Canto 13 - Damayantī’s Svayaṃvara, part 4

1. Then the palanquin-bearers carried Damayantī away from that crowd of kings, and took her to the five heroes assuming the form of Nala;^[1] just as the fragrance of flowers removes the bees resorting to it from all other trees of the Nandana garden, and takes them to the (five) Kalpa trees.

2. At that moment, Sarasvatī who perceives the conduct of the people of all the worlds spoke about Indra in such a way that the consort of Śacī was described, but his disguise as Nala was not revealed.

3. “Noble maid, shall I speak of the excellence of the army of heroes belonging to him whose prowess vanquished his enemy, the demon Bala; and whose martial splendour terrified the demons on account of Gaṇeśa and Viṣṇu living with him as warriors?

(Applied to Nala)—

“Noble maid, what shall I speak of his descent from king Vīrasena,^[2] possessing as he does a might subversive of the host of his enemies? His martial splendour hath been perfumed in contact with the ichor flowing from the faces of elephants forming part of his troops.

4. “In battles and in processions, he^[3] is followed by armies of gods rewarded with wars rich in spoils, (armies) on whom a sun-like lustre is shed by Indra’s bow^[4] present in the bosom of the clouds that carry the moon and the followers of Śiva.

(Applied to Nala)—

“In his royal assembly and in his processions, he is attended by maids carrying Cāmara whisks, who are adorned with profuse ornaments, and possess a sunlike lustre inwrought with (the colours) of the rainbow adhering to their mid-bosom, beautiful with pearl-strings shining white.

5. “Full mighty, he drew out the world submerged in an ocean of peril, clipping the wings of the extremely rugged mountains that carry crores of insolent elephants and lions.

(Applied to Nala)—

“Full mighty, he...... peril, destroying the allies of (hostile) kings, whose campaigns took a heavy toll of the lives of peerless white chargers, and who owned crores of insolent elephants and steeds.

6. “Thou with calyx breasts! know him to be none other than Indra, the conqueror of mountains, whose thunder in battles never fails. Dost thou not see this great marvel of his, the presence of his numerous^[5] eyes miraculously concealed?

(Applied to Nala)—

“Thou...... breasts! think not that he is a sinner in any way. He is the conqueror of kings, and flees not from battle. Wilt thou not furtively glance at his highly marvellous arms and eyes?

7. “Broad-hipped maid, the gods, jealous of demons like Bala and others richly enjoying a prosperous sovereignty, lovingly take hold of his hands and feet. With Indra as thy consort do thou rejoice like Śacī.

(Applied to Nala)—

“Broad-hipped maid, his rosy hands and feet bear lines of fortune indicating a rich enjoyment of a sovereignty thriving with armies and the like. With him as thy consort do thou rejoice, as Śacī with Indra.”

8. Hearing the whole of this speech applying equally to Indra and Nala, and perceiving the self-same beauty in both, the fairtoothed damsel received no conclusive evidence either from her ears or her eyes.

9. ‘Is he Indra, or is he Nala’? Knowing Damayantī to be wavering thus, the great goddess once more composed a wreath of speech, pointing out to her the god of fire in the assembly.

10. “Here is the abode of heat. Ever upmoving is he. What hath not been acquired by this Conqueror of wealth!^[6] From him, brilliant, do thou acquire abounding gold. None hath a resplendent wealth of beauty like his.

(Applied to Nala)—

“Here is an abode of might. He thrives ever higher. What hath not been acquired by this conqueror of wealth?......^[7]

11. “Fair-eared one, the ashes left by diverse earthly objects falling victim to the great fury of his flames paint even the body of Śiva, ascetic though he is.

(Applied to Nala)—

“Fair-eared one, his prosperity resulting from the great campaigns of diverse kings falling victim to the great power of his arms excites the jealousy even of ascetics, and of those who are exceeding wealthy.

12. “Thou with a face like thy father’s! The entire society of gods hath him for a mouth.^[8] His seat is between Yama and Indra.^[9] Betake thyself to this refulgent one, who doth ever possess a deep red beauty of lustre.

(Applied to Nala)—

“Thou......... father’s! The entire council of the learned hath him as its mouthpiece. His impartiality is even greater than that of Yama and Indra. Betake thyself to this refulgent one, who hath ever beautiful hands with a deep crimson hue.,

13. “Powerful as he is, his brilliance is never slight on wood. When he abides amid fuel, the grasses are his enemies. Swift and rising, by what adversary can he be overcome on the earth?

(Applied to Nala)—

‘Able as he is, he has no liking for those whose talents are poor. To him present in the thick of the fight the enemies are as straw. Progressive and quick, by what adversary can he be overcome on earth?”

