Made for Each Other - The Triumph of Enduring Love

Made for Each Other   -   The Triumph of Enduring Love

                                      

The touching love story of Nala and Damayanthi from Hindu Mythology is soul stirring and enduring.  The two of them had overcome the perils and typhoons of the Gods, Kali the demon king and Karkotaka the deadly poisonous serpent.  As we know that the Hindu Epic Mahabharata stories are with full of boons and banes.  This is a love story pitted against most adverse circumstances and the twosome willing to sacrifice their life for the sake of one another and finally emerge victorious in true love which did not surrender.  It teaches us that at the end true love prevails and never fails.  There is no better story which stands as a truthful testimony to conquer the true love.  Nala and Damayanthi were truly made for each other and their romance was the most love-laden fairy tale romance.

Nala was the king of Nishadha Kingdom and one of the most handsome men.  He was the fastest equestrian or charioteer ever lived in this world too.  He was the most prosperous and successful warrior king and his accolades were spread the entire length and breadth of the kingdoms. 

Damayanthi was the most beautiful princess born to King Bhima of Vidarbha.  The Gods from the heavens were attracted to her beauty and paraded themselves in her Swayamwar.  Damayanthi was not only the most beautiful lady but also very chaste and humane.

Before connecting their love story, let us be informed that Nala had a weakness for the game of dice like the Pandavas and lost his family and fortune in the gambling.  King Nala and Queen Damayanthi suffered more privations and underwent greater misery.  This is one of the ancient stories of Indian literature and is full of pathos. The story narrates the heartrending hardships that the couple Nala and Damayanthi underwent patiently and in the end they regained their prosperity.  It is an epic inside an epic and can be cited as an example of literature leading to the catharsis of emotions.

 



                                   

          

Let us unravel the romantic story now.  One day a swan appeared in the garden of king Nala and he captures the swan.  The swan told Nala in human tone that there is a beautiful princess called Damayanthi in the country of Vidarbha and the King of Vidarbha was searching for a suitable groom for her. She was the most beautiful maiden in all the three worlds.  The swan impresses Nala that he is the best suitor for Damayanthi and she will sing a song praising Nala to Damayanthi if she is freed from Nala’s captivity.  The swan became a messenger for Nala and met Damayanthi in her palace lake.  We all know in ancient days dove was used as courier.  Why only the birds even cloud was a messenger in Kalidasa’s Meghduta. The swan praised Nala and told Damayanthi that he is the most handsome and famous warrior king and the best match for Damayanthi.  Damayanthi was in a dreamy world after listening to the swan and fallen in love with Nala instantly and rejected the proposals from the Gods themselves.  The pair of Nala and Damayanthi is known today as Hamsajodi, the swan couples.

 

        

Now let us unfold the story in details.  Nala was the ruler of Nishada. He was the commander of a vast army and conquered many countries and extended the frontiers of his kingdom from coast to coast.  He was renowned as an able administrator and a just ruler. He was also an expert charioteer. His country prospered under his rule.  However, despite being one of the most handsome men of his time, he was a bachelor.   One evening Nala went to the royal park for recreation and rest.  He saw a number of swans descending into the park.  He appreciated their white wings, graceful gait and pearly plumage.  He rushed slowly to catch them and all the birds made their escape with the exception of one.  Nala was delighted at the catch.  However, the bird started talking to him in human tones, “Great King, I am glad I am caught: you must have noticed my dilatory demeanor.  Very recently I have seen a princess, the most beautiful maiden in the three worlds and I was wondering whether any prince could be found to match her accomplishments.  At long last I could spot the worthy prince in you.  If you set me at liberty, I will go and tell the same thing to Dhamayanthi, the daughter of King of Vidarbha.” Immediately Nala freed the bird and said, “I have already heard of the princess and her exceptional beauty.  I am happy that fortune has come to me flying, you can fly back, but please forget me not.” The swan flew away.  However, Nala stood at the same spot silently till darkness.  Nala went to bed dreaming about the swan and recollecting her sweet sentiments.

