and like unto the sun
and the moon in splendour, is he. That king devoted to truth and religion
was summoned to dice by certain deceitful persons of mean mind and
uncultured soul and of crooked ways, and skilful in gambling, and was
deprived of wealth and kingdom. Know that I am the wife of that bull
among kings, known to all by the name of Damayanti, anxious to find out
my (missing) lord. In sadness of heart am I wandering among woods, and
mountains, and lakes, and rivers, and tanks and forests, in search of
that husband of mine--Nala, skilled in battle, high-souled, and
well-versed in the use of weapons, O hath king Nala, the lord of the
Nishadhas, come to this delightful asylum of your holy selves? It is for
him, O Brahmanas, that I have come to this dreary forest full of terrors
and haunted by tigers and other beasts. If I do not see king Nala within
a few days and nights, I shall seek my good by renouncing this body. Of
what use is my life without that bull among men? How shall I live
afflicted with grief on account of my husband?'

Unto Bhima's daughter, Damayanti, lamenting forlorn in that forest, the
truth-telling ascetics replied, saying, 'O blessed and beauteous one, we
see by ascetic power that the future will bring happiness to thee, and
that thou wilt soon behold Naishadha. O daughter of Bhima, thou wilt
behold Nala, the lord of the Nishadhas, the slayer of foes, and the
foremost of the virtuous freed from distress. And O blessed lady, thou
wilt behold the king--thy lord--freed from all sins and decked with all
kinds of gems, and ruling the selfsame city, and chasting his enemies,
and striking terror into the hearts of foes, and gladdening the hearts of
friends, and crowned with every blessing.'

"'Having spoken unto that princess--the beloved queen of Nala--the
ascetics with their sacred fires and asylum vanished from sight. And
beholding that mighty wonder, the daughter-in-law of king Virasena,
Damayanti of faultless limbs, was struck with amazement. And she asked
herself, 'Was it a dream that I saw? What an occurrence hath taken place!
Where are all those ascetics? And where is that asylum? Where, further,
is that delightful river of sacred waters--the resort of diverse kinds of
fowls? And where, again, are those charming trees decked with fruits and
flowers?' And after thinking so for some time, Bhima's daughter,
Damayanti of sweet smiles melancholy and afflicted with grief on account
of her lord, los