14. Having listened to this speech common to Agni and Nala, Damayantī perceived no difference between them. Her mind said of the same one, ‘He is Nala’, and at the same time said something else, ‘He is not Nala.’^[10]

15. Then seeing her thus reduced to a state of mind tinged with doubt, amazement and fear, Sarasvatī began speaking about another lord of a cardinal point, the son of the god whose rays cause the day-lotus to bloom.^[11]

16. “Lo, because he wields his mace, the entire world, trembling with fear,^[12] evades falling into sin. Is there any one free from death from the afflictions caused by him, which baffle even the Physicians of heaven?

(Applied to Nala)—

“Lo, because he wields his sceptre, the entire world...... sin. Is there a god marked by a lustre like his, which wounds even the pride of the Aśvins?^[13]

17. “Saṃjña, the wife of the Sun, is heard to be the cause of his birth. But, Chāyā (another wife of the Sun) hath nowhere been known as such. Whose life does he not destroy? It is this Yama who practised religious austerities in conformity with rules.

(Applied to Nala)—

“His name when heard brings good to his friends. To whom doth he not act as a friend? Such gleam of beauty as his hath nowhere else been encountered. With self-control hath he practised religious austerities in conformity with rules.

18. “Moreover, his father is the beauteous-formed Sun that obscures by his lustre all the refulgence of the moon. At whom is his death-dealing power not aimed? He has one disgrace; he is the ordainer of afflictions in others.

(Applied to Nala)—

“Moreover, his father was a king who eclipsed by his power the might of all other kings, and whose figure was beautiful with robes and gems. Towards whom^[14] is his death-dealing power not directed? He has the character of Kṛṣṇa, being one who applies his mace to his foes.

19. “Fair maid, he alone doth wield power amid the dead. Know him to be the lord of human lives. Truly to him, the brother of the Aśvins, all creatures yield.

(Applied to Nala)—

“Fair maid, in the battle of enemies and others, he alone doth attain to power. Think of him as the lord of thy life. To him resembling the Aśvins in beauty, this earth among the primordial elements doth certainly yield.”

20. This string of words, common to Yama and Nala, caused doubt in Damayantī’s mind, already in doubt at the sight of more than one Nala. Verily it was something like crushing a thing already crushed.

21. Perceiving in Damayantī, who was gravely in doubt, neither an affirmative nor a negative attitude towards Yama, the revered goddess began to speak in a worthy manner, stretching her hand with the fingers extended in the direction of Varuṇa.

22. “That army of his, composed of many an ocean, doth indeed thrive with the roar of marine animals, (the army) that confronts all directions, contains many a cavern, and is lost to view on the further shore.

(Applied to Nala)—

“That army of his, repository of many a sword, doth indeed thrive with hand to hand fights, (the army) that has an all-pervading front, and contains numerous archers. Any check to it from an enemy is inconceivable.

23. “Along the front rank of his army, the vast, deeply rumbling ocean brings him delight with ornaments of gems, (the ocean) that is inhabited by crocodiles and dolphins and Viṣṇu, and accompanied by woods (on the shore) containing lotuses in bloom.

(Applied to Nala)—

“On the boundary line of his vanguard, numerous trumpeting elephants gaily put forth their roar. They have smooth trunks and the flow of ichor. Their faces are covered with spots. They are bedecked^[15] with ornamental gems.

24. “Graceful one, what river of his runs not along its banks with rapid streams? How can we speak of the river’s sands, immense^[16] as they are, occupied by hundreds of crabs?

(Applied to Nala)—

“Graceful one, what army of his, with horses accompanied by chariots, rushes not at foes? How can we speak of those ‘sands’^[17] of it, multitudinous as they are, accompanied by hundreds of white chargers?

25. “Beautiful maid, betake thyself to yonder lord of the waters. Look at his excellence, the river Śoṇa attached to his feet. Moreover, the river Sarasvatī is devoted to his service. What pools of water serve him not?

(Applied to Nala)—

“Beautiful maid, betake thyself to this lord of the earth. Look at the rosy hue of his feet. He it is, besides, whom the goddess of learning serves. Who doth not resort to him with the hope of riches?”

26. Should not this ambiguous speech promote the growth of the row of creepers of Damayantī’s doubts about the several Nalas? But, nevertheless it was strange that the speech likewise increased doubts with regard to Damayantī in the minds of Nala and Varuṇa as well.

27. Seeing the damsel undeceived even by the crafty gods who had disguised themselves as Nala, the great goddess spake to her, pointing to Nala who was surrounded by the assembly of kings as by a halo.