The swan went to Vidharbha and repeated the performance.  This time Damayanthi and her maids caught hold of the swans one each.  The swan caught by Damayanthi told her in human tones, “I am coming from Nala, the most handsome prince I have seen in the three worlds.  I am wondering whether any princess could found anywhere to match his attainments.  At long last, I could spot out a worthy princess in you.  You have to set me at liberty in your own interests.”  Immediately Damayanthi ordered her maids to free all the swans.  She requested the swans to take their bath in the pellucid waters of the artificial lake in the royal park and feast on the lotus stems.  She requested the swan which spoke to her to go to Nala as her ambassador of love.  The swan told her, “Princess Damayanthi, I have seen millions and millions of mortal couples.  Pardon me if the husband is intelligent, the wife is not, if the wife is beautiful the husband is ugly; if the wife is dynamic the husband is passive; if one is daring the other is timid; if one is pessimistic the other is optimistic; everywhere incompatibilities are clubbed together in weary wedlock.  I prefer to be brief.  If you both are married I can proclaim without any fear of contradiction that for the first time in the history of creation there would be a human couple ideally matched and made for each other.”

Damayanthi was very much pleased with the sweet words of the swan.  The swans flew away after feasting on lotus stems  in the lake for some time.  Damayanthi stood staring at the horizon silently heaving a sigh quite oblivious of the setting sun and the spreading darkness.  Damayanthi went to bed dreaming about Nala, the swan and her sweet sentiments.  Nala and Damayanthi, though separated by distance, were suffering from love sickness and spending sleepless nights tormented by the floral shafts of cupid, on beds of tender leaves and lotus stems smearing sandal paste mixed with camphor all over their bodies.

The maids in waiting informed Bhima, the king of Vidharbha that the love-lorn Damayanthi was absent minded and not even taking food or drink.  He thought over the matter, decided to proclaim the Swayamvara of Damayanthi and invited all the princes including Nala.  Many Princes came to the capital city of Vidharbha followed by huge retinues.

Angels reported to Indra the unprecedented commotion caused on earth on account of Damayanthi’s  Swayamvara.  Indra and three other rulers of celestial regions decided to attend the Swayamwara.  On the way they saw Nala coming to the Swayamvara in his chariot shining like the sun god and descended to the earth.  They met him and said introducing themselves, we are the rulers of the celestial regions.  Noble prince, we request you to do us a favor.”  Nala replied, “Please tell me if there is anything I could do for you.”  The gods said, “Truthful soul we request you to go to Damayanthi as our ambassador of love.  She can marry any one of us; tell that it would be the greatest privilege of any mortal maiden to be the spouse of celestial gods.”  Nala replied “You see how embarrassing is the mission to me, it is an irony of human life that I, an aspirant myself, am obliged to be an advocate for you. Alright, I will try to do my duty true to my word to the best of my ability.”  The gods said, “We bless you, noble prince, with divine powers.  You can enter the royal palace invisible to outsiders on your mission.”

Nala entered the chamber of Damayathi in the royal palace and ushered himself into her presence abruptly.  Damayanthi and her maids stood up in amazement at the sudden intrusion of a princely stranger.  She, recollecting her wits, asked him, “Evidently you must be an extraordinary personality to have entered my chambers unobserved by the guards of the royal palace.  May I know who you are and why you have chosen this daring feat fraught with danger to your person?

He replied nonchantly, “I am Nala, the ruler of Nishadha.  For the present I have come as an ambassador of the gods Indra, Varuna, Vayu and Agni.  They are fascinated by your beauty and want that you should marry any one of them at the Swayamwara.  Damayanthi told Nala, “In fact I am quite delighted to see the prince of my dreams.  I am a mortal maiden and how can I marry a god.  Everything the swan told me about you seems to be true.”  Nala replied, “I endorse your statement that what the swan has told is true.  I see, you are coveted even by the gods, attracted by your beauty and accomplishments.  How can mortals go against the wishes of mighty gods?  Damayanthi said, “I will commit suicide rather than marry anybody other than the man of my choice.  Anyway let them come to the Swayamvara I will place the garland around your neck in their immediate presence.”  Nala met the gods and apprised them with the determination of Damayanthi.

The Swayamvara ceremony was started at the appointed hour.  A galaxy of princes was gathered at the Swayamvara. All the princes took their seat.  The gods wanted to enjoy some serious fun at the expense of Damayanthi and sat next to Nala, all looking exactly like Nala.  Damayanthi arrived on the scene with all the royal fanfare, holding the bridal garland by her right hand.  When she looked at the princes seated in the royal auditorium, there were five Nalas instead of one seated in a row.  She could easily realize that it was a crafty subterfuge devised by the divine beings.  She prayed to them in her heart, “O gods, I have every right to choose my husband.  You have absolutely no justification for tormenting me like this, great souls, I request you to show mercy on this mortal maiden.

