nal-damayanti

 

Nal-Damayanti, the tribals turn into royals

 

Long back in the thick forest of mount Arbuja nowadays known as mount Abu in Rajasthan, lived a tribal couple named Ahuk and Ahuka who were great devotees of lord Shiv. To test their devotion, once lord Shiv disguised as a hermit appeared before them. The couple who were simple and hospitable feasted him respectfully. As the time lingered in serving and feasting him the sun set down and it turned dark.  The hermit said,-“Ahuk! Please allow me to stay at your place as it’s got dark and it is unsafe now to move on or to sleep in the open. I shall leave this place early in the morning.”

The couple had just a small hut and the surrounding jungle was replete with ferocious beasts. They wished the hermit to stay in their hut to spend the night but the problem was how to ensure their own safety if they allowed the guest to sleep in their small hut? Ahuk was in quandary. He began to ponder over. Leaving his wife alone inside the hut with a stranger for the entire night seemed to him indigestible and when his wife proposed to stand guard outside and let him share the hut with the hermit seemed to him below his dignity. The brave wife insisted that she would stand guard outside to scare away the beasts and Ahuk should sleep comfortably with the guest inside. This was but no way acceptable to the husband’s manly pride. He said to the hermit,-“Lord! My hut is too small. How can I accommodate you inside?” Seeing him saying so which apparently brought shadow of disappoint over the face of the hermit, the wife intervened and said,-“let our guest sleep in. Turing him away at this moment and in such circumstances is against the duty of a householder. Let my husband give him company inside while I shall stay outside with my weapons to guard against the beasts.”

“No. It is better that both of you remain in while I shall stay out to protect you both.” Ahuk declared his decision in his firm voice. “No”.Realizing that spending night with a stranger by her may prove to be a deviation from the path of austerity, she protested and said,-“ You serve him inside as he is our revered guest. Equipped with my weapons I can very well protect myself while standing guard for you both.”The silent hermit quietly witnessed the devotion and mutual concern of his devotees. A considerably long deliberation ensued and finaly after reposing his full trust in his own righteousness and virtues of his sacred wife, Ahuk sat down in the feet of the guest to serve him and the hermit slept blissfully as his staunch devotee stroked his feet and then stood guard outside to protect him from wild beasts. The sacred lady also served the hermit and remained in, as decided by her husband. Thus passed the night while the husband guarded the hermit outside and the wife served the hermit inside with sincere regard and respect to him. As the morning approached, the hermit opened his eyes with a calm confidence and found Ahuka still awaiting his decree to serve upon him. She served him and when both of them came out of the hut, they found that Ahuk had been killed by the beasts.

The hermit was full of remorse and repented badly but the devout wife quietly said,-“Sir! Do not grieve. My husband died while performing his righteous duty of a householder. I shall also give up my body and join him in the heaven. Please help me prepare the pyre.” The hermit was speechless having witnessed the staunch faith of the couple in divine plan. He collected the dry logs of wood and prepared a pyre for the pious couple. The wife touched his feet to seek his blessing and began to enter the fire  to join her husband  in the world above. Seeing her such unflinching faith in righteousness, lord Shiv shed her humanly form and appeared her. Ahuka was overwhelmed. Her lord had tested her faith and professed his grace ultimately. Lord Shiv smiled and said,-“Blessed are you both. Seek anything as I am truly pleased with you.”   Ahuka, being steeped in divine delight remained idolized and neither uttered a word nor did she seek anything. Lord Shiv then decided their future on his own and said,-“Ahuk  shall be born as a prince named Nal and Ahuka! you will be a princess named Damayanti. I shall unite you both in the sacred tie of conjugal bond by disguising as celestial swan in your next birth. You shall enjoy all prosperity and attain moksh which is rare to attain even for yogis. Both of you will set the example of perfect conjugal love and will always be remembered by the posterity for your sincere love and unwavering devotion.” The place where lord Shiv appeared is known as Achaleshwar Mahadev nowadays.

 

        The time is such an entity as it remains a riddle for the human brain. It is based on the principle of relativity alone. The time flies when joy descends but becomes the toughest tunnel to pass through when bad weather approaches. Time is thus a function of memory alone. If there is no memory one can not appreciate time.

