Brihadashva

In the Dvaitavana forest, where Vedic chants mingle with the twang of Pandava bowstrings, the rishi Baka Dalbhya addresses Yudhishthira with a pointed counsel: a kshatriya without brahmanas is like an unrestrained elephant in battle. He urges the king to seek a wise, disciplined brahmana to acquire what he lacks and secure his future — citing the examples of Bali and Virochana's son to show what happens when that alliance is honored or broken.

Yudhishthira, still grieving after Bhima's outburst, asks the newly arrived sage Brihadashva if there has ever been a king more miserable than himself. The sage tells him there was — a king named Nala, who lost everything to deceit and lived in the forest with only his wife — and yet Yudhishthira still has his brothers and his brahmanas.

Nala enters Damayanti's guarded palace unseen, by the gods' influence. When she asks how he entered unnoticed, he reveals his identity and delivers the gods' proposal — Indra, Agni, Varuna, and Yama all wish to marry her, and she must choose one.

Four gods — Indra, Agni, Varuna, and Yama — desire Damayanti and choose Nala to deliver their proposal. Nala has already promised to do their bidding, but when he learns the task, he protests: he himself desires Damayanti. The gods insist he keep his word.

Damayanti has assembled the kings of the world, but when Nala arrives among them, she bows to the gods and speaks directly to him — confessing that she has been tormented by a swan's words and has chosen him over every other man present, including the gods themselves.

Nala returns to the assembly of the gods, who question him about everything that happened. He recounts his entire conversation with Damayanti — her declaration of love, her threat of suicide, and her plan for the svayamvara — and submits the decision to them.

When Damayanti enters the svayamvara arena, she finds five identical men — the four gods disguised as Nala and Nala himself — and cannot tell which is her chosen husband. She prays to the gods, asking them to reveal their true forms, and they grant her request, allowing her to see Nala's mortal signs and place the garland around his shoulders.

After the gods depart, Kali tells Dvapara he cannot control his anger and resolves to take possession of Nala and dislodge him from his kingdom. He asks Dvapara to help by entering the dice — enabling the cheating that will destroy Nala through gambling.

The gods, returning from Damayanti's svayamvara, encounter Kali and Dvapara on the road. When Indra tells Kali the svayamvara is over and Damayanti has chosen Nala, Kali's rage ignites — and the gods warn him that cursing Nala will only bring ruin upon himself.

Nala has lost everything and sits like a man maddened, unable to speak. Damayanti, still clear-headed, tries one last thing — summoning the advisers as if on Nala's orders, hoping they can reverse what has been lost.

Nala is losing everything to Pushkara at the gambling table, and the dice seem to obey only his brother. Damayanti watches her husband destroy himself and knows what she must do: send their children away before they are lost too.

After his charioteer abandons him, Nala gambles away everything — his kingdom, his riches, everything except Damayanti. When Pushkara mockingly suggests staking her next, Nala's rage finally breaks through his despair. He strips off his ornaments, leaves the city in a single garment with Damayanti following, and spends three nights outside, surviving on water alone.

Naked and desperate, Nala points out the roads to Vidarbha to Damayanti, implying she should go to her father's kingdom without him. She refuses, arguing that a wife is the best medicine for a suffering husband — but his repeated directions to the road home have already planted doubt in her heart.

Hungry and desperate in the forest, Nala spots birds with plumage like gold and tries to catch them for food and riches, covering them with his only garment. The birds rise into the sky carrying his garment — and reveal themselves as the dice who robbed him of his kingdom, leaving him naked and alone.

A caravan of merchants, exhausted from their journey, stops to rest by a pond in a deep forest. At midnight, a herd of elephants arrives to drink and, finding the sleeping camp in their path, tramples everything. Damayanti survives the slaughter and, standing among the dead, wonders what sin she committed to bring such destruction upon those who helped her.

Transformed and unrecognizable, Nala receives a clear plan from Karkotaka: go to King Rituparna in Ayodhya as the suta Bahuka, exchange his skill with horses for Rituparna's skill with dice, and use that skill to reclaim his kingdom, his wife, and his children.

