

Rituparna,

Then Nala journeyed on to the city of Ayodhya, and service with offered his services to Raja Rituparna, both as a tamer of Raja of Ayodhya, under horses, and as skilled in the art of cooking viands; and the name of

Váhuka.

INDIA.

PART III. Meets his old

HISTORY OF the Raja engaged him, and bade him take heed that the horses were swift of foot; and he gave him Varshneya and Jívala to be his adjutants. Now Varshneya had been charioteer to Nala, and had driven his children to the city of Vidarbha; but Nala's form had been changed by the Nala's evening Serpent, and Varshneya knew him not. And every evening Nala used to sing this single verse:

charioteer Varshneya.

song.

Nala's explanation.

Raja Bhima sends Bráhmans in search of Damayanti.

Damayanti

discovered by Sudeva the Brahman.

"Where is she whom I left in the jungle to suffer hunger, thirst, and weariness?

"Does she think of me, her foolish lord, or does she sit in the presence of another?"

And Jívala said to Nala :-"Who is she, O Váhuka, for whom you are grieving?" And Nala answered :—“ A man there was bereft of sense, who had a faithful wife, but in his foolishness he forsook her in the wilderness; and ever since that time the man wanders to and fro in despair, for whether she lives or no he cannot say!"

7. Discovery of Damayanti.

Meantime, Raja Bhíma of Vidarbha had sent holy Bráhmans to every land in quest of his daughter Damayantí and her husband Nala; and the joyful Bráhmans, hoping for rich rewards, went through every city and every clime, but nowhere could they find a trace of those they sought. At length a certain Bráhman, whose name was Sudeva, went to the pleasant city of Chedi, and there he saw the slender-waisted Damayantí, standing in the palace by the side of the Princess Sunandá; and her beauty was dim, and seemed like the sunlight struggling through a cloud, yet he failed not to see that she was the daughter of Raja Bhíma. And the Bráhman spoke to her, saying:"O daughter of Bhíma, your father has sent me to seek for you; and both he and your mother and your brethren are all well; and so too are your little ones, who are dwelling in your father's palace." And Damayantí remembered Sudeva, and made inquiry about all her friends. And the mother of the Raja came in and saw her talking to the

"I

INDIA.
PART III.

Identified by a

mole as the

niece of the
mother of the

Raja of Chedi.

Bráhman; and presently she took the Bráhman aside, and HISTORY OF
said:"Who is this lady to whom you have spoken? Who
is her father, and who is her husband?" Then the Bráh-
man told all to the mother of the Raja, and he said:
knew she was the daughter of Bhíma, because of her peer-
less beauty; but from her birth a lovely beauty mark was
to be seen between her eyebrows, and now it has passed
away." When the Princess Sunandá heard the words of
the Brahman, she took water and washed away the traces
of tears that were between the eyes of Damayantí, and the
beauty mark was present to the eyes of all. Then the
mother of the Raja exclaimed to Damayantí:-"You are
the daughter of my sister: I know you by the mark, for I
myself was present at your birth: Lo, all I have is yours."
And Damayantí bowed to her mother's sister, and prayed Damayanti
that she might be sent to her two children at Vidarbha. father's house
And the palanquin was prepared, and a guard was ordered,
and Damayantí was carried to her father's palace at Vi-
darbha. And when she saw her children her heart was filled Her joy at
with joy, and she passed the night in sweet slumber; but in children.
the morning she went to her mother, and softly said:"O Her anxiety for
mother, if my life is dear to you, I pray you to do all you
can to bring back Nala." And her mother went to Bhíma
and said :—" Your daughter is mourning for her husband
Nala."

:

returns to her

at Vidarbha.

seeing her

Nala.

Bráhmans sent

Damayanti's
directions to the

Then Raja Bhíma sent the Bráhmans once again to every to search for land in search of Nala; and before the Bráhmans departed, Nala. Damayantí sent for them, and entreated them to cry aloud these words in every public place:-" Whither didst thou go, O gambler, who severed thy wife's garment, and left Brahmans. her in the lonely forest, where she still sits sorrowing for thee?" So the Bráhmans went forth to all lands, and they searched everywhere in crowded cities and quiet villages, and in the hermitages of holy men, and everywhere they repeated aloud the words of Damayantí, but no man took heed of the question respecting Nala.

