Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c5.103

c5.103

6) Damayantī in the kingdom of Cedi. While she was sitting on the rock wailing, a caravan of traders came by that way. They had been attacked by a herd of elephants and were running away from them. They saw Damayantī. She told them her story. They brought her to the kingdom of Cedi. She wandered through the country for a while and finally reached the palace of the King Subāhu. Thinking her to be a mad woman the street boys were following her. The queen saw the woman surrounded by street boys and felt pity for her. She sent her maid and brought her to the palace. Without revealing that she was the queen of King Nala, she told everything else to the queen. The queen consoled her and said that she would get her husband back. She invited Damayantī to stay in the palace till she got her husband back. Damayantī replied as follows: "Mother, I shall stay here. But there are certain conditions. I won't eat remains and offals of victuals, I won't make others to wash my legs. I won't talk with men who are not related to me. If anybody hankers after me you must order him to be killed. Brāhmaṇas may come and see me only in connection with the search for my husband. This is my vow." The queen agreed to her conditions and made her the attendant of her daughter Sunandā.