MATH or MAGIC!

There was a king named Nala, the son of Virasena. He was strong, and handsome, and well-versed in the knowledge of horses, and possessed of every desirable accomplishment. He resembled the sun in glory. He was the ruler of the Nishadhas, intent on the welfare of the Brahmanas, versed in the Vedas, and possessed of heroism. He was truth-telling, fond of dice, and the master of a mighty army. He was the beloved of the citizens. He was the protector of all and the foremost of archers.

And like him, there was among the Vidarbhas, a king named Bhima, of terrible prowess, heroic and well-disposed towards his subjects and possessed of every virtue. He was childless, but through a boon granted by a brahmarshi named Damana, king Bhima obtained a jewel of a daughter, and three sons of lofty souls. They were named Damayanti, and Dama, Danta, and Damana respectively.

Slender-waisted Damayanti's grace, beauty and brightness became celebrated throughout the world. Indeed her beauty filled with gladness the hearts of even the devas (demigods) in heaven.

Naturally everybody glorified the qualities of Nala and Damayanti. The travelling bards and heralds repeatedly sang praises of one in the presence of the other. Although they had not met yet, but repeatedly hearing of each other, the couple developed mutual attachment not begot of sight. That attachment began to grow in strength.

Nala, moved by the feelings of attachment in his bosom, began to pass much of his time in solitude in the gardens adjoining the inner apartment of his palace. There he saw a number of swans endowed with golden wings, and caught one of them. In exchange for freedom, the swan offered to fly to Damayanti and speak of Nala in such a way to her that she will surrender her heart to him.

Nala agreed and the swans flew northwards to the city of the Vidarbhas and landed before princess Damayanti surrounded by a bevy of beautiful maidens. The princess and her friends, filled with delight upon seeing the birds of extraordinary plumage, started chasing after them.

The particular swan that Damayanti ran after, led her to a secluded spot, and spoke to her in human language: "O Damayanti, there is a king among the Nishadhas named Nala. He is equal unto the Ashwins in beauty, not having his peer among men. Indeed, he is like Kandarpa (Cupid) himself. O fair-complexioned one, O thou of slender waist, if thou becomest his wife, thy existence and this thy beauty may be of purpose. We have, indeed, beheld celestials, Gandharvas, Nagas, Rakshasas, and men, but never have we seen before any one like Nala. Thou also art a jewel among women, as Nala is the best among men. The union of the best with the best is happy."

Damayanti replied: "Do thou speak thus unto Nala also". Saying "So be it", the swan returned to the country of the Nishadhas and related everything unto Nala.

In the meantime, Damayanti lost all peace of mind, thinking of Nala. Sighing frequently, she was filled with anxiety, and became lean and pale. King Bhima noted her condition and concluded that her swayamvara should take place. The monarch invited all the rulers of the earth to compete for the hand of his daughter in marriage.

All the kings of the world headed towards Vidarbha accompanied by their fine battalions. King Bhima received them with due honours and assigned them to their respective quarters. Even the gods (devas) in heaven heard of Damayanti's svayamvara from the celestial sage Narada Muni, and four of them, Indra, Agni, Varuna and Yama, decided to participate! Nala too set out with a cheerful heart, full of Damayanti's love.

The demigods spotted Nala along the way and astonished by his god-like personage, decided to engage him in their service. Nala agreed to do their bidding and then found out who they were and what was their purpose. "Tell her to choose one of us as her lord", said Indra.

Nala asked to be excluded: "I have come here with the same objective. It behooves thee not to send me on this errand. How can a person who is himself under the influence of infatuation bring himself to speak thus unto a lady on behalf of others? Therefore, spare me, ye gods."

The gods however insisted: "O ruler of the Nishadhas, having promised first, saying, 'I will! why wilt thou not act accordingly now?". Nala eventually agrees to carry the message of the gods to Damayanti.

When he entered the palace of Damayanti, he beheld the daughter of the king of Vidarbha surrounded by her maids and shining in beauty. She seemed to rebuke the light of the moon by her own splendour. As he gazed on that lady of sweet smiles, Nala's affection increased, but desirous of keeping his truth, he suppressed his passion.

Damayanti also, struck with amazement, smilingly addressed the warlike Nala: "Who art thou, O thou of faultless features, that hast come here awakening my love? Why hast thou come hither? And how is it that thou hast not been discovered by any one, considering that my apartments are well-guarded and the king's mandates are stern."

Nala replied, 'O beauteous lady, know that my name is Nala. I come here as the messenger of the gods. The celestials, Sakra, Agni, Varuna and Yama, desire to have thee. O beautiful lady, do thou choose one of them for thy lord. It is through their power that I have entered here unperceived, and it is for this reason that none saw me on my way or obstructed my entrance. O gentle one, I have been sent by the foremost of the celestials even for this object. Hearing this, O fortunate one, do what thou pleasest."