 As blessed by lord Shiv, Ahuk was born to king of Nishad and named Nal. Blessed by   the sage named Daman to her father who was King of Vidarbha, Damayanti was named after the sage only. As they grew into puberty, lord Shiv disguised as a celestial swan and appeared before prince Nal and twittered about the matchless beauty of princess of Vidarbha. Enmeshed by the narration of the charm of Damayanti from the mouth of the celestial swan, prince Nal caught hold of him. “Prince Nal! If you set me free, I shall do you an amazing favour,” proposed a fluttering swan. “What can you do for me?” asked the intrigued prince. “I shall describe your virtues to the princess in such a way that she will choose only you as her husband,” cajoled the swan. Nal was all the more enchanted. The swan had literally snatched the words from his mouth without his even uttering a single letter. He quickly set the swan free and promised him everything he could wish for, in return, for doing his task.

The swan soon flew to Vidarbh with his flock and found princess Damayanti playing in a garden fragrant with colourful flowers and chirping birds, accompanied by her friends. Her golden hair flowed over her slender back as she glided around, followed by a flock of maidservants. Finding her as the perfect match for the prince, the swans fluttered their golden wings to catch her attention and hopped around her. She also found them so attractive that she ran after them to touch their golden wings. As she tried to touch them by chasing them, one after the other, each swan chirped to her,-“O Damayanti! There is a prince named Nal in the land of Nishad. He is as handsome as the sons of lord Surya named Ashwani Kumar and as bewitching as lord Kamdev. No man can equal him in grace. If you could be his wife your beauty and birth will surely attain fruition. We fly everywhere and know all. We have not yet seen a single lad who could match Nal in any walk. As you are a gem amongst the girls, so is he amongst the youths. Both of you together will make a perfect pair.” The princess was outwitted by the wisdom and charm of swans that appeared to her as divine messengers of prince Nal. She reciprocated spontaneously,-“Swans! Please tell so to the prince also. I long to see him.”

 The herd of golden swans rejoiced in fulfilling the promise of lord Shiv to the former couple. They appeared before Nal and said,-“Prince Nal! Listen! We described your charm and glory to princess of Vidarbh.”

 “Really? Tell me what did she say about me?” asked the curious Nal.

“Prince! We described to her how charming and graceful you are in such a way that she longs to be only your wife now,” divulged the swans, while prancing around the eager prince.

  Nal was overjoyed and fed the swans with the best of the foods. The swans also rejoiced in feasting themselves with the offerings of the prince and joyfully beguiled the prince with their narration of  beauty and grace of princess Damayanti.

 Thus described about each other by the golden swans both began to mentally fantasize about each other. They pondered over each other’s charm and longed to see each other. The princess being more sensitive and introvert lost sleep and appetite and turned pale as she seared day and night, longing to meet her soul mate. Her friends guessed the cause of her silent suffering and disclosed this to her parents. Hearing the plight of his beloved daughter the king soon asked his subjects to make preparations for her swayamvar.

Sage Narad and his friend Parvat muni spread the news of her swayamvar to devtas in the swargalok as they knew that the beauty and grace of daughter of Bhimak was matchless in the three spheres. Hearing the news of her swayamvar, Nal jumped over his heels and began to make preparations. As soon as he set out to reach Vidarbh, the three ardent suitors of Damayanti descended from the swargalok and stopped him in his way. “Prince Nal! You are renowned for your truthfulness. Please be our messenger for a special purpose,” they said. Nal stopped and replied,- “Sirs! I will surely do so. Please tell me about you and your purpose.”

“We are devtas. I am Indra and these are Agni, Varun and Yama. We have descended here for princess Damayanti. Please tell her that we are here for her and she may choose anyone of us as her husband.”

The officious messenger was aghast. He could not believe his ears. Was that her chosen girl so matchlessly attractive that even denizens of other sphere longed for her or was it a curse that he was going to be deprived of her in such a way, he knew not? Yet having full faith in his principles and truthfulness, he asserted “Lords! You all and I as well, have a common purpose. It does not seem therefore, appropriate that you ask me to be your messenger for this purpose. How can a man who longed to marry a girl, deliver message of others to her? Please forgive me and spare me form this.”

