03059001a yathA rAjyamM pitus te tat tathA mama na saMzayaH 'Surely, thy father's kingdom is as my own.
03059001c na tu tatra gamiSyAmi viSamasthaH kathaM cana But thither I will not, by any means, repair in this extremity.
03059002a kathaM samRddho gatvAhanM tava harSavivardhanaH Once I appeared there in glory, increasing thy joy.
03059002c paridyUno gamiSyAmi tava zokavivardhanaH How can I go there now in misery, augmenting thy grief?'
03059003 bRhadazva uvAca 'bRhadazva continued,
03059003a iti bruvan nalo rAjA damayantImM punaH punaH 'Saying this again and again unto damayantI,
03059003c sAntvayAmAsa kalyANIM vAsaso 'rdhena saMvRtAm king nala, wrapped in half a garment, comforted his blessed wife.
03059004a tAv ekavastrasaMvItAv aTamAnAv itas tataH And both attired in one cloth, in course of their wanderings,
03059004c kSutpipAsAparizrAntau sabhAGM kAJM cid upeyatuH wearied with hunger and thirst, at last they came to a sheltered shed for travellers.
03059005a tAM sabhAm upasamMprApya tadA sa niSadhAdhipaH And arrived at this place, the king of the niSadhas
03059005c vaidarbhyA sahito rAjA niSasAda mahItale sat down on the bare earth with the princes of Vidarbha.
03059006a sa vai vivastro malino vikacaH pAMsuguNThitaH And wearing the same piece of cloth (with damayantI), and dirty, and haggard, and stained with dust,
03059006c damayantyA saha zrAntasH suSvApa dharaNItale he fell asleep with damayantI on the ground in weariness.
03059007a damayanty api kalyANI nidrayApahRtA tataH And the innocent and delicate damayantI, fell into a profound slumber
03059007c sahasA duHkham AsAdya sukumArI tapasvinI suddenly plunged in distress, with every mark of good fortune, fell into a profound slumber.
03059008a suptAyAnM damayantyAnM tu nalo rAjA vizAmM pate And, O monarch, while she slept, Nala,
03059008c zokonmathitacittAtmA na sma zete yathA purA with heart and mind distraught, could not slumber calmly as before.
03059009a sa tadrAjyApaharaNaM suhRttyAgaJM ca sarvazaH And reflecting on the loss of his kingdom, the desertion of his friends,
03059009c vane ca tamM paridhvaMsamM prekSya cintAm upeyivAn and his distress in the woods, he thought with himself,
03059010a kinM nu me syAd idaGM kRtvA kinM nu me syAd akurvataH 'What availeth my acting thus? And what if I act not thus?
03059010c kinM nu me maraNaM zreyaH parityAgo janasya vA Is death the better for me now? Or should I desert my wife?
03059011a mAm iyaM hy anuraktedanM duHkham Apnoti matkRte She is truly devoted to me and suffereth this distress for my sake.
03059011c madvihInA tv iyaGM gacchet kadA cit svajanamM prati Separated from me, she may perchance wander to her relatives.
03059012a mayA nisHsaMzayanM duHkham iyaM prApsyaty anuttamA Devoted as she is to me, if she stayeth with me, distress will surely be hers;
03059012c utsarge saMzayasH syAt tu vindetApi sukhaGM kva cit while it is doubtful, if I desert her. On the other hand, it is not unlikely that she may even have happiness some time.'
03059013a sa vinizcitya bahudhA vicArya ca punaH punaH Reflecting upon this repeatedly, and thinking of it again and again,
03059013c utsarge 'manyata zreyo damayantyA narAdhipaH he concluded, O monarch, that the desertion of damayantI was the best course for him. And he also thought, 'Of high fame and auspicious fortune, and devoted to me, her husband, she is incapable of being injured by any one on the way on account of her energy.' Thus his mind that was influenced by the wicked Kali, dwelling upon damayantI, was made up for deserting her.
03059014a so 'vastratAm Atmanaz ca tasyAz cApy ekavastratAm And then thinking of his own want of clothing, and of her being clad in a single garment,
03059014c cintayitvAdhyagAd rAjA vastrArdhasyAvakartanam he intended to cut off for himself one half of damayantI's attire.
03059015a kathaM vAso vikarteyanM na ca budhyeta me priyA And he thought, 'How shall I divide this garment, so that my beloved one may not perceive?'
03059015c cintyaivanM naiSadho rAjA sabhAmM paryacarat tadA And thinking of this, the royal Nala began to walk up and down that shed.
03059016a paridhAvann atha nala itaz cetaz ca bhArata And, O bharata, pacing thus to and fro,
03059016c AsasAda sabhoddeze vikozaGM khaDgam uttamam he found a handsome sword lying near the shed, unsheathed.
03059017a tenArdhaM vAsasaz chittvA nivasya ca paranMtapaH And that repressor of foes, having, with that sword cut off one half of the cloth, and throwing the instrument away,
03059017c suptAm utsRjya vaidarbhImM prAdravad gatacetanaH left the daughter of Vidharbha insensible in her sleep and went away.
03059018a tato nibaddhahRdayaH punar Agamya tAM sabhAm But his heart failing him, the king of the Nishadhas returned to the shed,
03059018c damayantInM tathA dRSTvA ruroda niSadhAdhipaH and seeing damayantI (again), burst into tears.
03059019a yAnM na vAyur na cAdityaH purA pazyati me priyAm And he said, 'Alas! that beloved one of mine whom neither the god of wind nor the sun had seen before,
03059019c seyam adya sabhAmadhye zete bhUmAv anAthavat even she sleepeth to-day on the bare earth, like one forlorn.
03059020a iyaM vastrAvakartena saMvItA cAruhAsinI Clad in this severed piece of cloth, and lying like one distracted, how will the beauteous one of luminous smiles
03059020cc unmatteva varArohA kathamM buddhvA bhaviSyati behave when she awaketh?
03059021a katham ekA satI bhaimI mayA virahitA zubhA How will the beautiful daughter of bhIma, devoted to her lord, all alone and separated from me,
03059021c cariSyati vane ghore mRgavyAlaniSevite wander through these deep woods inhabited by beasts and serpents? O blessed one, may the Adityas and the vasus, and the twin azvins together with the maruts protect thee, thy virtue being thy best guard.' And addressing thus his dear wife peerless on earth in beauty, Nala strove to go, reft of reason by Kali.
03059022a gatvA gatvA nalo rAjA punar eti sabhAmM muhuH Departing and still departing, king Nala returned again and again to that shed,
03059022c AkRSyamANaH kalinA sauhRdenApakRSyate dragged away by Kali but drawn back by love.
03059023a dvidheva hRdayanM tasya duHkhitasyAbhavat tadA And it seemed as though the heart of the wretched king was rent in twain,
03059023c doleva muhur AyAti yAti caiva sabhAmM muhuH and like a swing, he kept going out from cabin and coming back into it.
03059024a so 'pakRSTas tu kalinA mohitaH prAdravan nalaH At length after lamenting long and piteously, Nala stupefied and bereft of sense by Kali went away,
03059024c suptAm utsRjya tAmM bhAryAM vilapya karuNamM bahu forsaking that sleeping wife of his.
03059025a naSTAtmA kalinA spRSTas tat tad vigaNayan nRpaH Bereft of reason through Kali's touch, and thinking of his conduct,
03059025c jagAmaiva vane zUnye bhAryAm utsRjya duHkhitaH the king departed in sorrow, leaving his, wife alone in that solitary forest.''
