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Curious to hear what obstacles Damayanti had to face, Draupadi sat attentively waiting for Vyasa to continue the tale.
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As the gods departed Damayanti’s swayamvara they were delighted with the results.
“She has chosen well,” remarked Varuna.
“Yes. Though she did not choose one of us, he is a mortal god on this earth,” replied Agni.
“I was surprised at her ability to decipher Nala from the rest of us,” said Yama.
Indra agreed with all of them. “True to herself and true to him. They are well-matched and will be great examples for those here. I believe that her choice was the best to be made even though I truly desired her company for myself,” he said. “Nala was deserving of the gifts we bestowed him. They will serve him well in the future should he ever need to use them.”
While discussing the joyous ceremony, Kali, demon of discord and strife, and Dwapara, demon of half-truths, crossed their path.
Knowing the sight of Kali was not a good omen, but even more so when accompanied by Dwapara, Indra asked, “Kali, where are you going on such a beautiful day?”
“To the swayamvara of Damayanti. She is the fairest of princesses, and I will take her as my wife,” he snipped.
Yama laughed a hearty laugh. “Kali, you are too late. You cannot take her. She has chosen her husband,” he said.
“What?! That is impossible! She could not choose correctly since I was not present,” he replied with confidence.
“You are wrong. We were there. She chose him even in the presence of true gods. Their union was blessed because of this. We fully approve of her husband, King Nala. Should anyone ever try to harm him they would be tormented in hell forever,” Agni warned.
Then the gods left Kali and Dwapara to go back to their home hoping their warning would deter Kali from creating mischief but knowing most likely it did nothing of the sort.
“Dwapara, can you believe she would make such a stupid decision? There is no mortal man deserving of such a special woman. I will make Nala wish he never went to her swayamvara!” Kali said angrily. “You will help me.”
“Agreed. Though, I don’t want to end up in hell, so it mustn’t be physical harm we bring. How do you want to take care of him without disobeying the gods?” Dwapara asked.
“I will enter Nala and bury deep into his soul. He will give up everything and be left with nothing. Damayanti will not want to live a life with someone so pitiful, and she will leave him. Then he will truly have nothing left to live for in this life and our job will be complete,” said Kali. “All kings love the dice. You will become the dice so he always loses and I will continue to stay in Nala until he is left without anything of importance.”
“I like how your mind works, Kali. Enchanting the dice will be easy, but how will you enter Nala’s body? The gods said he is protected and like a mortal god. That means he is very strong-willed and pure,” Dwapara wondered aloud.
“I must wait for the right moment. We will be ready to act as soon as the time presents itself. I have no doubt he will make a mistake; not even the gods are without fault,” stated Kali.
And so, Kali and Dwapara changed direction to head to the kingdom of Nishadha to wait for the right moment to ruin Nala’s life.
Nala and Damayanti were very happy together in their kingdom of Nishadha. They had two beautiful children, Indrasen and Indrasena. The people of the kingdom were loyal to their king as he was a generous man, noble in his ways and always honorable, paying full homage to the gods and rituals as he should.
“Kali,” Dwapara whined, “Twelve years it has been! We’ve been silently waiting in the shadows of this palace waiting for Nala to make a mistake. It’s not going to happen and I’m bored of this. We can be mischievous elsewhere and make better use of our time.”
“Absolutely not!” shouted Kali. He was angered by Dwapara’s impatience. “We are immortal and have all the time in the world. Now stop your complaining. You will wait silently until I say.”
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Now interested, Yudhishthira interrupted the story. "Wait, I am not the only king to be taken by foul play and dice?" he asked.
"Finally!" Vyasa thought to himself. "That is correct. As I have said before, many honest men like you have made mistakes. However, those who are strong, faithful, and believe in themselves will persevere," he said.
Vyasa could see that both Draupadi and Yudhishthira were ready to learn how to move on from the past, so he continued his story.
Author's Note: This is the beginning of the turmoil that will show more why Vyasa is telling this story to Yudhishthira and Draupadi. Kali and Dwapara are Yugas or times listed in Hindu beliefs of what happened to man’s thinking including how and why he changed. The first Yuga, Satya, is the age of truth and perfection. In the second Yuga, Treta, is when man first begins to lose his virtues and wars begin to happen. The earth changes. During the third Yuga, Dwapara, men become pessimistic, doubtful, and criminal in nature. The final and worst Yuga is Kali. People in this time lack virtue. It is known as the time of darkness and ignorance. I added descriptions to the demons of Kali and Dwapara to relate them to the associated Yuga they represented.
The image I chose can be found on several sites for the Bhagavad Gita which is the sixth book in the Mahabharata. It is dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna during the war of the Pandavas and Kauravas. Although this happens after the story that is told on my site, it is about Dharma or the behaviors that make the world possible. I believe this is to the ideals of the Yugas.
Bibliography:
Nala and Damayanti A Love-Tale of East India Done Out Of The Sanskrit Of The Mahabharata The Oldest Epic Poem of India, Written by: Adelaide Rudolph
Nala and Damayanti and Other Poems Written by:Henry Hart Milman
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