 The devtas were however, out to test him and insisted “Nal! You have already promised to be our messenger. How can then, you go back on your words? Don’t deviate from the path of righteousness and go fast to her…”

Nal thought for a while and as inspired by them, decided to remain true to his words. He said “Fine. But Sirs!Her chamber in the palace of the king must be closely guarded by soldiers and guards. How shall I reach there?”

“Don’t worry. You shall reach there. None would see you, we assure you” said Indra with assurance.

 Thus bound by his promise, faithful Nal set aside his own wish and to prove his truthfulness to devtas, agreed to take their message to Damayanti and entered the palace of king Bhimak and as assured by divine suitors of the princess, spontaneously found his way to the chamber of princess Damayanti. As he stepped into the corridors of her chamber, his heart leapt with nervousness. How had he been dreaming to be with her as her groom since the day the celestial swans had promised him to be united with her! How could the prophecy go wrong, he knew not as now, he was entering there as a messenger of her celestial suitors. His heart was sinking with despair and gloom yet somewhere in the chore of his heart he consoled himself for being true to himself and his celestial counterparts. This gave him strength to perform the role assigned to him by his superior counterparts. Thus swinging between hope of seeing his soul mate for the first time as well as with the fear that she might reject him for his celestial suitors, he ultimately found himself standing in front of the princess, surrounded by a horde of attendants and friends indulging in merry-making. Yet the paleness of his eyes reflected the plight of his helpless heart.

 As soon as the flock of young girls saw him they were agape. How could such a handsome youth enter there without the permission of the princess in spite of a chain of security guards standing in row from the main gate of palace to her chamber, they could not believe. More so, the charm and grace of the youth made him a cynosure of everyone’s eyes in an instant. They were literally rooted to the ground. Speechless and shocked, they looked at each other in awe.

He too, was speechless and could not believe his eyes that were feeling all the more esurient to get steeped into the charm of graceful princess and forgot to blink.

“O Brave youth! Please introduce yourself. How could you reach here? You appear to be so innocent. Did our guards not stop you? My father is too strict in punishing the offenders.” The mellifluous speech of Damayanti captured the soaring spirit of Nal and brought the messenger back to his senses.

 “O the beautiful princess! I am Nal, the messenger of lord Indra, Agni, Varuna and Yam,” words flowed from the mouth of poor Nal like a stream springing from the crevices of a rocky mountain.

 Hearing him, the princess almost swooned. She could never in the wildest of her dreams imagine that fate would bring her to see his Nal with such a message and in such a strange way. “I have entered here without being seen by anyone as willed by Lord Indra, Agni, Varuna and Yama who have sent me with their message that they have descended down for you and you may choose any of them as your husband….”. Words of Nal stormed the ears of Damayanti violently.

Life had offered her the sweetest of the moments with the bitterest of the message, inherent with the toughest of the trials of her faith.

 Idolized by such edgy situation, she closed her eyes and mentally saluted the devtas. Seeking pardon from them she opened her eyes and said,-“O Prince! Grace me please with your loving glance. Tell me, how should I honour you and offer my services to you?” as she said so, helpless Nal was bemused to hear such reverential speech towards him.

“My lord! I gave my heart to you only, ever since I heard about you from the swans... Trust me and repose your full faith in my words for I am only yours.” She professed her decision in a few words that fulfilled the life of a pauper Nal who began to beam with joy and found himself bankrupt of speech to express his heart to her. She took up the reigns of the chariot soaring to their dreamy destination of love and furthered the speech “I let my father organize this pageant of swayamvar only to find you. There is no other man in my heart. If you do not become mine, then surely I shall give up my life.... ”

 

Although overwhelmed with love to her, Nal contained his feelings and merely to test her, asked, “Princess! When even devtas are after you, then what makes you choose a mundane man as your husband? I am not equal even to the washing of their feet. It is better that you give a second thought to your decision. A human being loses everything once devtas turn against him. So better choose them and save yours as well as my life and ensure well being of all...” He tried to explore her conviction.

 Whatever was the intent of her suitor behind such a proposal, the princess felt let down to such an extent that tears welled in her innocuous eyes and she could not bring herself to utter anything.   Silence lingered between them. The billowing waves of feelings went on storming against the rock of reasoning. Damayanti then raised her head and mumbled in a voice encasing strength of a rock, “Having saluted them and after begging pardon of them only have I expressed my self. I swear by my decision.”

