Bhangasvari

Parnada returns from Ayodhya with nothing from King Rituparna — but a deformed charioteer named Bahuka spoke to him in private, words that made no sense to the brahmana but strike Damayanti like a message from the dead.

King Rituparna tells his charioteer Bahuka that he wishes to reach Vidarbha in a single day for Damayanti's svayamvara. Bahuka's mind is torn apart by grief and suspicion — is Damayanti truly choosing another husband, or is this a ruse for his sake? Tormented, he resolves to go and discover the truth.

As the chariot races toward Vidarbha, King Rituparna sees a vibhitaka tree and boasts he can count every leaf and fruit on it. Nala, still in his disguise as the charioteer Bahuka, dismounts, cuts down the tree, and counts — finding the king's number exactly right.

Damayanti, dressed in rags with matted hair, sees the man who abandoned her in the forest and is overcome with sorrow. She confronts him with a series of questions — about dharma, about promises, about what kind of man leaves his sleeping wife in the wilderness — and demands to know where the pledge he made before the fire has gone.