Episode 46

Story of Nala and Damayanthi (Part 2) [i]

This is in continuation of the last week episode no 45. As told in the last episode this is one of the biggest episodes of Maha Bharata. PATIVRATYA (the devotion and dedication towards husband) and its qualities are well postulated in this story. The duties of the wife and the obligations of husband are delineated in this story. We come across two secret knowledges of ancient India viz, Aksha Hridaya and Aswa Hridaya. The story gives out plan of action to ward off the effects of Kali and why Tandra tree is considered traditionally as an inauspicious tree even by today. The sidelights of the story are the types of women based on temperamental and physical features, the astronomical knowledge of ancient Indians and the importance of reciting slokas from scriptures.

The Story

In the last Episode we saw Damayanthi reaching the court of Chedi queen and took asylum as Sairandhri (servant maid working in harems and women quarters). She was always thinking and praying for the well being of Nala Maharaj.

After leaving his wife in the dead of the night and clad with half sari of his wife, Nala was moving in the forest as a vagabond. He was under the influence of Kali and lost his discriminating intellect. Yet he was recollecting his wife, her safety and her adversities.

Karkotaka, the ferocious serpent bites Nala Maharaj

Suddenly he heard a screaming sound coming from a big fire in the forest. Some one was crying aloud for help. Nala plunged into the fire and found a huge serpent caught in the flames of the fire. The serpent told, ‘Oh King, I am Karkotaka, a powerful Naga (serpent). Earlier I had bitten Brahmarishi Narada and he had cursed me that I would be immobile. After my repentance, he showed grace and blessed me that the curse would be inoperative once I meet Nala. Today I am relieved of my curse. You alone can save me now. Please take me out. I will do a favor for you’.

Nala extricated Karkotaka from the scorching fire and wanted to keep him on a safe land. But before-he could do it, Karkotaka had bitten him and Nala lost his lustrous form and became a black dwarf. Was biting a blessing? Karkotaka consoled Nala and told, ‘Oh King! I changed your form so that no one can identify you and your enemies cannot attack you. The injected poison will not pester you with pain. When good days dawn upon you, you can gain back your normal form. You move to Ayodhya and live in the court of Rituparna taking care of his stables. You bestow your knowledge of Aswa Hridaya (Handling of horses) to Rituparna and learn from him Aksha Hridaya (the art of dice and the art of predicting numbers). This helps you a lot in your future endeavors. Take these celestial clothes and whenever you wear them you get back your original form’.

Nala & Rituparna – a friendship

Nala reached the palace of Rituparna and introduced himself as Bahuka adept in handling horses and also an expert in cooking food. Rituparna was pleased by his talk and appointed him as the head of Royal Stables. Varsheya (the earlier associate of Nala) and Jeevala were made his assistants. Bahuka was remembering his wife Damayanthi everyday and used to recite at least one sloka every day (सायं सायं सदा चेमं श्लोकमेकं जगाद ह [ii]). When asked by Varsheya as to why he was worrying, Bahuka was always evasive in his replies.

Sudeva identifying Damayanthi

Damayanthi’s father Bhima was worried about the where abouts of his daughter and son-in-law. He promised Agraharas[iii] for Brahmins and sent them to trace them in all courts. But how can anyone identify Damayanthi? Damayanthi was an exceptionally a beautiful lady with a black mole at the center of the two eyebrows. This was the sign of Padmini type of lady. Sudeva, a Brahmin sent by Bhima saw such a lady in the court of Chedi kingdom.

पूर्णचन्द्र निभां श्यामां चारु वृत्त पयोधराम् |

कुर्वन्तीं प्रभया देवीं सर्वा वितिमिरा दिश: || [iv]

(With her moon-like face, ever youthful face, well rounded bosoms and brightness in outlook, she was lightening all the directions).  Shyama in Sanskrit means a lady always looking like a teenage giri-  (श्यामा षोडशवर्षिणी as per Amaram)

“Oh, like Rohini meeting the Chandra when shall this lady meet her husband and delight people?” [v]– the Brahmin thought.