28. “Dost thou not recognise this king, the abode of beauty, who hath achieved advancement in victory in mighty battles? Is there any one to whom he doth not appear to be Jīmūtavāhana by virtue of his benign activity, his liberality towards suppliants?^[18]

29. “He is one who thoroughly studied Indra’s law,^[19] and whose radiance blossomed forth with his royal coronation. Commendable will be thy acceptance of Nala, who is now thus mentioned by me by name.^[20]

30. “Knowing his wrath and his passion for warfare, as well as the generosity of his mind, thou shouldst offer thyself to Nala, the lord of justice, in the fullness of thy innate love for him.^[21]

31. “Is it thy wish that his heart should not be bereft of the hope of marrying thee? What men living in the world does he not protect? It is not fitting that thou shouldst have no liking for him.”^[22]

32. Sarasvatī spake again to Damayantī, who was in a fix, having perceived Nala’s identity with Indra from the first of these verses, with Agni from the second, with Yama from the third, and with Varuṇa from the fourth.

33. “Loving Nala as thou dost, how will thy surrender to yonder four, Indra, Agni, Yama and Varuṇa, be to the good? By no means. They are shining in this assembly, assuming an identity of form.

34. “Wise maid, why dost thou not conclude this divine being to be Nala^[23] nor choose him as thy consort? Certain it is, he is not the reed ‘nala.’ It would be an overwhelming loss to thee, if thou shouldst accept him not. Who else could be thy spouse?”^[24]

35. Ascertaining these words about Nala to be common also to Indra, Agni, Yama and Varuṇa, the charming Damayantī, becoming restless, felt a certain grief, just as the tide of the ocean feels the submarine fire.

36. Just as in the presence of a diversity of doctrines, people do not believe in the truth of monism, the fifth alternative, though truer; four other theories, wishing to win this (faith), being engaged in preventing such a belief (in monism) from gaining ground: similarly Damayantī, in the face of this doubt about Nala, did not believe in the reality of the fifth alternative,^[25] though more genuine than the rest, four other persons, desirous of winning her, having prevented her from acquiring such a trust.^[26]

37. Kali will oppress Nala in the future, but Dvāpara^[27] already made the beautiful damsel suffer. In this world, the two malevolent ages Dvāpara and Kali could not tolerate the marriage of Damayantī and Nala.

38. We know, at that moment, if ever, Cupid who has bewildering arrows, disquieting her simultaneously and separately with regard to each of the (five) Nalas, obtained a success for the number of his arrows.^[28]

39. Damayantī never loved Nala for his beauty, she who rejected those gods who had Nala’s beauty. Love of one being for another bursts into bloom, born solely of the maturity of one’s deeds done in another birth.

40. “Where shall I get that bird^[29] whom I might question? By its words I should know Nala as before.” Thus the wavy-haired maid, her mind subject to Cupid, recalled at that moment the divine swan associated with Nala.

41. With a fervent ardour she looked at each of them over and again, but perceived no difference between them five. Then as if with a frenzied mind that raised a hundred doubts and again removed them, she said thus.

42. “There is a certain notion among people that there are two moons; but there is a cause for that error, the first being the pressing of the comers of the eyes, while the contiguity of transparent objects is the cause of the notion of image. But no reason is there for my illusion about the diversity of these.^[30]

43. “Or, is the jovial Nala jesting with me, assuming a diversity of forms? Endowed with the power of knowledge, does he not perhaps possess this art, as he does the art of knowing the feelings of horses?

44. “Is one of them Nala? Is another Purūravas? Is another Cupid? Are the other two the Aśvins?^[31] Am I not perhaps mistaking them for Nala, alike as they are by virtue of the pre-eminence of their beauty?

45. “Erstwhile too on every side did I see my beloved Nala, whelmed as I was with grief at his absence. Why hath that plight of mine returned again, by the play of which I see these unreal Nalas?

46. “Why do I, deluded, thus make wrong surmises? Clearly it is such, a trick of Indra and the rest. For the goddess herself composed verses on them in such wise that they referred to the lords of the cardinal points^[32] as well.

47. “How can any mortal sign be visible in my lord while he is amid these five who are deluding my mind? Alas, why is it that these gods bear not their distinctive marks, such as the possession of dust-free bodies?

48. “Shall I beseech the gods to give me Nala? Or, away with them, stubborn in spite of my daily worshipping them for Nala! Their hearts are dreadful, like caverns, the ocean of their kindness being dried up by the impact of Cupid’s Withering Arrow.

49. “Ye gods, lords of the cardinal points, like as the beneficial mission of meritorious books, even after they have acquired a beauty of letters derived from reed pens, vanishes when the books fall into deep wells, to wit, into the possession of fools; so likewise, why hath your benevolent mission, virtuous as you are, disappeared, alas, even after you have assumed Nala’s beautiful form.^[33]

50. “What was written by God on the tablet of some one’s forehead, though unsuitable, was bound to come about, removing something that was suitable for him. What desire should I now cherish in my heart? Not the rays of the sun, but snow consumes the lotus.