As she said so, her sleek figure trembled like a leaf, assailed by stormy winds. 

 Nal was as calm as an ocean having felt the merger of river of her love into his heart. He simply said,-“Princess! Do as you wish. But tell me what your message is for them?”

 Damayanti was more clear and firm as she said, “Prince! There is a possible way out to save you from their wrath. Let them also join the pageant. There, in front of them all, I shall garland you. Then you shall not earn their displeasure and we shall be saved.”

 Filled with gratitude to lord Shiv and multiplied faith in the divine law of justice, Nal joined back the devtas and divulged to them the message of Damayanti in simple words, “Sirs! Willed by you I could enter the palace of the princess as unseen by all. I did deliver your message to her and she has reciprocated by saying that you may participate in her swayamvar and there only she will choose her husband.” Hearing her message the all knowing devtas smiled to themselves. They wished to test the purity of twin hearts.

 The swayamvar was not too far yet Nal felt the stress of eons as on the one side he rejoiced in the firm expression of princess Damayanti of her love to him while on the other side presence of divine competitors marred his confidence.

 As the moment of trial arrived, the eager suitors lined up to prove their worth to win the princess. All were up to their bests in everything to test their fate. Nal, having already met her secretly in the garb of a messenger of divine suitors, sat in his royal chair, helplessly awaiting decree of his fate with a throbbing heart quietly. He had full faith in lord Shiv who had been gracious enough by delivering his message to Damayanti so secretly and having been assured by the princess herself he had no reason to doubt that the victory was going to be with her. However presence of his celestial counterparts, who had appeared in the royal court now in a personality matching exactly like his own mirror image, sent a shiver down his spine. What he feared most in such a scenario was the tricks played by the divine suitors of his heartthrob and their consequential wrath in the event of Damayanti choosing him as his husband.

 This was noticed not only by Nal but all the persons present in the royal court found that there were four more suitors all of whom looked just like replicas of Nal to such an extent that even Nal could not believe his eyes. His spirits sagged and he felt rooted to the ground out of fear and confusion, both. How his celestial counterparts could took him for a ride by behaving so, he knew not. His only hope was in lord Shiv who being the lord of devtas alone could rescue him out of the maze created by devtas.

 The king Bhimak announced his decision in a serene voice, “All worthy suitors are welcome in this court. I have decided that the decision of choosing a groom shall be taken by my daughter. Whosoever she chooses, will only be her husband. All the revered kings are requested to abide by her choice and not create any kind of fuss over it..”

  All the suitors looked alert and nervous as well. Their prestige was at stake. Yet they all were decent and disciplined persons who honoured the feeling and wish of a woman, unconditionally. Soon the princess entered the court, adorned by an array of worthy and graceful kings. Accompanied by her equally pretty and graceful friends and maids, Damayanti began to take the round to look at each suitor with a quiet and serene glance to judge their worth and appeal. Her eyes, however, searched only for Nal. She did find him seated in front of her, yet she lost her mind as she found not just one Nal but a batch of five Nals seated in front of her. All looked alike in all the ways. Their attire, hair, footwear and even ornaments were similar all the way. The world began to zoom like a whirlpool in which Damayanti found herself fully drowned and lost altogether. A few moments passed. None could rescue her at this juncture and in such a tricky situation except lord Shiv who is renowned for being the most generous in rescuing and blessing his devotees of all brands. She closed her eyes and prayed, “Lord Shiv! Please guide me. I fail to understand this illusion created by heavenly powers. I am a simple earthling. Please help me find my soul mate.” She then also prayed to the devtas,-“Lords! Hearing from the celestial swans I chose prince Nal as my husband. I wish not to marry anyone else whosever, he may be. May all devtas be pleased with me and bless me to choose him alone.” As she inwardly prayed to them the devtas were pleased and blessed her secretly.

A divine voice guided her,-“Princess! Celestial beings do not wink, they have no shadow, no perspiration and their floral garlands never wilt.” Guided so, she looked intently at each of the five Nals. One Nal was winking, perspiring, having shadow on the earth and his floral garland looked wilted while the other four  did not wink, did not perspire, had no shadow and their floral garlands were ever fresh. Lo, thus she found her way out and leaving Lord Shiv to take care of her future, garlanded the Nal who appeared to be an earthling. Nal was overwhelmed. His trust in fairness of almighty had been fully restored.

