Nala Damayanti

Damayanti woke up to the warmth of the morning sun streaming through the forest foliage. Her beautiful, smooth skin was bruised with thorn pricks, insect bites, and wounds from walking long distances on the rough jungle paths. But she didn't wince even a bit because all that mattered was to be beside her beloved husband, Nala, who she loved more than herself.

Damayanti wondered where he was right now, and thought he might have gone to get food or water. Feeling the nip in the air, she tried to bring her upper garment closer to herself and noticed it seemed short. It wasn’t enough to cover her fully, which was strange because it was large enough for her and Nala together last night. 

Then she noticed it! The cloth was deliberately torn at one place and she had only half of the original. Now, she panicked. She shouted out her husband’s name.

“Nala! Nala!”

Receiving no answer except the echoes of her own voice in the stillness of the forest, and chatterings of a few playful monkeys, she realized Nala had left her. He had, perhaps, torn a piece of the garment for himself. He had nothing else to wear. Damayanti shed copious tears both for herself and her husband. 

To think that till a few days ago, they were the royal and adored couple of the prosperous Nishadha Kingdom. Nala was a popular king who worked hard for his subjects. He was a loving husband who lavished attention on his wife. He was an accomplished charioteer and his powerful warrior skills and strategist's brain kept his kingdom safe from marauders, plunderers, and a multitude of annexing powers. Under him, Nishadha prospered wonderfully. 

Interestingly, Nala had amazing culinary skills. The food he cooked could take one to a state of bliss and back! Damayanti’s love for her husband increased manifold when she saw Nala being comfortable even in a domain that was considered to be primarily feminine. She was proud of his convention-breaking ideas. 

But things went south in the last few days, thanks to one weakness of Nala, the love for gambling. But Damayanti told herself that now was not the time to dwell in the past. She got up, stumbled, and winced in pain not from the bruises and wounds but from the deep sense of desolation. She started walking, calling out his name as often as she could. But, he was gone!

Just as she was giving up hope, she heard the sound of horses’ hoofs. She got up excitedly and called out his name again thinking he had brought help. Hearing her voice, the horsemen came closer, and she was able to recognize the ministers of her father’s kingdom, Vidarbha.

One of the horsemen dismounted, came rushing to her, and said, “Thank God you are safe, my dear princess. Your father is so worried about you!” 

“Did you find Nala?”

“No, we have been searching for you and your husband, scouring every nook and corner of the forest. We haven’t found King Nala anywhere, yet.”

Damayanti’s face fell.  She was in no mood to go to her father’s house without Nala. But, she failed against the collective will of her father’s men who cajoled and coerced her into going to Vidarbha with them.

In Vidarbha, she spent long, lonely days and even longer nights pining for Nala who seemed to have vanished into thin air.  As she sat on the balcony one morning in a melancholic mood, her normal state of mind since Nala abandoned her, she saw a pair of beautiful swans playing joyfully in the large palace pond that was brimming with fully-bloomed pink, blue, and white lotuses. The splendid snow-white birds amidst the riot of colours brought back memories of her happy days with her husband.

Even before her swayamvar, Nala and Damayanti had heard stories of each other through traveling bards and poets. Damayanti garlanding Nala on the day of the swayamvar was a mere formality. Their marriage was an extremely happy one. But problems cropped up soon, thanks to Kali, the demon.

Damayanti was so beautiful that even the devas and asuras wanted to marry her and had attended her swayamvar. When she chose Nala, nearly all of them were unhappy, and some were even angry at her choice of a mere mortal over heavenly beings. But, all abided by her decision but for Kali. He was angry that he didn't get the beautiful mortal for himself and sought revenge.

For 12 long years, Kali searched for a weakness in Nala that he could take advantage of. He was thrilled on the day when he discovered Nala’s weakness for gambling. He took the help of Pushkara, his jealous brother who wanted the kingdom for himself, to bring down Nala. 

Pushkara invited Nala for a game of dice. Damayanti sensed danger and tried hard to dissuade her husband from accepting the invitation. But the temptation was too strong for Nala. The Nishadha king was well aware of his weakness for gambling and had been working very hard to keep it in check. Thanks to the love of his wife, he was able to overcome the power of temptation for a while. 

However, beyond the grasp of his conscious mind, the desire to gamble had accumulated in his heart so deeply that it was ready to burst forth at the slightest trigger. Pushkara’s invitation to play dice was enough. 

Nala thought to himself, “After all, he is my brother. It will just be a game of fun, and nothing more.” However, Damayanti was well-acquainted with Pushkara’s evil intentions and knew that the upcoming game did not bode well for her husband. But, nothing could stop Nala from giving in to temptation. 

He played, and with the help of the treacherous demon, Kali, Pushkara won everything from Nala including his wealth and kingdom. He was humiliated and forced into exile. Damayanti followed her husband without blinking an eyelid. Nala said, “My dear, I will leave you at your father’s house. Stay there for a while until I find a decent livelihood so that I can give you the queen’s life you deserve.”

But she was adamant. “I don't want a queen’s life. I only want to be by your side at all times. I will follow you like your shadow. Without you, my life is nothing. And this is what loving you means to me.”

Damayanti came back to the present when she tasted her tears as they trickled down her face and into her mouth as she sobbed piteously recalling the day when she found herself alone and abandoned in the forest. She couldn't forgive Nala for this.  

