g men, enough of this joke! O irrepressible one, I am
terribly frightened. O lord, show thyself. I see thee! I see thee, o
king! Thou art seen, O Naishadha. Hiding thyself behind those shrubs,
why dost thou not reply unto me? It is cruel of thee, O great king, that
seeing me in this plight and so lamenting, thou dost not, O king,
approach and comfort me. I grieve not for myself, nor for anything else.
I only grieve to think how thou wilt pass thy days alone, O king. In the
evening oppressed with hunger and thirst and fatigue, underneath the
trees, how wilt it take with thee when thou seest me not?" And then
Damayanti, afflicted with anguish and burning with grief, began to rush
hither and thither, weeping in woe. And now the helpless princess sprang
up, and now she sank down in stupor; and now she shrank in terror, and
now she wept and wailed aloud. And Bhima's daughter devoted to her
husband, burning in anguish and sighing ever more, and faint and weeping
exclaimed, "That being through whose imprecation the afflicted Naishadha
suffereth this woe, shall bear grief that is greater than ours. May that
wicked being who 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 ran