Damayanti addressed Nala with a smile: "O king, love me with proper regard, and command me what I shall do for thee. Myself and what else of wealth is mine are thine. Grant me, O exalted one, thy love in full trust. O king, the language of the swans is burning me. It is for thy sake, O hero, that I have caused the kings to meet. If thou forsake me who adore thee, for thy sake will I resort to poison, or fire, or water or the rope."

Nala asked her: "With the gods present, choosest thou a man? Do thou turn thy heart to those high-souled lords, unto the dust of whose feet I am not equal. Displeasing the gods, a mortal cometh by death. Save me, O thou of faultless limbs! Choose thou the all-excelling celestials."

Damayanti, with eyes bathed in tears of grief spake thus unto Nala: "O lord of the earth, bowing to all the gods, I choose thee for my lord. Truly do I tell thee this."

Nala replied unto the trembling Damayanti standing with folded hands: "O amiable one, do as thou pleasest. Having given my pledge, O blessed one, unto the gods, how can I, having come on other's mission, dare seek my own interest? If seeking my own interest consists with virtue, I will seek it, and do thou also, O beauteous one, act accordingly."

Then Damayanti slowly spoke unto king Nala, in words choked with tears: "O lord of men, I see a blameless way, by which no sin whatever will attach unto thee. Do thou, O foremost of men, come to the swayamvara together with all the gods headed by Indra. There, O monarch, in the presence of the gods, I will, O tiger among men, choose thee; at which no blame will be thine."

Thus addressed by the princess of Vidarbha, king Nala returned to where the gods were staying together and reported everything to them.

On the auspicious day of the svayamvara arrived, all the monarchs entered the amphitheatre decorated with golden pillars and a lofty arch, like mighty lions entering the mountain wilds. Then Damayanti entered the hall, stealing the eyes and hearts of all the assembled royalty by her dazzling light.

Her eyes eagerly searched for her Nala and she saw not one, but five Nalas, all alike in appearance. She thought within herself: "Oh, how shall I distinguish my beloved from the celestials?" and became filled with grief and anxiety. Meditating intensely upon the matter, she at last found the answer. She decided to seek the protection of the gods themselves. Bowing down unto them, with folded hands, she addressed them, trembling: "Since I heard the speech of the swans, I chose the king of the Nishadhas as my lord. Let the gods reveal him to me. If in thought or word, I have never swerved from him, let the gods, for the sake of that truth, reveal him to me. If the the gods themselves have destined the ruler of the Nishadhas to be my lord, let them, for the sake of that truth, reveal him to me."

Hearing Damayanti's piteous words, and ascertaining her fixed resolve and fervent affection for the king of Nishadhas, the gods did as they had been prayed to, and assumed their celestial attributes. Thereupon she beheld the celestials unmoistened by perspiration, with unblinking eyes, and unfading garlands, unstained with dust, and feet not touching the ground. And the earthly Nala was revealed by his shadow, his fading garlands, himself stained with dust and sweat, feet resting on the ground and eyes twinkling.

Damayanti then bashfully caught the hem of his garment and garlanded her beloved Nala, thus choosing him as her husband. The gods, the great rishis and all the assembled kings, applauded her. Nala, his heart filled with gladness, assured her: "Truly do I tell thee that as long as life continueth in this body of mine, I will remain thine and thine alone."

The gods conferred their blessings on the couple. Indra, Agni, Varuna and Yama gave eight boons to Nala which included the powers to call upon the elements like fire, water at his will, culinary skill, and returned to their abodes. On their return journey, the gods saw the personalities of Dvapara and Kali going in the opposite direction, and queried where they were heading to.

When Kali said: "To Damayanti's swayamvara. I will obtain her since my heart is fixed upon that damsel", Indra replied with a smile: "That svayamvara is already over. In our sight she hath chosen Nala for her husband."

The vile Kali, became filled with wrath and said: "Since in the presence of the celestials, she hath chosen a mortal for her lord, it is meet that she should undergo a heavy doom."

The celestials answered: "It is with our sanction that Damayanti hath chosen Nala. What damsel is there that would not choose king Nala endued with every virtue? O Kali, the fool that wisheth to curse Nala bearing such a character, curseth himself, and destroyeth himself by his own act. And, O Kali, he that seeketh to curse Nala crowned with such virtues, sinketh into the wide bottomless pit of hell rife with torments."

Having warned Kali and Dvapara thus, the gods returned to heaven. When they had gone away, Kali said unto Dvapara, 'I am ill able, O Dvapara, to suppress my anger. I shall possess Nala, deprive him of his kingdom, and he shall no more sport with Bhima's daughter. Entering the dice, it behoveth thee to help me."

From that moment onwards, Kali started tailing king Nala, looking for a way to get into his body. Nala returned to his kingdom together with his wife and happily ruled over the Nishadas. He begot a pair of twins in Damayanti, a son and daughter of similar name Indrasena. Kali too came to dwell in the country of the Nishadas, ever searching for a way to gain control of their virtuous and vigilant king.