Blessings poured over the couple from devtas and celestial sages, yet the disappointed divine suitors could not contain their rejection. They began to heave sighs and roar in retaliation as if gnawing at poor Nal to have taken away their share in the fray.

 Nal stood up to thank Damayanti. He said, “O great princess! You have chosen me after discarding devtas. Your love has turned me into a slave of yours. I assure you that I shall never disappoint you in any way and shall obey you all the way. I swear to be yours as long as I am alive.” Seeing their commitment, devtas got also pleased and they too came forward to bless them. Indra said, “Prince Nal! You will have my vision in yajna and attain supreme status’. Agni said,-“I will appear at your call and both of you will attain luminous sphere”. Yama said, “You will remain established in righteousness and the food cooked by you shall be the tastiest.”

Varun said, “Water shall appear before you, at will. Your floral garland will spread best of the fragrance.” Thus blessed by elders and masters they began to live together in peace and prosperity. With the passage of time they begot a son named Indrasen and a daughter named Indrasena.

 In the subtle spheres when devtas were returning from swayamvar of Damayanti, Kaliyug and Dwapar bumped into them. Indra asked,-“Where are you both going?”

“I am going to participate in the swayamvar of Damayanti” replied Kaliyug.

Indra began to laugh and said,-“O, that function is already over and we are a witness to it. She chose Nal, rejecting all.  Even we were pushed aside by her.”

Kaliyug began to thunder “What? She chose Nal and rejected devtas! How could she dare do so? She needs to be taught a lesson for such depravity.”

The devtas who were already pleased with mutual love of Nal and Damayanti, said, “They have been blessed by us. Nal is truly worthy of her all they way. Cursing them would throw rather the curser into the fire of hell.” Saying so devtas departed but the wicked minded Kaliyug and Dwapar could not bear with the news and began to hatch a conspiracy to penalise Damayanti some how.

 Those who are created to spread wickedness find no rest without harming and hurting others. Such gestures satiate their thirst to see others languish. Kaliyug said to Dwapar,-“Brother! I can’t contain my wrath to her. I plan to enter in to Nal and dethrone him. You enter into the pieces of dice and let us both separate them soon.” Thus duo looked for an opportunity to create turmoil between the couple. The couple were so pious and pure that wicked Kaliyug could not stay around them even for a single moment. But as the luck would have it, one day Nal did not wash his feet after toilet and the same time Kali found an entry into his mind.                                                                            Kaliyug also entered in the mind of the younger brother of Nal whose name was Pushkar. Inspired by wickedness of Kaliyug, Pushkar plotted to invite his elder brother Nal to play the game of dice with him. He knew that Nal was fond of the game. Playing the game with younger brother seemed to innocuous Nal a good idea and he could not sense the foul play behind the invitation.  As they both began to play, wicked Dwapar entered into the pieces of dice and created such attraction in the mind of Nal that he went on betting his all belongings, one after another, to win the game and thereby lost everything to his younger brother who ultimately declared Nal as bankrupt and Nal had to leave everything behind and was banished out of the kingdom by his own brother. Damayanti called her personal charioteer named Varshneya and asked him to take her children to her parental home and moved out with Nal in a single clothe wrapped around her. Varshneya then joined the kingdom of Ayodhya and became charioteer of king Rituparn.

Pushkar turned so cruel to his brother that he proclaimed in his kingdom that anyone who showed mercy on Nal and Damayanti would face severest penalty. Hearing such proclamation no one dare help of offer food etc. to starving couple walking barefoot on the streets. For three days they could not get anything to eat and the fourth day they found fruits in the forest and ate only that. Thus roaming aimlessly in the forest one day Nal found a group of golden swans descending down. Reminded of the swans that united them he was filled with hope that by catching their wings he might earn some money. Thinking so he took out his loin cloth and threw it over the swans. But the swans flew up along with the cloth saying,-“Nal, You are such a fool! You moved out of your empire with this cloth to cover your body and this irked us for we are pieces of game of dice. The single cloth covering your body is also now ours as you have already lost everything to us.”

