The Great Epic of the Bhārata dynasty 3.66: ṣaṭṣaṣṭitamo'dhyāyaḥ

3.66.1

sudeva uvāca |
vidarbharājo dharmātmā bhīmo bhīmaparākramaḥ |
suteyaṃ tasya kalyāṇī damayantīti viśrutā || 1 ||

"Sudeva said, 'There is a virtuous and illustrious ruler of the Vidarbhas, Bhima by name. This blessed lady is his daughter, and widely known by the name of Damayanti. And there is a king ruling the Nishadhas, named Nala, the son of Virasena. This blessed lady is the wife of that wise and righteous monarch. Defeated at dice by his brother, and despoiled of his kingdom, that king, accompanied by Damayanti, went away without the knowledge of any one. We have been wandering over the whole earth in search of Damayanti. And that girl is at last found in the house of thy son. No woman existeth that is her rival in beauty. Between the eye-brows of this ever-youthful damsel, there is an excellent mole from birth, resembling a lotus. Noticed by us (before) it seems to have disappeared, covered, (as her forehead is) with (a coat of) dust even like the moon hid in clouds. Placed there by the Creator himself as an indication of prosperity and wealth, that mole is visible faintly, like the cloud-covered lunar crescent of the first day of the lighted fortnight. And covered as her body is with dust, her beauty hath not disappeared. Though careless of her person, it is still manifest, and shineth like gold. And this girl--goddess-like--capable of being identified by this form of hers and that mole, hath been discovered by me as one discovereth a fire that is covered, by its heat!'

3.66.2

rājā tu naiṣadho nāma vīrasenasuto nalaḥ |
bhāryeyaṃ tasya kalyāṇī puṇyaślokasya dhīmataḥ || 2 ||

3.66.3

sa vai dyūte jito bhrātrā hṛtarājyo mahīpatiḥ |
damayantyā gataḥ sārdhaṃ na prajñāyata karhicit || 3 ||

3.66.4

te vayaṃ damayantyarthe carāmaḥ pṛthivīmimām |
seyamāsāditā bālā tava putraniveśane || 4 ||

3.66.5

asyā rūpeṇa sadṛśī mānuṣī neha vidyate |
asyāścaiva bhruvormadhye sahajaḥ pipluruttamaḥ |
śyāmāyāḥ padmasaṃkāśo lakṣito'ntarhito mayā || 5 ||

3.66.6

malena saṃvṛto hyasyāstanvabhreṇeva candramāḥ |
cihnabhūto vibhūtyarthamayaṃ dhātrā vinirmitaḥ || 6 ||

3.66.7

pratipatkaluṣevendorlekhā nāti virājate |
na cāsyā naśyate rūpaṃ vapurmalasamācitam |
asaṃskṛtamapi vyaktaṃ bhāti kāñcanasaṃnibham || 7 ||

3.66.8

anena vapuṣā bālā piplunānena caiva ha |
lakṣiteyaṃ mayā devī pihito'gnirivoṣmaṇā || 8 ||

3.66.9

bṛhadaśva uvāca |
tacchrutvā vacanaṃ tasya sudevasya viśāṃ pate |
sunandā śodhayāmāsa piplupracchādanaṃ malam || 9 ||

"O king, hearing these words of Sudeva, Sunanda washed the dust that covered the mole between Damayanti's eye-brows. And thereupon it became visible like the moon in the sky, just emerged from the clouds. And seeing that mole, O Bharata, Sunanda and the queen-mother began to weep, and embracing Damayanti stood silent for a while. And the queen-mother, shedding tears as she spoke, said in gentle accents, 'By this thy mole, I find that thou art the daughter of my sister. O beauteous girl, thy mother and I are both daughters of the high-souled Sudaman, the ruler of the Dasarnas. She was bestowed upon king Bhima, and I on Viravahu. I witnessed thy birth at our father's palace in the country of the Dasarnas. O beautiful one, my house is to thee even as thy father's. And this wealth, O Damayanti, is thine as much as mine.' As this, O king, Damayanti bowing down to her mother's sister with a glad heart, spake unto her these words, 'Unrecognised, I have still lived happily with thee, every want of mine satisfied and myself cared for by thee. And happy as my stay hath been, it would, without doubt, be happier still. But, mother, I have long been an exile. It behoveth thee, therefore, to grant me permission (to depart). My son and daughter, sent to my father's palace, are living there. Deprived of their father, and of their mother also, how are they passing their days stricken with sorrow.

