form and thy bright splendour, we have been amazed.  Cheer up and mourn not.  Tell us, O blameless and blessed one, art thou the presiding deity of this forest, or of this mountain, or of this river?’ Damayanti replied unto those ascetics, saying, ’O Brahmanas, I am not the goddess of this forest, or of this mountain, or of this stream.  O Rishis of ascetic wealth, know that I am a human being.  I will relate my history in detail.  Do ye listen to me.  There is a king—­the mighty ruler of the Vidarbhas—­Bhima by name.  O foremost of regenerate ones, know me to be his daughter.  The wise ruler of the Nishadhas, Nala by name, of great celebrity, heroic, and ever victorious in battle, and learned, is my husband.  Engaged in the worship of the gods, devoted to the twice-born ones, the guardian of the line of the Nishadhas, of mighty energy, possessed of great strength, truthful, conversant with all duties, wise, unwavering in promise, the crusher of foes, devout, serving the gods, graceful, the conqueror of hostile towns, that foremost of kings, Nala by name, equal in splendour unto the lord of celestials, the slayer of foes, possessed of large eyes, and a hue resembling the full moon, is my husband.  The celebrator of great sacrifices, versed in the Vedas and their branches, the destroyer of enemies in battle, 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.’