The broken-hearted Nala, forced to sue for the gods, made known their request to Damayanti, who declared she didn't intend to marry any one but himself, as she meant to announce publicly at the Bride's Choice on the morrow.
"Yet I see a way of refuge—'tis a blameless way, O king;
Whence no sin to thee, O rajah,—may by any chance arise.
Thou, O noblest of all mortals—and the gods by Indra led,
Come and enter in together—where the Swayembara meets;
Then will I, before the presence—of the guardians6 of the world,
Name thee, lord of men! my husband—nor to thee may blame accrue7."
She was, however, sorely embarrassed on arriving there, to find five Nalas before her, for each of the gods had assumed the form of the young prince after the latter had reported what Damayanti had said. Unable to distinguish between the gods and her lover, Damayanti prayed so fervently8 that she was able to discern that four of her suitors gazed at her with unwinking eyes, exuded9 no perspiration10, and cast no shadow, while the fifth betrayed all these infallible signs of mortality. She, therefore, selected the real Nala, upon whom the four gods bestowed11 invaluable12 gifts, including absolute control over fire and water.
The young couple were perfectly13 happy for some time, although a wicked demon14 (Kali)—who had arrived too late at the Bride's Choice—was determined15 to trouble their bliss16. He therefore watched husband and wife in hopes of finding an opportunity to injure them, but it was only in the twelfth year of their marriage that Nala omitted the wonted ablutions before saying his prayers. This enabled the demon to enter his heart and inspire him with such a passion for gambling17 that he soon lost all he possessed18.
His wife, seeing her remonstrances19 vain, finally ordered a charioteer to convey her children to her father's, and they had barely gone when Nala came out of the gambling hall, having nothing left but a garment apiece for himself and his wife. So the faithful Damayanti followed him out of the city into the forest, the winner having proclaimed that no help should be given to the exiled king or queen. Almost starving, Nala, hoping to catch some birds which alighted near him, flung over them as a net his only garment. These birds, having been sent by the demon to rob him of his last possession, flew away with the cloth, calling out to him that they were winged dice20 sent by Kali.
Over them his single garment—spreading light, he wrapped them round:
Up that single garment bearing—to the air they sprang away;
And the birds above him hovering—thus in human accents spake,
Naked as they saw him standing—on the earth, and sad, and lone21:
"Lo, we are the dice, to spoil thee—thus descended22, foolish king!
While thou hadst a single garment—all our joy was incomplete."
Husband and wife now wander on, until one night Nala, arising softly, cut his wife's sole garment in two, and, wrapping himself in part of it, forsook24 her during her sleep, persuading himself that if left alone she would return to her father and enjoy comfort. The poem gives a touching25 description of the husband's grief at parting with his sleeping wife, of her frenzy26 on awakening27, and of her pathetic appeals for her husband to return.
Then we follow Damayanti in her wanderings through the forest in quest of the missing Nala, and see how she joins a company of hermits28, who predict that her sorrows will not last forever before they vanish, for they are spirits sent to comfort her. Next she joins a merchant caravan29, which, while camping, is surprised by wild elephants, which trample30 the people to death and cause a panic. The merchants fancy this calamity31 has visited them because they showed compassion32 to Damayanti, whom they now deem a demon and wish to tear to pieces. She, however, has fled at the approach of the wild elephants, and again wanders alone through the forest, until she finally comes to a town, where, seeing her wan23 and distracted appearance, the people follow her hooting33.
The queen-mother, looking over the battlements of her palace and seeing this poor waif, takes compassion upon her, and, after giving her refreshments34, questions her in regard to her origin. Damayanti simply vouchsafes35 the information that her husband has lost all through dicing, and volunteers to serve the rani, provided she is never expected to eat the food left by others or to wait upon men.
Before she had been there very long, however, her father sends Brahmans in every direction to try and find his missing daughter and son-in-law, and some of these suspect the rani's maid is the lady they are seeking. When they inform the rani of this fact, she declares, if Damayanti is her niece, she can easily be recognized, as she was born with a peculiar36 mole37 between her eyebrows38. She, therefore, bids her handmaid wash off the ashes which defile39 her in token of grief, and thus discovers the birth-mole proving her identity.
Damayanti now returns to her father and to her children, but doesn't cease to mourn the absence of her spouse. She, too, sends Brahmans in all directions, singing "Where is the one who, after stealing half of his wife's garment, abandoned her in the jungle?" Meantime Nala has saved from the fire a serpent, which by biting him has transformed him into a dwarf40, bidding him at the same time enter the service of a neighboring rajah as charioteer, and promising41 that after a certain time the serpent poison will drive the demon Kali out of his system. Obeying these injunctions, Nala becomes the charioteer of a neighboring rajah, and while with him hears a Brahman sing the song which Damayanti taught him. He answers it by another, excusing the husband for having forsaken42 his wife, and, when the Brahman reports this to Damayanti, she rightly concludes her Nala is at this rajah's court.
She, therefore, sends back the Brahman with a message to the effect that she is about to hold a second Bride's Choice, and the rajah, anxious to secure her hand, asks his charioteer whether he can convey him to the place in due time? Nala undertakes to drive his master five hundred miles in one day, and is so clever a charioteer that he actually performs the feat43, even though he stops on the way to verify his master's knowledge of figures by counting the leaves and fruit on the branch of a tree. Finding the rajah has accurately44 guessed them at a glance, Nala begs him, in return for his services as charioteer, to teach him the science of numbers, so that when he dices45 again he can be sure to win.
On arriving at the court of Damayanti's father, Nala is summoned into the presence of his wife, who, although she does not recognize him in his new form, insists he must be her spouse, for no one else can drive as he does or has the power which he displays over fire and water. At this moment the sway of the demon ends, and Nala, restored to his wonted form, rapturously embraces his wife and children.
Even as thus the wind was speaking,—flowers fall showering all around:
And the gods sweet music sounded—on the zephyr46 floating light.
Then, thanks to his new skill in dicing, Nala recovers all he has lost, and is able to spend the rest of his life in peace and happiness with the faithful Damayanti.
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1
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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dicing
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| n.掷骰子，（皮革上的）菱形装饰v.将…切成小方块，切成丁（ dice的现在分词 ） | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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eloquently
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| adv. 雄辩地(有口才地, 富于表情地) | |
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spouse
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| n.配偶(指夫或妻) | |
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guardians
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| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
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7
accrue
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| v.(利息等)增大，增多 | |
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fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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exuded
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| v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的过去式和过去分词 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情 | |
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perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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14
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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18
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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19
remonstrances
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| n.抱怨，抗议( remonstrance的名词复数 ) | |
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dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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21
lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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22
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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23
wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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24
forsook
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| forsake的过去式 | |
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25
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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26
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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27
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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28
hermits
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| （尤指早期基督教的）隐居修道士，隐士，遁世者( hermit的名词复数 ) | |
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29
caravan
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| n.大蓬车；活动房屋 | |
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30
trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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31
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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32
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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33
hooting
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| （使）作汽笛声响，作汽车喇叭声( hoot的现在分词 )； 倒好儿； 倒彩 | |
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34
refreshments
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| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
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vouchsafes
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的第三人称单数 )；允诺 | |
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36
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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37
mole
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| n.胎块；痣；克分子 | |
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38
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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defile
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| v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道 | |
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40
dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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41
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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42
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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43
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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44
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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45
dices
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| n.骰子( dice的名词复数 )；掷骰子游戏v.将…切成小方块，切成丁( dice的第三人称单数 ) | |
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46
zephyr
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| n.和风，微风 | |
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