8. Discovery of Nala.

Groaning of
Nala on hearing
the proclama-
tion of the

Now after a while a certain Brahman went to the great Brahmans.

INDIA..

PART III.

Response of Nala to the proclamation.

Damayanti suspects that

she has found Nala.

Then

HISTORY OF city of Ayodhya, where reigned Raja Rituparna, and where Nala was dwelling in the guise of a charioteer and under the name of Váhuka. And the Bráhman cried aloud the question of Damayantí in all the streets and ways and market-places in the city, but no man heeded him. So he took leave of the Raja and prepared to depart, when Váhuka came to him and groaned in anguish and wept bitterly, and said:"Even in the extremity of misery a noble woman is mistress of herself; and even when abandoned by her husband, she will not give her soul to anger." At these words the Brahman left the city of Ayodhya with all speed, and hastened to the city of Vidarbha, and told Damayantí all that Váhuka had said; and the eyes of Damayantí overflowed with tears, for she thought that she had found Nala. Damayantí went to her mother, and said :-"O mother, I must send a message to the city of Ayodhya which my father Bhíma must not hear; and I will deliver it in your presence to Sudeva, that best of Bráhmans who found me in the city of Chedi; and as he brought your daughter to her father's house, so may he swiftly bring my royal husSudeva directed band from the city of Ayodhya." So she sent for Sudeva, and requested him in the presence of her mother to go to the city of Ayodhya, and to seek out Raja Rituparna, and say to him as if by chance :-" Damayantí, daughter of Raja Bhíma, is about to choose a second husband, and all the Rajas and sons of Rajas are hastening to Vidarbha: If you would be there you must make good speed, for to-morrow is the appointed day, and at sunrise she makes her choice, for Raja Nala cannot be found, and no man knows whether he be alive or dead."

to inform Rituparna that Damayanti was about to celebrate a second Swayamvara.

Desire of Raja Rituparna to be present at the second Swayam

vara.

Rituparna

consults Nala.

And Sudeva went to the city of Ayodhya and performed the bidding of Damayantí; and when Rituparna heard the tidings that Damayantí was about to choose another husband, his heart burned to be there, but the way was far.* Then Rituparna went to Váhuka, his charioteer, and spoke

4 The distance from the city of Ayodhya on the river Goomtí, to that of Vidarbha on the river Taptí, must have been about five hundred miles as the crow flies.

INDIA. PART III.

Anguish of

to him with winning words, like one that asks a favour, HISTORY OF and said:"On the morrow the daughter of Bhíma will choose a second husband; I too would seek to win her, but the city of Vidarbha is afar off: Say then if you have horses Nala. that can reach it in a single day." Then the heart of Váhuka was smitten with anguish, and he wondered that the holy Damayantí should be driven to a deed so unholy, and he thought within himself that he would see if the tidings were true. So he folded his hands in reverence to the Raja, and said: "I promise in a single day to reach Nala engages to the city of Vidarbha." And he went to the stables of the Ayodhya to Raja, and pondered long over the horses; and he chose single day. four that were very slender, but fleet and powerful for the horses. road, and they had broad nostrils and large jaws; and he harnessed them to the chariot of the Raja. But when Rituparna saw the slenderness of the coursers, he cried out:

:—

"What steeds be these? Have they strength and wind for such a journey?" And Váhuka replied:-"These horses will not fail to carry you to Vidarbha; but if you desire others, tell me which you will have, and I will harness them." But the Raja said:"You know the horses best, and may harness what you will."

9. Nala's drive from Ayodhya to Vidarbha.

drive from

Vidarbha in a

Choice of

horses set out

Now when the chariot was ready, Raja Rituparna took The chariot and his seat, and commanded Varshneya to ascend likewise, for Ayodhya. whilst Váhuka drove. Then the fiery horses began to prance and paw the air, but Váhuka gathered up the reins, and cried out to the horses with a soothing voice, and they sprang into the air as if they would unseat their driver, and then tore along the ground as swift as the wind. And the Marvellous riders were well nigh blinded with the speed; but the Raja marvelled and rejoiced greatly at the driving of Váhuka ; and Varshneya said within himself, as he felt the rattling of the chariot and beheld the driving of Váhuka:-"Either this Váhuka must be the charioteer of Indra, or else he is my old master, Raja Nala."5

5 The description of the driving of Nala might be compared with that of the

driving of Nala.