3.66.10

sa malenāpakṛṣṭena piplustasyā vyarocata |
damayantyāstadā vyabhre nabhasīva niśākaraḥ || 10 ||

3.66.11

pipluṃ dṛṣṭvā sunandā ca rājamātā ca bhārata |
rudantyau tāṃ pariṣvajya muhūrtamiva tasthatuḥ |
utsṛjya bāṣpaṃ śanakai rājamātedamabravīt || 11 ||

3.66.12

bhaginyā duhitā me'si piplunānena sūcitā |
ahaṃ ca tava mātā ca rājanyasya mahātmanaḥ |
sute daśārṇādhipateḥ sudāmnaścārudarśane || 12 ||

3.66.13

bhīmasya rājñaḥ sā dattā vīrabāhorahaṃ punaḥ |
tvaṃ tu jātā mayā dṛṣṭā daśārṇeṣu piturgṛhe || 13 ||

3.66.14

yathaiva te piturgehaṃ tathedamapi bhāmini |
yathaiva hi mamaiśvaryaṃ damayanti tathā tava || 14 ||

3.66.15

tāṃ prahṛṣṭena manasā damayantī viśāṃ pate |
abhivādya māturbhaginīmidaṃ vacanamabravīt || 15 ||

3.66.16

ajñāyamānāpi satī sukhamasmyuṣiteha vai |
sarvakāmaiḥ suvihitā rakṣyamāṇā sadā tvayā || 16 ||

3.66.17

sukhātsukhataro vāso bhaviṣyati na saṃśayaḥ |
ciraviproṣitāṃ mātarmāmanujñātumarhasi || 17 ||

3.66.18

dārakau ca hi me nītau vasatastatra bālakau |
pitrā vihīnau śokārtau mayā caiva kathaṃ nu tau || 18 ||

3.66.19

yadi cāpi priyaṃ kiṃcinmayi kartumihecchasi |
vidarbhānyātumicchāmi śīghraṃ me yānamādiśa || 19 ||

If thou wishest to do what is agreeable to me, do thou without loss of time, order a vehicle, for I wish to go to the Vidarbhas.' At this, O king, the sister to (Damayanti's) mother, with a glad heart, said, 'So be it'. And the queen-mother with her son's permission, O chief of the Bharatas, sent Damayanti in handsome litter carried by men, protected by a large escort and provided with food and drink and garments of the first quality. And soon enough she reached the country of the Vidarbhas. And all her relatives, rejoicing (in her arrival) received her with respect. And seeing her relatives, her children, both her parents, and all her maids, to be well, the illustrious Damayanti, O king, worshipped the gods and Brahmanas according to the superior method. And the king rejoiced at beholding his daughter gave unto Sudeva a thousand kine and much wealth and a village. And, O king, having spent that night at her father's mansion and recovered from fatigue, Damayanti addressed her mother, saying, 'O mother, if thou wishest me to live, I tell thee truly, do thou endeavour to bring Nala, that hero among men.' Thus addressed by Damayanti, the venerable queen became filled with sorrow. And bathed in tears, she was unable to give any answer. And beholding her in that plight, all the inmates of the inner apartments broke out into exclamation of 'Oh!' And 'Alas'! and began to cry bitterly.

3.66.20

bāḍhamityeva tāmuktvā hṛṣṭā mātṛṣvasā nṛpa |
guptāṃ balena mahatā putrasyānumate tataḥ || 20 ||

3.66.21

prasthāpayadrājamātā śrīmatā naravāhinā |
yānena bharataśreṣṭha svannapānaparicchadām || 21 ||

3.66.22

tataḥ sā nacirādeva vidarbhānagamacchubhā |
tāṃ tu bandhujanaḥ sarvaḥ prahṛṣṭaḥ pratyapūjayat || 22 ||

3.66.23

sarvānkuśalino dṛṣṭvā bāndhavāndārakau ca tau |
mātaraṃ pitaraṃ caiva sarvaṃ caiva sakhījanam || 23 ||

3.66.24

devatāḥ pūjayāmāsa brāhmaṇāṃśca yaśasvinī |
vidhinā pareṇa kalyāṇī damayantī viśāṃ pate || 24 ||

3.66.25

atarpayatsudevaṃ ca gosahasreṇa pārthivaḥ |
prīto dṛṣṭvaiva tanayāṃ grāmeṇa draviṇena ca || 25 ||

3.66.26

sā vyuṣṭā rajanīṃ tatra piturveśmani bhāminī |
viśrāntā mātaraṃ rājannidaṃ vacanamabravīt || 26 ||