O illustrious sovereign, it is, I, Damayanti, devoted to thee, who, alone in this great forest, address thee.  Wherefore, then, dost thou not reply unto me?  Oh, I do not behold thee today on this mountain, O chief of men, O thou of noble birth and character with every limb possessed of grace!  In this terrible forest, haunted by lions and tigers, O king of the Nishadhas, O foremost of men, O enhancer of my sorrows, (Wishing to know) whether thou art lying down, or sitting, or standing, or gone, whom shall I ask, distressed and woe-stricken on thy account, saying, Hast thou seen in this woods the royal Nala? Of whom shall I in this forest enquire after the departed Nala, handsome and of high soul, and the destroyer of hostile arrays?  From whom shall I today hear the sweet words, viz., That royal Nala, of eyes like lotus-leaves, whom thou seekest, is even here? Yonder cometh the forest-king, that tiger of graceful mien, furnished with four teeth and prominent cheeks.  Even him will I accost fearlessly:  Thou art the lord of all animals, and of this forest the king.  Know me for Damayanti, the daughter of the king of the Vidarbhas, and the wife of Nala, destroyer of foes, and the king of the Nishadhas.  Distressed and woe-stricken, I am seeking my husband alone in these woods.  Do thou, O king of beasts, comfort me (with news of Nala) if thou hast seen him.  Or, O lord of the forest, if thou cannot speak of Nala, do thou, then, O best of beasts, devour me, and free me from this misery.  Alas! hearing my plaintive appeal in the wilderness, this king of mountains, this high and sacred hill, crested with innumerable heaven-kissing and many-hued and beauteous peaks, and abounding in various ores, and decked with gems of diverse kings, and rising like a banner over this broad forest, and ranged by lions and tigers and elephants and boars and bears and stags, and echoing all around with (the notes of) winged creatures of various species, and adorned with kinsukas and Asokas and Vakulas and Punnagas, with blossoming Karnikaras, and Dhavas and Plakshas, and with streams haunted by waterfowls of every kind, and abounding in crested summits, O sacred one!  O best of mountains!  O thou of wondrous sight!  O celebrated hill!  O refuge (of the distressed)!  O highly auspicious one!  I bow to thee, O pillar of the earth!  Approaching, I bow to thee.  Know me for a king’s daughter, and a king’s daughter-in-law, and king’s consort, Damayanti by name that lord of earth who ruleth the Vidarbhas, that mighty warrior-king Bhima by name, who protecteth the four orders, is my sire.  That best of kings celebrated the Rajasuya and Aswamedha sacrifices, with profuse gifts to the Brahmanas.  Possessed of beautiful and large eyes, distinguished for devotion to the Vedas, of unblemished character, truth-telling, devoid of guile, gentle, endued with prowess, lord of immense wealth, versed in morality,