Sudeva reached Damayanthi and introduced himself as the emissary of her father Bhima. Damayanthi poured out her grievances and wept bitterly. On knowing about the real identity of Sairandhri as Damayanthi, the king’s mother came up and embraced her. Damayanthi was sent to Vidarbha with regal dignity and her parents received her with all love and affection.

Search for Nala Maharaj

Damayanthi reached her parents but her sorrows were not ended. Amidst physical luxuries, she was poor in mental state. She was always crying for Nala and emphatically told her mother for frantic search of Nala if at all they want to see her alive. Bhima again sent Brahmins to different directions. Before sending, Damayanthi called all Brahmins and asked them:

“Oh Brahmins! You are going to different courts in search of my husband. Please announce aloud in each court my message – When the wife was sleeping in the forest, you took out a piece of her sari and left her in the lurch. Where are you now? The lady is weeping now.  Don’t you know that the responsibility of a husband is to take care of her always?”

Damanthi also asked the Brahmins to note the person who happened to give answer for her questions and come back fast for information. The Brahmins listened to her words carefully and started announcing the same words in each court.  One Brahmin by name Parnada reached the court of Rituparna and announced the words of Damayanthi. He could observe Bahuka sighing heavily. Later Bahuka met him privately and enquired about the safety of Damayanthi. Ultimately, he told to Parnada:

वैषम्यमपि सम्प्राप्ता: गोपायन्ति कुल स्त्रिय: || [vi] (The household ladies maintain secrecy despite facing difficulties). The husband must have left her under duress, and it is not apt to frown at him. A woman should not exhibit anger even if the husband respects her or not; rich or poor or addicted to certain habits’.  Parnake immediately rushed to Damayanthi and narrated what had transpired between him and Bahuka.

Damayanthi was sure that Bahuka would be her beloved husband. She called Sudeva and asked him to go to Ayodhya immediately and invite Rituparna for the second Swayamvaram of Damayanthi on the very following day. She was confident that only Nala could steer the chariot run by the horses in one single night from Ayodhya to Vidarbha, and thereby, she would recognize Bahuka. In fact, Bhima Maharaj was not aware of Damanthi’s plan of sending Sudeva to the court of Rituparna.

Announcement of second Svayamvaram for Damayanthi

Sudeva, the emissary of Damayanthi reached the court of Rituparna and invited him for the second svayamvaram of Damayanthi on the very following day. On hearing this Rituparna was interested in going to Vidarbha. But Vidarbha was quite far away and no one could reach Vidarbha from Ayodhya in one single night. But he knew that Bahuka knew Aswahridaya and had expertise in galloping the horses to greatest heights. Bahuka also felt unhappy on hearing the news of second svayamvaram of his wife. How can a Pativrata deviate the path of dharma and marry a second husband? He also wanted to go to Ayodhya to establish the facts. Bahuka agreed to drive the chariot for the night.

Journey towards Ayodhya to witness Damayanthi svayamvaram

Bahuka went into stable and selected two horses which look pale but with a good pedigree and with big nostrils. The king was surprised and asked whether the pale horses gallop to Ayodhya in one night. But Nala told, ‘Oh king that horse is good which has one ring on the forehead, two on head and two each on two sides and two on the chest’. Rituparna was surprised and wanted to check the expertise of Nala.

Bahuka took the reins and in no time the chariot was racing ahead with a great speed much to the amazement of Varsheya and rituparna. Varhsheya was wondering whether Bahuka was none other than the king Nala. By facial features of both, he could not come to any conclusion. Meanwhile the shawl of the king had fallen down from the chariot and he asked Nala to stop the chariot for a while. ‘But oh king, by the time you tell this, our chariot has crossed a few yojanas and now you cannot take it back’, Bahuka asserted. However, the chariot was stopped near a tandra tree. Rituparna told, ‘Oh Bahuka I appreciate your dexterity in galloping the horses. I also know a secret knowledge – that is Aksha Hridaya (the power of predicting numbers from the volumes). See this tandra tree. I can tell the number of branches, number of fruits and number of leaves by sitting here’. Bahuka could not believe and wanted to test it.