51. “That I am thus unlucky here I surmise from this: even the (all-giving) Kalpa tree when I ask for Nala becomes surely miserly towards me. Its hands, the tips of its leaves, have their fingerlike young shoots feverishly shrinking.

52. “Shall I put the garland of choice in the hand of the goddess,^[34] saying, ‘Whoever amid these is Nala, place it upon him’? But then I would make her the enemy of the gods, and I would not hurt a jewel of a friend for the sake of a mere straw, myself

53. “What if I make the garland reach Nala, saying, ‘Let him among these who is the real Nala accept this wreath in order that I may choose him’? But how can I do so, discarding shame? It would be ridiculous, alas, the entire assembly hearing my words.

54. “But why does the last Nala, though just like the other Nalas, drench my heart with streams of nectar? Or, perhaps, in spite of the similarity in letters between the first and the last word, the grace of the beauty of alliteration flashes in the last word^[35] only.”

55. Thus rejecting the surmises arising in her mind, Damayantī could not come to a conclusion with regard to any. Her face, with its joy marred by grief, resembled then the moon overpowered by the sun.

56. Epilogue.

Śrīhīra, etc. In his epic, The Story of Nala, full of sweet things, the thirteenth canto, an ocean of poetic emotion, has come to an end.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Nala himself and the four gods Indra, Varuṇa, Agni and Yama disguised as Nala.

[2]:

Nala’s father.

[3]:

i.e., Indra.

[4]:

i.e., the rainbow.

[5]:

The thousand eyes of Indra.

[6]:

An epithet of the fire god, who is believed to have produced gold.

[7]:

The rest is same as above.

[8]:

As oblations to the gods are offered in the fire, the god of fire is called their mouth.

[9]:

Yama is the regent of the south, and Indra of the east. Agni rules over the South East.

[10]:

Means also: ‘He is the god of fire’ (anala).

[11]:

i.e., Yama, the son of the sun.

[12]:

Lit. whelmed with trembling.

[13]:

The Aśvins are the divine physicians, famous for their beauty.

[14]:

i.e., towards what enemy.....

[15]:

Lit. not lacking in.

[16]:

Lit. owing to there being many.

[17]:

i.e., the soldiers.

[18]:

The verse might refer to Indra also: “Dost thou not recognise this handsome, jovial Indra, who hath..... battles? Is there any one to whom he doth not appear to be the cloud-borne Indra by virtue of his malevolent activity towards hundreds of hostile demons?”

[19]:

Lit. way.

[20]:

The verse might refer to Agni also: “He is one whose brilliance grew on account of his being drenched with the butter of Indra’s sacrificees, into which he very often plunges. Commendable will be thy acceptance of the god of fire......”

[21]:

Applied to Yama: “Angry one, knowing his passion for killing as well as the propitious character of the region owned by him, thou shouldst offer thyself to Yama who is not Nala......” (The region owned by Yama is the South).

[22]:

Applied to Varuṇa: “Is it thy wish that his hand should be free from the (customary) noose ‘in order to press thy hand’ (in marriage)? What men going by water does he not protect? It is not proper etc.

[23]:

Or, He is not a god. He is the lord of the earth. Why dost thou not conclude him (to be such) nor choose him etc.

[24]:

The verse might be applied to each of the four gods, in which case the general construction would be:

“Wise maid, he is a god. He is not a lord of the earth. Why dost thou not conclude him (to be such)......? Certain it is, he is not Nala. He has a mighty radiance, looking like Nala to thee. If thou shouldst accept him not...............

The “anvaya” in this case is: “viduṣi eṣa devaḥ, na dharā gatyāḥ patiḥ |............ nāyaṃ nalaḥ khalu | (ayam) atimahāḥ, tava nalābhaḥ (bhavati) |”

[25]:

i.e., Nala.

[26]:

See Appendix on philosophical allusions.

[27]:

The hostility of Kali and his companion Dvāpara is described in Canto XVII. “Dvāpara” here means really “doubt”, “uncertainty”.

[28]:

i.e., all the five arrows of Cupid seemed to have a simultaneous effect on her, a triumph, so to say, for the number five.

[29]:

i.e., the golden swan.

[30]:

She thinks she is suffering from a hallucination, in which Nala appears to her in five forms.

[31]:

Cf. 10. 22.

[32]:

Agni, Varuṇa, Yama and Indra.

[33]:

Lit. a charm of complexion derived from Nala.

[34]:

i.e., Sarasvatī.

[35]:

The last line of the verse is an example. Damayantī sets aside the possibility of the last one being the real Nala, as the last of a group has often a more delightful appearance than the rest.