The gods were pleased with her prayer.  Damayanthi could spot out the gods with their static eyelids and their non-sweating bodies.  On the other hand tiny drops of sweat could be observed on the rosy cheeks of real Nala emitting rainbow colors by the diffusion of scattered rays of life.  Damayanthi fastened the bridal garland around Nala’s neck.  The Brahmin s chanted the vedic hymns.  The marriage of Nala and Damayanthi was celebrated with royal splendor blessed by the  Brahmins.  The gods conferred on him great boons.  Indra said that he would be personally present at his sacrifices, Agni, the fire god, promised him that he would be at his beck and call.  Varuna, the water god and Vayu, the air god agreed to do likewise. The four demi-Gods assumed their true form and blessed the bride and groom and went back to heaven. The couple departed to Nishadha and lived happily for twelve years and had two children.

The gods on their way back from Swayamvar met Kali, the deity of degradation and depravity and asked him, “Where are you going?”  He replied “I am going to Damayanthiswayamvara.”  The gods laughed and said, “We are returning from the same.  The destined gainer is Nala whom Damayanthi selected, disregarding everybody else, you can go back.”  But the disappointed Kali wanted to wreak vengeance on the couple and waited for an opportunity.  But Nala gave no quarter to Kali, ruling the kingdom of Nishadha in all glory and grandeur.  However, Nala was addicted to gambling and Kali entered into dice.  Nala was always scrupulous with his hygiene and health.  Cleanliness is next to godliness and eternal vigilance is the price of cleanliness.  One day Nala inadvertently did wash his feet carefully at the time of evening worship.  Kali seized that opportunity and gained a foothold in the body of Nala.   Nala’s cousin  king Pushkara  one day invited Nala to the game of dice and Nala accepted the invitation following the Kshatriya etiquette.  Nala prompted by the power of Kali inside him gambled away all his wealth and kingdom.

Damayanthi anticipating the outcome of the gamble sent her two children, a boy and a girl to her parents on a chariot driven by Varshneya.  Nala and Damayanthi stayed at the outskirts of the capital for three days as commoners and no citizen came to meet them fearing the wrath of Puskara, the new king of Nishadha.  The former king and queen had to subsist on water. They roamed around in this manner for a few days eating roots and fruits. The forest was an unkind realm. Without weapons Nala could not hunt.  And Damayanthi used to the comforts of the palace, did not know how to find fruit or water.  Nala saw some birds with golden wings perched on the grass nearby and he threw his garment over them for an easy catch. Nala said to Damayanthi “May be we can eat them.  May be we can sell them to travelers in exchange for food.”  But the birds flew away taking the garment with them.  The birds told Nala from the air, “We are the dice taking the form of birds and we have to come to take away your clothes.”  Nala then shared Damayanthi’s clothing and both walked and came to the cross roads.  Nala said, “This path leads to Ujjain; this road goes to Vidharbha; this way leads to Ayodhya and this track takes us to Dekka.  Whither shall we go?”  Damayanthi said, “Let us go to Vidharbha and stay with my parents.”  Nala replied, I have no face to go to Vidharbha where I will be recognized.  You please go to your parents. At least you can be happy there.”  Damayanthi replied, “How can I leave you?  The husband needs the wife all the more in adversity.  In hunger or thirst, in worry or work, a wife will serve the husband.  “I will follow you in misfortune as I did in fortune”, she said, “Let us go into the forest together.  No one will recognize us there”.   

Together they wandered through the forest silently, he burdened by guilt whereas she determined to stand by him no matter come what may.

Nala and Damayanthi roamed in the forest and Damayanthi fell asleep after sometime under the shade of a tree.  Nala was overpowered with grief.  The former queen Damayanthi once surrounded by hundreds of waiting maids was sleeping on the bare ground.  He thought that she would go to Vidharbha her father’s palace, if he left there and went his way.  He walked a few yards but returned to the spot where she was absorbed in innocent sleep.  His mind tossed to and fro for sometime.  Finally he made up his mind and went away.

Some distance away he saw that a snake was trapped in a burning bush. He doused the fire and freed the snake. As soon as he was freed the snake bit him and turned into a celestial being. "Do not worry," he told Nala. "The poison will disfigure and discolor you but you need to remain incognito for some time. Whenever you feel that you have to return to your original self just wrap this garment around you. Travel in the south direction for five days. You will reach the kingdom of Rituparna. Win his confidence and take the opportunities as they come." He handed Nala the magic robe and went his way.