Rituparna told the number of branches, fruits and leaves. Bahuka was trying to verify by counting. It was tense moment. Rituparna was worried whether they were wasting the precious time and whether they would reach Ayodhya by morning. ‘Do not worry my dear king. I can assure I can take you there by morning’, Bahuka told and continued to test the knowledge of Rituparna. It was a surprise. The number was tallied and Bahuka wanted to learn it. He assured that he would teach Rituparna about Aswahridaya and wanted to learn Akshahridaya. Rituparna was also in a hurry. He immediately taught the secret knowledge to Bahuka with all affection and told, ‘this knowledge of Akshahridaya is very powerful. Aksha has two meanings – dice and numbers. With this knowledge no one defeat you in the game of dice. Also, you will become expert in the number theory. Once this is learnt, you will not be affected by poisons and always you shall have victory in war fares.

The moment Nala received the Akshahridaya, Kali could no more stay in the stomach of Nala. He came out emitting the poison from his mouth. Nala was not aware of the presence of Kali in his body all these years. Immediately he got very angry and about to curse him, but Kali fell on his feet and begged pardon. ‘Oh King! Please do not curse me. All these years the poison of Karkotaka scorched me inside and I suffered enough punishment. Please let me go. I will ensure that from this day those who praise you and talk about you will not be affected by me and they need not fear me’.

कर्कोटकस्य नागस्य दमयन्त्याः नलस्य च |

ऋतुपर्णस्य राजर्षे: कीर्तनं कलि नाशनम् || – Maha Bharatam. (Kali gets destroyed where there is a discourse on Karkotaka, Damayanthi, Nala and Rithuparna)

Nala let Kali go in his own way. Immediately Kali entered into the Tandra tree. From that day Tandra became an inauspicious tree.

Nala got his original aura and intellect but not his form. He did not wear the celestial cloths presented by Karkotaka to assume his original form till he investigates the intentions of Damayanthi for her second svayamvara. Now he wanted to bestow his secret knowledge to Rituparna but Rituparna was in a hurry to reach Ayodhya. He asked Bahuka to let him know the secret knowledge at later stages and hastened him to drive the chariot. Bahauka raced his horses with vigor and reached the gates of Ayodhya before the dawn. The sound of the chariot reverberated and pierced the ear drums of the people of Ayodhya. Damayanthi was sure that it was Nala who was driving the chariot. All these years she had become pale and week in the absence of Nala; yet with great difficulty she alighted the steps and reached the apex perch of the palace to see the chariot. But alas! She saw Rituparna climbing down from the chariot and was received courteously by Bhima. Varsheya and Bahuka were busy unburdening the horses from the yokes of the chariots.

Rituparna did not find any other king. There were no festivities and there were no traces of svayamvaram preparations. Then why was he invited? Rituparna could not know. Bhima had also no clue why Rituparna reached his kingdom. Yet he received him with courtesy and provided a royal guest house to stay. Damayanthi was bewildered as to how the charioteer could reach such a long distance in one night. Where was Nala and how the chariot raced so fast without him?

Damayanthi sending Kesini to Bahuka

Damayanthi wanted to ensure whether Nala was same as Bahuka. She sent an intelligent maid Kesini to talk to Bahuka. Kesini reached Bahuka and was politely asking questions about his whereabouts, his expertise in horse racing and the like. Then she asked to answer Damayanthi questions. ‘How can a king cut a sari of his wife for loin cloth and leave her to lurch in the dead of the night?’. Bahuka wept bitterly and cautioned that a house five should keep the secrets of the family and never get angry with husbands.

Damayanthi heard everything from Kesini and she was sure that Bahuka was none other than Nala. Yet she sent Kesini once again to Bahuka just to observe his deeds and report back to her.

