and covered with mire in the process.  And oppressed with grief on account of her husband, and melancholy, she looketh like the night of the full moon when Rahu hath swallowed that luminary, or like a stream whose current hath dried up.  Her plight is very much like that of a ravaged lake with the leaves of its lotuses crushed by the trunks of elephants, and with its birds and fowls affrighted by the invasion.  Indeed, this girl, of a delicate frame and of lovely limbs, and deserving to dwell in a mansion decked with gems, is (now) like an uprooted lotus-stalk scorched by the sun.  Endued with beauty and generosity of nature, and destitute of ornaments, though deserving of them, she looketh like the moon ‘new bent in haven’ but covered with black clouds.  Destitute of comforts and luxuries, separated from loved ones and friends, she liveth in distress, supported by the hope of beholding her lord.  Verily, the husband is the best ornament of a woman, however destitute of ornaments.  Without her husband beside her, this lady, though beautiful, shineth not.  It is a hard feat achieved by Nala in that he liveth without succumbing to grief, though separated from such a wife.  Beholding this damsel possessed of black hair and of eyes like lotus-leaves, in woe though deserving of bliss, even my heart is pained.  Alas! when shall this girl graced with auspicious marks and devoted to her husband, crossing this ocean of woe, regain the company of her lord, like Rohini regaining the Moon’s?  Surely, the king of the Nishadhas will experience in regaining her the delight that a king deprived of his kingdom experienceth in regaining his kingdom.  Equal to her in nature and age and extraction, Nala deserveth the daughter of Vidarbha, and this damsel of black eyes also deserveth him.  It behoveth me to comfort the queen of that hero of immeasurable prowess and endued with energy and might, (since) she is so eager to meet her husband.  I will console this afflicted girl of face like the full moon, and suffering distress that she had never before endured, and ever meditating on her lord.’

“Vrihadaswa continued, ’Having thus reflected on these various circumstances and signs, the Brahmana, Sudeva, approached Damayanti, and addressed her, saying, ’O princess of Vidarbha, I am Sudeva, the dear friend of thy brother.  I have come here, seeking thee, at the desire of king Bhima.  Thy father is well, and also thy mother, and thy brothers.  And thy son and daughter, blessed with length of days, are living in peace.  Thy relatives, though alive, are almost dead on thy account, and hundreds of Brahmanas are ranging the world in search of thee.”