 Left naked and feeling totally ditched, Nal fell in the deepest pit of desperation. He was nowhere and had no courage to face his wife in such a plight. Being totally helpless he showed his wife various paths leading to prosperous empires where she could go and get help leaving him in the forest to pass his days in repentance of his own follies. But the chaste lady did not agree to leave him alone in such a tough time. One day when Damayanti was asleep, Nal tore down a piece from her sari and moved away wrapped in the cloth piece believing that if she did not find him there then she would go back to her parental home join the children. Kali had overpowered his mind and he took no pity on his helpless wife while leaving her in the thick forest behind.

When Damayanti got up she found herself all alone. Finding neither the message nor any sign of his presence she lamented and cried her heart out,-“O my soul mate! What made you turn so cruel to your poor and helpless wife that you have deserted her in such a plight showing no mercy, no consideration to her as to how would she face the world all alone?”

 Lamenting so, she turned almost lunatic and began to wonder here and there mindlessly. As she lost her mind one huge python awaiting his prey began to swallow her. Unmindful of everything she cried in the loudest of her voice and hearing her one hunter rushed to rescue her. The robust man rescued her from the python but began lewd to her. The helpless queen innocently narrated the tale of her having been deprived of her kingdom by the brother in law and having been deserted by the husband. Finding her without an escort and home, the hunter began to show concern and care to her in a bid to coax her to be his mate. As she sensed his ill intention Damayanti began to rage and pushing him away with all her force, shouted,-“If I have always been chaste and pure hearted to my husband, then may this hunter die right now.” As she said so, devtas turned to her help and the hunter fell down on earth dead, like a log. Inspired by the divine help she began her search for her husband in various kingdoms.

For three days and nights she wondered here and there finding no trace of human beings around and the fourth day she found a hermitage where pure minded hermits lived a spiritual life. They welcomed her and comforted her all the way and when she narrated her suffering consoled her and made a prophecy,-“O the pious queen! You are blessed all the way. You will not suffer any more. Soon you shall meet your husband and rejoice forever.” saying so the hermits and their hermitage disappeared. Damayanti could not decide if she were dreaming or going through some hallucination but the memory of hermits filled her with divine energy. As she began to move on she found a group of traders and joined them to find her way ahead. The group of traders had elephants which were at one spot attacked by the wild elephants and this terrorised her so much that she separated herself from the group of traders and began to walk all alone. Sometimes hopeful, sometimes lost in thoughts and sometimes feeling forlorn and scared she reached the kingdom of Chedi where street children flocked around her believing her to be a lunatic woman. The queen of Chedi peeping out of her window took pity on her and sent her servants to bring her in. Thus finally Damayanti found herself in a decent company after a long time of swaying aimlessly. Seeing her figure that reflected her royal upbringing, the queen asked her,-“Daughter you seem to be from a decent background. What makes you roam around thus? Please tell me for I am like your own mother.”

 Damayanti began to sob and could not utter a single word. Such care and concern had become a dream for her ever since she had left her parental home while wedding Nal. The royal mother treated her with such affection and care that soon she knew the full life history of a forlorn queen shedding tears in her comforting company. “Stay with us, here. I shall help you find your husband Damayanti.” The assurance of the mother weaned her of all her suffering and fears. Her purity and principles were not to be compromised and she said with firmness,-“Mother! I am grateful to you for being so magnanimous to this hapless daughter. But please do listen to me carefully. I shall stay here with the condition that I shall not eat leftover food o anyone, shall not wash anyone’s feet, and shall not talk to any man. If any man misbehaves with me you will ensure that he is penalized by you..” Seeing her so established in purity and self-discipline, the royal mother was all the more pleased to her and gladly agreed to her conditions. Damayanti began to live in the palace as a friend of princess Sunanda.

 On the other side as Nal left his wife and moved all alone at one spot he heard a screaming voice and rushed to it to rescue the caller. “King Nal! Come fast. Save me please!” repeated the voice that astonished Nal who found it strange that he was known to someone by his name in a jungle that was unknown to him.” Fear not I am coming!” without even seeing the caller innocent Nal assured the caller of his help. As he found that the voice came from the forest that was engulfed by the fire he entered into the fire. “King Nal! Here am I named Karkotak. Cursed by sage Narad I can not move from this place even an inch till you helped me out.” Nal found a gigantic serpent writhing in pain as flames of fire lolled around him. He stopped for a moment as it was impossible to life such a heavy creature all alone. “Fear not, I can reduce my weight at will.” Said the serpent. Saying so, the serpent became as small as a human thumb. Nal eagerly lifted him up and moved out of the fire.