Kesini came back from Bahuka and told, ‘Oh Lady! Bahuka is very clean and tidy. On the instructions of Rituparna he is preparing delicious foods. He just proposes, and there would be fire, water, vessels, meat and what not. From the wavelengths of his mind, the food gets prepared’. Then Kesini gave the samples of food to Damayanthi. On relishing its taste, Damayanthi was sure that Bahuka was Nala only. Then she sent her children to Bahuka. Bahuka embraced the children and kissed their foreheads.

Damayanthi meeting Nala in the Antahpura

Now Damayanthi wanted to meet Bahuka in person. She sought the permission of her parents to either allow her to go out and meet Bahuka or allowing Bahuka to enter the antahpura. Bhima agreed and persuaded Bahuka to come to the court. Both Bahuka and Damayanthi saw each other and both wept bitterly. Bahuka narrated about Kali and loss of his intellect. He questioned the propriety of Damayanthi seeking second svayamvaram. Damayanthi begged pardon and told that it was a ploy to invite Nala to the court of Ayodhya. In the name of Panch Bhutas and gods she pronounced her full loyalty to Nala and none else. Then there was a rain of flowers from the heavens and gods blessed both Nala and Damayanthi. Then Bahuka wore the celestial cloths given by Karkotaka and assumed the original form of Nala.

Nala conquers Pushkara

The news of uniting of Nala and Damayanthi flashed throughout Ayodhya in no time. Rituparna, begged pardom from Nala for assigning errand works not knowing that he was Nala. Nala was kind enough to bestow the secret knowledge of Aswahridaya to Rituparna where upon Rituparna left for his place Ayodhya. Nala spent a few days happily with Damayanthi. Then leaving her at her parents’ place he set out to conquer his own kingdom from Pushkara. He challenged Pushkara either to fight or play dice. Pushkara opted the game of dice but was defeated this time. Everyone knew that Nala was defeated earlier due to the presence of Kali in him. Nala pardoned Pushkara and regained his lost kingdom.

Nala broght his wife Damayanthi from her parents’ place and ruled his kingdom for many long years.

Brihadasva ended the story of Nala Damayanthi and told Dharmaraja, ‘Hey Yudhishtir! You have listened to the great story of Nala. He suffered much more than what you are suffering now. One should not lose heart in times of adversity. One should hold the quality of bravado and should not get disheartened by staring at difficulties.

Hey Dharmaraj! Those who tell and those who listen this story will not get any difficulty in life. There will be no paucity of wealth, mind and intellect.

Understanding the story

This is perhaps the biggest upakhyanas (story not connected to main story) of Maha Bharata. The purpose of the story is to enlighten Dharmaraja that he was not the only king who endured great difficulties in life. Knowing that some one also suffered would be a soothing balm for a person mired in troubles. Brahadasva precisely did the same thing.

The story postulates the importance of ‘PATIVRATYA’, absolute devotion and loyalty towards husband. The morals of ancient India in five thousand years back dictated that a wife is supposed to think of husband and husband alone. Our ancient society also bestowed miraculous powers to such ladies. Damayanthi was a Pativrata and she could ward of the advances of the hunter by cursing and he was scorched to death instantaneously. Pativratya was an ideal but was not compulsory since all ladies could not exhibit similar miraculous powers. Is devotion to the spouse restricted to women only? Anyone can question it. But in the story, there are umpteen number of references reminding the duties and obligations of husbands. Damayanthi rightly demands her rights and reminds the obligations of Nala as a husband.

The story talks of Damayanthi as a PADMINI variety of lady. Ladies were delineated into four types based on their temperamental and physical characteristics. Vatsyayana, in his Kamasutra divided ladies into three varieties- Mrugi, badaba and Hastini. But Kokkoka divided ladies into four varieties – Padmini, Hastini, Sankhini and Chitrini Among them Padmini is supposed to be highly cultured and good. It is surprising that our ancient society as early as Maha Bharata had the knowledge in Kama sutras so vividly that even the free societies of today wonder at their scientific knowledge.

