The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 1
Religion
The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated into English Prose: Vana Parva, Part 1
Epic literature, Sanskrit
"Vrihadaswa said, 'After Rituparna of prowess incapable of being baffled
had, in the evening, arrived at the city of the Vidarbhas, the people
brought unto king Bhima the tidings (of his arrival). And at the
invitation of Bhima, the king (of Ayodhya) entered the city of Kundina,
filling with the rattle of his car all the ten points, direct and
transverse, of the horizon. And the steeds of Nala that were in that
city heard that sound, and hearing it they became delighted as they used
to be in the presence of Nala himself. And Damayanti also heard the
sound of that car driven by Nala, like the deep roar of the clouds in
the rainy season. And Bhima and the steeds (of Nala) regarded the
clatter of that car to be like that which they used to hear in days of
yore when king Nala himself urged his own steeds. And the peacocks on
the terraces, and the elephants in the stables, and the horses also, all
heard the rattle of Rituparna's car. And hearing the sound, so like the
roar of the clouds, the elephants and the peacocks, O king, began to
utter their cries, facing that direction, and filled with delight such
as they experience when they hear the actual roar of the clouds. And
Damayanti said, "Because the rattle of his car filling the whole earth,
gladdens my heart, it must be King Nala (that has come). If I do not see
Nala, of face bright as the moon, that hero with countless virtues, I
shall certainly die. If I am not clasped today in that hero's thrilling
embrace, I shall certainly cease to be. If Naishadha with voice deep as
that of the clouds doth not come to me today, I shall enter into a pyre
of golden brilliance. If that foremost of kings, powerful as a lion and
gifted with the strength of an infuriated elephant, doth not present
himself before me, I shall certainly cease to live. I do not remember a
single untruth in him, or a single wrong done by him to others. Never
hath he spoken an untruth even in jest. Oh, my Nala is exalted and
forgiving and heroic and magnificent and superior to all other kings,
and faithful to his marriage vow and like unto a eunuch in respect of
other females. Night and day dwelling upon his perceptions, my heart, in
absence of that dear one, is about to burst in grief."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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