The poison had taken its effect. Nala's skin had darkened and his body had shrunk and in all his appearance was more than hideous. He reached Rituparna's kingdom and with some difficulty got an audience with the king and work in his stables. His prowess with horses soon reached the king's ears. He began to choose and groom the horses for the king's personal use. He also began to drive the king's chariot on a regular basis. When he had gained sufficient familiarity with the king he requested that he would like to prepare a meal for the king. The food was so tasty king sacked the old cook and appointed Nala as the new cook.  Thus, Nala became the head of the stables and the kitchen and the king's confidante.

Meanwhile Damayanthi woke from her sleep but could not find her lord, Nala.  She came to the conclusion that he left her deliberately.  She sobbed for a while and roamed in the forest crying aloud. She searched for him going from tree to tree and bush to bush.  As evening approached she suddenly found a venomous serpent blocking her path, ready to strike her.  Luckily a hunter shot an arrow and rescued her from its venomous bite.  She thanked the hunter profusely but soon realized that the hunter was not interested in her gratitude, he wanted to have the pleasure of her body.  Damayanthi was a chaste woman and no sooner did the hunter touch her than he burst into flames.

She wandered in the forest aimlessly for some days searching for Nala in frenzied hope amounting to lunacy.  Eventually she reached a hermitage where great saints lived, following the traditions of ancient sages like Vasistha, Valakhilyas, Vamadeva, Bhigru and Narada.  She enquired about Nala.  The saints received her with due hospitality and learnt with sorrow how misfortune dogged the footsteps of a noble king and his devoted queen.  They were convinced already that almighty destiny could degrade a king into a beggar or elevate a beggar to an emperor.

They consoled Damayanthi saying, “We have seen with our minds’ eye aided by the power of penance that you will be united with your husband after sometime.  He will regain his lost kingdom, glory and grandeur.”  

Afterwards Damayanthi came upon a caravan of traders who invited her to join them.  That very night, a herd of elephants attacked the caravan and caused much damage. The traders felt Damayanthi brought them bad luck, so they drove her away.

Alone and abandoned, Damayanthi finally managed to make her way to the city of Chedi.  The children there started pelting her with stones for her torn clothes, dust laden limbs and unkempt hair which gave her the appearance of a mad woman.

As Damayanthi tried to escape the mob of children, she caught the eye of the queen of Chedi.  Feeling sorry for this unkempt but regal-looking woman, the queen had her brought to the palace  where Damayanthi became her lady-in-waiting.  Damayanthi did not reveal her name or identity.  She called herself Sairandhri and earned her keep as a hair dresser and perfume maker.

A Sairandhri was a lady who was obliged to seek royal service.  She enjoyed the status of Sairandhri. 

 

A few days later, a priest called Sudev passed through Chedi.  He recognized Damayanthi and revealed her true identity to the queen.  After much persuation, Damayanthi agreed to go to her father’s house. 

Nala too had reached a dead end. He did not know how to proceed to look for Damayanti or to get back his kingdom. Both husband and wife were separately waiting for fate to make the next move.

‘We must find my husband,’ she told her father.  So her father appointed a priest called Parnada to go to each and every kingdom in Bharata-varsha looking for Nala.

‘How will I recognize him?’ wondered Parnada.

Damayanthi said, ‘Keep singing these line as you travel:  “Oh you who lost crown and kingdom in gambling, who abandoned your wife after taking one half of her clothing, where are you? Your beloved still yearns for you.”   Nala only respond to this song.’

Parnada did as told as he traveled up and down the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati singing Damayanthi’s song.  Everyone was intrigued by the lyrics but no one responded to it.   Finally, in the kingdom of Ayodhya, ruled by Rituparna, the royal cook, an ugly dwarf called Bahuka responded to the song with another song.  ‘Despair not beloved of that unlucky soul.  He still cares for you.  The fool who gambled away his kingdom, whose clothes were stolen by a bird, who wandered off in the middle of the night leaving you all alone in the forest.’

Parnada rushed back and informed Damayanthi of this incident.  ‘That’s Nala,’ said Damayanthi with a smile on her face, ‘He still cares for me.  That’s why he responded.’

‘But the man who responded is an ugly dwarf  and serves as the King’s cook.  Not at all like the handsome Nala I remember from your marriage,’ said Parnada.

‘No one but Nala knows of those birds that flew away with his garment.  It must be him,’ said Damayanthi, fully convinced.