Rohini meeting Chandra has been described in this story for two times. The meeting is a visual delight for astronomers. The knowledge of Khagola sastra by our ancient seers can be seen from this allegory.

What should one do when faced with lot of adversities surrounding all sides? The story gives answer. Nala was all the time thinking about damayanthi in the court of Ayodhya and to forget the difficulties he was reciting at least one sloka each day. This may be surprising but let us see the statement of Gandhi when he was in difficulties.

“When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-Gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.” Is this practice better than going to films, clubs, or getting addicted to bad habits?

In this story we hear two secret knowledges- Aswahridaya and Aksha Hridaya which are now no longer being practiced. We also see in this story Kali entering into Tandra tree once he comes out of Nala. Tandra has different names in different regions- Bahed (Hindi), Belleric Myrobalan (English), Tanikaya (Telugu), Akkam (Tamil) and Baida in Bengali. The tree is known as Kalidruma (abode of Kali) in Sanskrit. The fruit of this tree is one of the ingredients of the famous Triphala choorna in Ayurveda (the other two being Haritaki and Amalaki). For any type of poisonous disease, Triphala is prescribed- may be due to the presence of Kali who after emitting poison entered into Kalidruma. Ayurvedic scholars need to do research over this issue. The tradition of Hindus believes in keeping of the tandra plantations in the gardens and houses.

In this story we witness the evils done by Kali vividly. Kali is the presiding deity of Kaliyoga. In the episode of Parikshit, we have come across Parikshit assigning five places to Kali- liquor, lady, wealth, dice and uncleanliness (See my episodes of Adi Parva).  In Nala Damayanthi story also, Kali entered the body of Nala when he was unclean and did Sandhyavandan without washing feet after urination. Basically, the moral is that one should be clean before undertaking any auspicious work. A few decades back, the tradition of India ordained that the guest should be given water to wash the feet before entering into house. Slowly these traditions are being forgotten by current generations, perhaps the present generations of children and parents are forgetting our rich heritage.

One of the sidelines of the story is Nala preparing delicious foods with dexterity. “Nala Pakam” is famously used for delicious foods. We have hotels in the name of “Nala Pakam”. Kitchen work is not a taboo for men in Indian tradition. We will be seeing in Virata Parva, Bhima preparing food in the court of Virata.

The final aspect of the story is that this is a very popular story and one who tells and one who listens will not be affected by Kali dosha. The Sanscrit slokas embedded in the story are believed to have powerful and miraculous effects.  For those who believe in the miraculous powers of mantras, I appeal all of them to read Episode 45 and 46 and offer naivedyam by breaking coconuts in their pooja rooms.

Points to ponder

1. What is PATIVRATYAM? Is loyalty to spouse restricted to women? What are the ethical issues?
2. List out the secret knowledge of ancient India heard by you? Is it required to do more research to unearth this wisdom?
3. Who is Kali and who is Kalki? What are their characteristics?
4. What is the importance to cleanliness that is given in our scriptures? Can we justify the concept of ‘madi’ or ‘madugu’?
5. What are the places where we find Kali? Can it be possible to be away from them for mental peace and happiness?

Footnotes

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[i] This Story is taken from Vana Parva of Maha Bharata written by sage Ved Vyasa

[ii] sāyaṃ sāyaṃ sadā cemaṃ ślokamekaṃ jagāda ha - Vana Parva 67.9

[iii] Agraharas are lands given out as gifts from the Royal property to the Brahmins in token of their exceptional work or talent.

[iv] pūrṇacandra nibhāṃ śyāmāṃ cāru vṛtta payodharām

kurvantīṃ prabhayā devīṃ sarvā vitimirā diśa: - Vana Parva 68.11

[v] – Vana Parva 68.22.

[vi] vaiṣamyamapi samprāptā: gopāyanti kula striya: || - Vana Parva 70.9

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