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Nala stayed hidden among the dense thickets watching the soldiers of Vidarbha take away his beloved wife to safety and to the life she deserved. He quietly slunk away without being seen by anyone. He couldn't overcome his feelings of guilt and shame for not having had the strength to resist temptation. 

“How can I face Damayanti and my subjects? I will live alone until the end of my day, and that will be my redemption.” 

He lived in the forests eating roots, berries, and fruits, and whatever else he could scrounge from the trees and plants. One day, a forest fire broke out, and luckily for him, he was able to find a safe hiding place, and from here, he saw a huge snake struggling to get out of the roaring flames that threatened to turn the reptile into a cinder. In the blink of an eye, and almost impulsively, Nala quickly ran out and pulled the snake to safety.

The serpent he saved from the fire was Karkotaka, a highly influential Naga. He was extremely grateful to Nala for saving his life. He listened to Nala’s full life history and expressed his sympathy for the former King of Nishadha. 

“What can I do for you now?”

“ I thought I would be able to live like a hermit. But, I want my old life back, especially my dearest wife. Can you help me change my form so that no one can recognize me? I want to go back to live among human beings as a stranger and take up the occupation of my choice? I’ll then find a way to get back what belongs to me.”

“That’s easy!” So saying, Karkotaka bit Nala and the snake poison spread all over his body changing him into an ugly dwarf with short, crooked limbs, sunken eyes, wrinkled rough skin, and an awkward limp. No one would have recognized this hideous person as Nala, the handsome King of Nishadha. Karkotaka gave a garment to Nala and said, “Wear this if you want to revert to your original form.”

“Go to Ayodhya and befriend King Rituparna who knows the art of Aksha Hridaya mantra. This mantra’s power can help you with complex arithmetical calculations such as counting the leaves in a tree, the number of bees in a beehive, and understanding the permutations and combinations in a game of dice.” 

Thanking the Naga, Nala gave himself a new name, Vahuka. He went to Ayodhya and was able to impress the king with his horsemanship and culinary skills and was able to seek refuge in this prosperous kingdom. 

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Meanwhile, in Vidarbha, Damayanti’s father wanted to conduct her swayamvar again. He wanted his daughter to forget the selfish Nala and find love again. 

While there was no place in Damayanti’s heart for anyone else but Nala, she gets a great idea to use the ruse of the swayamvar to seek out her husband. She lays down two conditions. 

The first one was to announce the swayamvar just the evening before it. She said, “Any prince or king keen on winning my hand will find a way to reach Vidarbha in one night.” The second condition was that she would have to taste the food made by the candidate, and only if she likes it, would she allow him to participate in the swayamvar.

Vahuka heard of the swayamvar and realized it was a message from his wife. He realized that abandoning her was not the right thing to do. He approached King Rituparna and told him he could help the king meet both of Damayant’s conditions, and they left Ayodhya for Vidarbha immediately. 

King Rituparna was thrilled at the riding skills of Vahuka. “I can ride the horse at the speed of 12 yojanas per second because of the power of the Aswa Hridaya mantra.”

“Can you teach me this mantra too?” asked the king of Ayodhya.

“Yes, I can, provided you teach me the Aksha Hridaya mantra.” So, by the time they reached Vidarbha, the two had mastered each other’s skills. 

Damayanti heard that the King of Ayodhya was able to ride all the way to Vidarbha in one night, thanks to the horse-riding skills of his charioteer, Vahuka. Next, she was sent the food from King Rituparna’s camp. She recognized her husband’s hand in the meal almost instantly. The smell of his body, mind, and spirit was entangled in the dishes and she sensed his presence even without eating a single morsel. 

Rushing to the camp of the Ayodhya king, Damayanti demanded to see Vahuka who came out from the kitchen, his head hanging down in shame. While all her personal maids were repelled by the sight of this hideous man, Damayanti walked up to him and asked, “What kind of a husband will abandon his wife in the jungle?”

Vahuka, with eyes filled with tears of love, replied, “The one who didn't want his beloved wife to share his horrible fate. The one who wanted his beloved wife to lead the safe, luxurious life she deserved! The one who wanted to save his beloved wife from the horrible effects of his mistakes!”

It was now Damayanti’s eyes to be filled with happy tears. “But that was my choice to make, not yours.” She went close to Vahuka and hugged him joyfully. By this time, her father had also reached the Ayodhya camp wondering what drove his daughter there. He came in time to see her hugging one of the most unattractive men he had ever laid his eyes on.

He gasped in shock which startled the couple who were lost in each other’s loving embrace. Vahuka quickly wore the magic garment and assumed his original form. It was a happy reunion for all. But, there was still work to do. It was now time to get back his kingdom from his vile brother. He decided to challenge Pushkara to another game.

Damayanti did not want him to do this. She said, “We don't need the kingdom for our happiness. We just need each other.” But, Nala thought differently, “No, my dear. My identity is rooted in my kingdom. I cannot let go of it.”

“Even for me?”

Nala looked confused at her question. “I’m doing this for us together. And I will not lose this time because of the Aksha Hridaya mantra.” 

The dice game was played again, and this time, Pushkara met with swift, bitter defeat. It was time for him to leave the kingdom, and Nala again ascended the throne of Nishadha with his beloved Queen Damayanti by his side.

Damayanti was happy for her husband, and she knew that he would always be king first, and only then her husband. But she couldn't help thinking to herself, “Will he find it in him to express his love for me the way I want it?” But she would always love him unconditionally, weaknesses and all.