She came up with an idea to get Nala to Vidarbha.  She requested Sudev to visit Ayodhya and give the king there a message.  ‘Tell him that since there is no trace of Nala, the king of Vidarbha has decied to get Damayanthi remarried.  He has invited all the kings of the land to his city so that she choses a husband from among them.  Tell him the ceremony will take place on the day that immediately follows your arrival.’

‘The next day !   But how will Rituparna reach Vidharbha in one day?’

‘If Nala is in his kingdom, Nala will bring him here for he is the fastest charioteer in the world.  And Rituparna will want to come at any cost for he was one of my suitors before I married Nala and still desires me.

Sudev was not sure the plan would work but he followed Damayanthi’s instructions.  Sure enough, Rituparna offered a huge reward to whoever could take him to Vidarbha in one night.  ‘I will,’ said his cook. ‘I will take you there provided you tell me the secret of rolling dice.’

‘So be it,’ said Rituparna, and the two made their way to Vidarbha, speeding through the forest like a thunderbolt on a chariot.  ‘Through the night, as they traveled, the king shared with Bahuka  his secret knowledge of dice.  By the time the chariot reached Vidarbha at dawn, Bahuka had become an expert in the game.

As soon as the chartiot crossed the palace gates, Rituparna and Bahuka saw two children.  Bahuka jumped off the chariot and hugged them and wept profusely.  ‘Who are these children? And why are you hugging them? And why are you crying? Asked Rituparna.  Bahuka did not reply.

Damayanthi observed this from afar and heaved a sigh of relief.  ‘That man is Nala’.

‘But he does not look like Nala. He is ugly and short and deformed.’ said the maid.

‘I do not recognize the body but I do recognize that heart.  Follow him and observe him.  He may not look like Nala but he will behave like Nala. And the world around him will treat him royally for he has the soul of a king.’ Damayanthi said with confidence.

The maid followed Bahuka and sure enough, saw the most amazing things.  ‘The man has magical powers.  When he passes through a gate, he does not bend the gate rises so that he passes with head held high.  When given meat to cook a meal, the meat almost cooks itself; the wood bursts forth with fire and water pours out of the ground.’

‘That man is Nala for sure.  He may be poor and ugly, but even the gate of the palace, the firewood and the water in the ground acknowledges his royal aura.  They rise up to greet him,’ explained Damayanthi.

Without any consideration to those around, Damayanthi ran to the stables and hugged Bahuka shouting ‘Nala, Nala’  Rituparna was shocked and her parents embarrassed.  How could this ugly servant be Nala, the handsomest of men?

Bahuka them spoke up, ‘Yes, I am Nala.  In the forest, after I left Damayanthi, I came upon Karkotaka, a dreaded Naga, who with his venomous breath transformed me into the ugliest of men.  He then advised me to gain employment with the king of Ayodhya, and learned from his the art of playing dice.  My ugliness and my servitude were punishments to make me see the errors of my ways.’

Rituparna found all that he was hearing too fantastic to believe.  So Bahuka pulled out a magic robe given to him by the Naga Karkotaka.  He wrapped it around his body and was instantly transformed to his original beautiful self.  With that there was no doubt in anyone’s mind: Bahuka was indeed Nala.

After thanking Rituparna for all his help, Nala hugged his wife and children.  The terrible days of misfortune and separation were over.  They were together once again.

A few days later, Nala visited what was once his kingdom and challenged his cousin to a game of dice.  ‘If I lose, you can have my beautiful wife’, he said motivating Pushkara to take up the challenge.  This time, however, Nala won, thanks to the trick Rituparna taught him.

Thus, did Nala get back all that he had once lost – family and fortune.

Nala and Damayanti then lived happily thereafter and they did not forget the swan who had so sportingly taken their messages of love.

Princess Damayanthi is the embodiment of the divine feminine who creates a stir within us to awaken to the secret of love. Damayanthi comes across as a strong-willed woman who is unafraid of her husband’s misfortunes.  She never stops loving him and always stands by him.  Nala though consumed by shame and guilt of throwing away his kingdom and fortune and separated from his wife and children finally succeeds winning back everything due to determination and will to succeed in love.  This is a great story of love and binding together in adversity and finally they together succeed the tryst with destiny.

The many messengers of love but none like Hamsaduta who enabled the best pair to get known to each other and fall in love and get united.   The great duty of igniting passionate love in the most beautiful and virtuous woman to chose the handsomest of men with exemplary skills in enduring love.

This great soul stirring love epic motivated me to do a post in JOHNNY’S BLOG.