” King! Do not put me down. Count the steps you take.” Said the serpent sternly that Nal could not dare defy and began to utter counting ,- ekam, dwitiy,tritiy,chaturth,pancham,shashth,saptam,ashtam,navam,dush…” As he uttered the last word, the serpent just then thrust his venom into the body of Nal who found himself painlessly undergoing a metamorphosis turning him into a dark complexioned stodgy man. He was awestruck and could not understand the happening that had changed him so miraculously. In awe and wonder he stared at the serpent.  “Nal! Fear Not. I am oath bound to not bite anyone unless asked to do so. By uttering ‘dush’ (which implies ,-bite) you in a way, asked me to bite you so did I bit you. This is for your ultimate good. Now none can recognize you. Kaliyug tortured you a lot. My venom will keep torturing him in your body. You have rescued me. No serpent will ever hurt you and their venom will not affect you. You will be ever invincible in battleground.  Change your name to Bahuk and join king of Ayodhya as your charioteer Varshney is already there. Learn from that King Rituparn the secrets of game of dice and teach him the skill of rearing horses. Once you master the game of dice your lost kingdom and the family too, shall be back to you. Whenever you intend to change your personality, mentally think of me and you will regain your original personality. Now put me anywhere and go on. I shall also move on..” thus assuaging all fears and anxieties of Nal the serpent moved ahead and after walking for ten days and nights Nal reached Ayodhya. He presented himself in the royal court and said,-“Lord! I am Bahuk and work as a horse trainer. I am proficient in rearing horses and none can beat me in this field. I am expert in accountancy and can counsel you on other royal affairs.My cuisine is the best and and can do other skilled jobs as well Please give me some employment.”’ King replied,-“Bahuk1 You have come at the right time. Ineed all these services. I am especially fond of  fast horse riding and so make you Incharge of my royal stable. Every moth you will get ten thousand golden coins. Varshney and Jival will assist you and you can start working right now.” Thus he began to serve king Rituparn who was all the more happy to find Bahuk as his personal charioteer and an expert of horses who imparted him amazing facts about nature and training of horses in the spare time.

 

When all slept in peace, poor Nal used to change only sides in his cosy bed thinking of the plight of his wife whose even whereabouts were not known to him. He would pray to lord Shiv and shed tears hoping that one day his suffering would see an end he would as prophesied by Takshak regain his empire and see reunion with his family.

 When king Bhimak got the news that Nal had lost his empire in game of dice and wondered in the woods he sent messengers to find Nal and Damayanti in all directions. One messenger found Damayanti accompanied by princess Sunanda watching a royal function. As she looked matchlessly glorious, the messenger was assured of her identity. He met her and said,-“Damayanti! I am a friend of your brother named Sudev. Your father has sent me to take you home. Both of your children are fine with their grandparents.” Hearing the message of her parents Damayanti began to sob and did not say anything as she did not wish to meet her parents before finding Nal. Sunanda saw her talking to the messenger and narrated this to her mother. The queen called Damayanti and divulged the secret,-“Damayanti you were born at your father’s place with a mark on your forehead. Your mother is my sister and so I know this all. We are all members of one family. Feel free and home with us and do as you wish.”

 “Mother from the day one I felt that you are someone close to my mother only. I think I should not bother you anymore and join my children and parents now. Please allow me to go.” Saying so, she hugged the queen and her daughter and began preparation to move to Vidarbh. The queen gifted her preciously and the messenger took her back to her parents. Damayanti was thus sent to her parental home by the queen of Chedi where she began to live with her children. The mother was reunited wither two children after a long ordeal of separation and trials. The main character of her story was still at large. Her father Bhimak sent messengers to find Nal in all kingdoms and all directions. Damayanti told the messengers to proclaim in crowded place,-“O my deceptive husband! You took away half of my sari and I am still clad in the rest half suffer and sear to see you.” The messengers obeyed and proclaimed her message in crowded places to see the expression of men hearing the message.  In the palace she thought of finding him day and night and would fast and pray to Lord Shiv to reunite them all soon. One day a messenger named Parnad came to her and told,-“Princess! Proclaiming your message I reached Ayodhya and although no one responded to my message when I began to retreat his charioteer named Bahuk met me privately and said,-“Fair lady! Decent ladies maintain their chastity even in the toughest of times and claim swargalok on the strength of their chastity. Even if deserted by husband they do not resent and maintain their purity. It is not right to anger over a husband who was facing worst of the times and lost his mind out of frustration. True that the husband did not honour his wife which she deserved, but he was hungry deprived and destitute at that moment. When he tried to eke out a living by selling wings of swans they took away even his single loin clothe. His suffering was unbearable.” Princess! Do as your wish this is the response I could gather.”

