hath brought Nala of sinless heart this, lead a more miserable life
bearing greater ills.'

"Thus lamenting, the crowned consort of the illustrious (king) began to
seek her lord in those woods, inhabited by beasts of prey. And the
daughter of Bhima, wailing bitterly, wandered hither and thither like a
maniac, exclaiming, 'Alas! Alas! Oh king!' And as she was wailing loudly
like a female osprey, and grieving and indulging in piteous lamentations
unceasingly, she came near a gigantic serpent. And that huge and hungry
serpent thereupon suddenly seized Bhima's daughter, who had come near and
was moving about within its range. And folded within serpent's coils and
filled with grief, she still wept, not for herself but for Naishadha. And
she said 'O lord, why dost thou not rush towards me, now that I am
seized, without anybody to protect me, by this serpent in these desert
wilds? And, O Naishadha, how will it fare with thee when thou rememberest
me? O lord, why hast thou gone away, deserting me today in the forest?
Free from thy course, when thou wilt have regained thy mind and senses
and wealth, how will it be with thee when thou thinkest of me? O
Naishadha, O sinless one, who will soothe thee when thou art weary, and
hungry, and fainting, O tiger among kings?' And while she was wailing
thus, a certain huntsman ranging the deep woods, hearing her
lamentations, swiftly came to the spot. And beholding the large-eyed one
in the coils of the serpent, he rushed towards it and cut off its head
with his sharp weapon. And having struck the reptile dead, the huntsman
set Damayanti free. And having sprinkled her body with water and fed and
comforted her. O Bharata, he addressed her saying, 'O thou with eyes like
those of a young gazelle, who art thou? And why also hast thou come into
the woods? And, O beauteous one, how hast thou fallen into this extreme
misery' And thus accosted, O monarch, by that man, Damayanti, O Bharata,
related unto him all that had happened. And beholding that beautiful
woman clad in half a garment, with deep bosom and round hips, and limbs
delicate and faultless, and face resembling the full moon, and eyes
graced with curved eye-lashes, and speech sweet as honey, the hunter
became inflamed with desire. And afflicted by the god of love, the
huntsman began to soothe her in winning voice and soft words. And as soon
as the chaste and beauteous Damayanti, beholding him understood his
intentions, she was filled wit