After 12 long years, Kali finally found a way to get in, when one day, after answering the call of nature, Nala touched water and said his twilight prayers without having properly washed his feet. Through this omission, Kali entered into Nala's body, and having possessed him, went to his younger brother Pushkara and said: "Come and play dice with Nala. Through my assistance, thou wilt surely win. Defeating king Nala and acquiring his kingdom, do thou rule the Nishadhas." Dvapara also approached Pushkara and became the principal die called Vrisha.

Exhorted by Kali, Pushkara went to Nala and repeatedly invited: "Let us play together with dice.". Thus challenged, the lofty-minded king could not long decline it. Accordingly, he agreed to play. Possessed by Kali, Nala began to lose in the game his stakes of gold, silver, vehicles, horses, robes. Still maddened, he continued playing. None among his friends, advisers or even Damayanti could succeed in dissuading that repressor of foes from the play that went on for many months, the virtuous Nala being always worsted. The more he lost, the greater was his ardour to continue the game, heeding not the desperate appeals of his councillors, wife and citzens.

Finally, accepting the fact that her husband has been possessed, Damayanti makes emergency arrangements to save their children. She summons Nala's charioteer Varshneya and instructs him to yoke the finest steeds to the chariot and take the children to her father's kingdom, after which he is free to go wherever he wishes. Varshneya drives out to Vidarbha and delivers the children, the steeds and the chariot to King Bhima's custody. Then taking leave of king Bhima, Varshneya wanders about, his heart grieving for his master Nala. Finally he reaches the city of Ayodhya, meets the king there, Rituparna, and gain employment as charioteer of that monarch while still pining for Nala.

In the meantime, Nala had lost everything, including his kingdom. Pushkara laughingly said: "Let the play go on. But what stake hast thou now? Damayanti only remaineth; all else of thine hath been won by me. Well, if thou likest, that Damayanti be our stake now."

Hearing these words, the virtuous king felt as if his heart would burst in rage, but he spake not a word. Gazing at Pushkara in anguish, king Nala of great fame took all the ornaments off every part of his body. Attired in a single piece of cloth, his upper body uncovered, renouncing all his wealth, and enhancing the grief of friends, the king set out. Damayanti, clad in one piece of cloth, followed him behind.

Reaching the outskirts of the city, Nala stayed there for three nights with his wife. But Pushkara proclaimed throughout the city that anyone who showed any attention to Nala, would be doomed to death. Thus out of fear, the citizens did not offer any hospitality to Nala although he was fully deserving. Nala passed three nights in the outskirts of the city, living on water alone. Then, afflicted with hunger, the king went away in search of fruit and roots, Damayanti following him behind.

After many days, the starving Nala saw some birds with plumage of golden hue, and tried to trap them using the only cloth he had on. But the birds rose into the sky, carrying the cloth with them. Looking down on the naked and downcast Nala, the birds mocked him: "O thou of small sense, we are even those dice. We had come hither wishing to take away thy cloth, for it pleased us not that thou shouldst depart even with thy cloth on".

Damayanti covers Nala's nakedness by sharing her single cloth with him. Contemplating on his extreme change of fortune, Nala advises Damayanti to return to her father's kingdom and points out the way to her. But she replied: "O king, how can I go, leaving thee in the lone woods despoiled of thy kingdom and deprived of thy wealth, thyself without a garment on, and worn with hunger and toil? I will, O great monarch, soothe thy weariness. In every sorrow there is no physic equal unto the wife, say the physicians."

Again Nala presses her to temporarily secure her comfort in her father's kingdom. She answers: "If it is thy intention that I should go to my relatives, then if it pleaseth thee, both of us will wend to the country of the Vidarbhas. The king of the Vidarbhas will receive thee with respect. And honoured by him, O king, thou shall live happily in our home."

Nala said: "Surely, thy father's kingdom is as my own. But thither I will not, by any means, repair in this extremity. Once I appeared there in glory, increasing thy joy. How can I go there now in misery, augmenting thy grief?"

The couple, attired in one cloth and wearied with hunger and thirst, finally came upon a sheltered shed in the course of their wanderings, entered it and fell asleep on the bare ground. While the innocent and delicate Damayanti fell into a profound slumber, Nala, with heart and mind distraught, could not rest easy, reflecting on the loss of his kingdom, the desertion of his friends, and his distress in the woods, He could not tolerate the idea of Damayanti having to suffer for his sake.

He decided that the only way to make her return to her father's kingdom was for him to leave her, so he cut the cloth they shared into two. But he could not leave her. Each time he went out of the shed, his heart failed him, and he returned. Nala strove to go, reft of reason by Kali. Departing and still departing, king Nala returned again and again to that shed, dragged away by Kali but drawn back by love. It seemed as though the heart of the wretched king was rent in twain, and like a swing, he kept going out from the cabin and coming back into it. At last, after lamenting long and piteously, Nala went away. Reft of reason by Kali, the king departed in sorrow, leaving his wife alone in that solitary forest, after blessing her thus: "O blessed one, may the Adityas and the Vasus, and the twin Ashwins together with the Marutas protect thee, thy virtue and chastity being thy best guard."