Damayanti disclosed this message of Bahuk to her mother and said,-“Mother! Please do not tell father about it. I shall appoint Sudev for this task. As he recognized and brought me home so can he being my husband home.” The mother agreed and Damayanti called Sudev and instructed him thus,-“Sudev! Please immediately rush to Ayodhya and tell the king Rituparn that Damayanti is organizing once again her swayamvar as her husband Nal is missing for a long time. All kings shall reach here by tomorrow. As no one knows about death and survival of Nal she will choose her husband at sunrise tomorrow. If you can reach my tomorrow morning than you too are invited.”

 King Rituparn got the news of her swayamvar and was over whelmed to hear so. He called Bahuk and said,-“ Bahuk! I have learnt that Damayanti who is matchlessly beautiful is going to organize her swayamvar tomorrow at Vidarbh. I want to reach there by morning. Who can be the better charioteer then you for such a long journey? Please prepare fore the journey if you can take me there in such a short time.” Bahuk was aghast. He could not believe his ears. Could Damayanti be so capricious? Being a mother of his two children could she replace her with any other king? The beaming face of king Rituparn which used to invoke joy and friendly hope in his heart, now appeared to him as a volcanic irruption that incinerated the heart of Bahuk most.  Yet he could share his woe with none. As if time had stitched his lips he roasted in jealousy and could not even think properly. Varshney noticed his plight and asked,-“Bahuk! What makes you so restless?’

 “Nothing. I have to take king to Vidarbh. I was thinking over it..” replied Bahuk.

 Varshney too was shocked knowing fully well the mutual love and devotion of his former king and queen. “How can this happen. Damayanti had chosen Nal after rejecting even devtas. Can she think of remarrying?” he asked.

“Yes. It is true. King Himself had told me about it.” “What a cruel twist her fate has taken Sir. A chaste woman has to seek patronage of another man. How cruel is her luck.” Sighed Varshney.
” No doubt. Strange are the ways of fate. Who can believe this but its going to be so.” sighed even deeper Bahuk.

“Surely Damayanti must have lost hope that is why she is seeking to this resort. Or may be that he wished to find me only out and thus has created this pageant. God alone knows what the truth is. Only when I reach there shall I come to know the truth. So if I take king Rituparn there, I shall at least come to know the truth behind this invitation.” realizing so he told the king,-“Sir! I pledge to take you there by morning.” He selected the best of horses and marched the chariot ahead with the unbelievable speed.

 

 Creator of sage Lomash

 

  King indradtyumn who built temple  of jagannath attained brahmlok and lived with lord brham there. At the expiry to his term lord Brahm asked him to go back to earth. On earth kind indradyumn saught ways to attain liberation. He met many a sages including a celestial tortoise who guided him to go to kalapgraam and meet sage lomash. King found the sage and asked him the way to attain liberation. Sage lomash divulged,-“ I was once a moron shudra who indulged in all kinds of foolish acts. Once I saw  shivling inside the waters and offered lotus to this. After death I was reborn as a chaste brhaman boy who had memory of his past life. Named iishaan by my parents I preferred to remain mute that drove them to anxiety. I pities their ignorance and often walked away at night to worship lord shiv in solitude. After their death  I practised worship of lord shiv and when lord shiv appeared before me I said,-“ lord I want to get across oldage and death” lord shiv said-“ one who has a form and name is sure to die” .  I the plpleaded,- May my single body pour perish only after one kalp. May I be your gan fter my death on earth.”  Lord shiv agreed and gratned him the unique boon.blessed by lord shiv lomash rejoiced in worship of lord shvi and helpled and guided the deserving devotees..’(skand )