Wandering alone after abandoning Damayanti, King Nala hears a voice crying for help from within a great forest fire. He enters the flames and finds the serpent king Karkotaka trapped by a curse — unable to move, waiting for rescue.

Nala, having rescued Karkotaka, wishes to release the serpent — but Karkotaka tells him to walk and count his steps. At the tenth step, the serpent bites him, and Nala's form instantly transforms into something hideous while the serpent takes his shape.

After the serpent disappears, Nala arrives at the city of King Rituparna, hungry and exhausted. He presents himself before the king under a false name, offering his skills in horse-driving and cooking — and asks to be maintained. Rituparna, whose mind is always drawn to speed, appoints him superintendent of the royal stables.

Every evening, while living in disguise in Rituparna's palace, Nala recites a shloka lamenting a woman lost in the forest. Jivala, his companion, hears the words and asks who this woman is. Nala answers — but only in the third person, speaking of himself as though he were someone else.

Damayanti has heard Parnada's report and knows what she must do — but she cannot let her father Bhima know. She goes to her mother in secret and reveals her plan: send the brahmana Sudeva to Ayodhya to bring Nala back, while keeping the king in the dark.

Damayanti has heard Bahuka's words and knows Nala is alive — but she needs to force him to reveal himself. She summons Sudeva and gives him a message for King Rituparna: Damayanti will hold a second svayamvara tomorrow morning, because Nala's fate is unknown.

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.

Rituparna rushes Bahuka repeatedly, who then selects lean but capable horses. The king objects — these weak animals cannot bear them such a distance. But Bahuka defends his choice, and when the king defers to his expertise, Nala yokes four noble horses and makes them kneel for the king to ascend.

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 rises as if into the sky, confounding its occupants, Varshneya watches Bahuka's extraordinary control over the horses. He weighs the evidence — is this Matali, Shalihotra, or Nala himself? The age matches, the knowledge matches, but the deformed body gives him pause. He decides not to conclude without proof.

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.

Nala has just learned the secret of dice from King Rituparna. The knowledge breaks the demon Kali's hold over him — and Kali emerges from Nala's body, vomiting the serpent venom that had tormented him for years. Nala, furious, prepares to curse the demon who ruined his life.

King Rituparna arrives in Vidarbha in the evening, his chariot roaring through the gates of Kundina. The sound reaches Nala's horses, who rejoice as if their master had returned. It reaches Damayanti, who is stirred with hope and grief. King Bhima welcomes Rituparna with honours, puzzled by the unexplained journey of over a hundred yojanas, while Bahuka — Nala in disguise — tends to the horses.

Damayanti, now certain that Bahuka is Nala, weeps — but needs one final confirmation. She sends Keshini to steal meat from Bahuka's kitchen. When she tastes it, she recognizes the cooking of her husband from years before, and knows beyond doubt.

Damayanti, hearing Brihadashva's account, suspects the charioteer Bahuka is her lost husband Nala. She sends her maid Keshini to secretly observe him — and Keshini returns with reports of impossible things: narrow passages widening before him, vessels filling with water at his glance, fire refusing to burn him, and flowers growing fresher in his hands.

Keshini brings the twins to Bahuka. He recognizes them instantly — Indrasena and her brother. The king rushes to them, embraces them, places them on his lap, and weeps loudly, his grief and anguish pouring out. But then, abruptly, he sends Keshini away, fearing that her frequent visits may be misinterpreted.

Keshini reports Bahuka's strange agitations to Damayanti, who suspects he is Nala but is uncertain because of his changed appearance. She sends word to her mother, requesting a meeting with Bahuka — and with her parents' sanction, has him brought to her chambers.

After the night passes, Nala adorns himself and goes with Damayanti to meet her father, King Bhima. The reunion is formal and joyful — Nala pays his respects, Bhima welcomes him like a son — and the entire city of Kundina erupts in celebration, decorated with flags, garlands, and flowers, as the gods are worshipped in every temple.

King Rituparna learns that his charioteer Bahuka was actually King Nala in disguise, and that Nala has been reunited with Damayanti. He is delighted — but Nala, brought before him, immediately begs forgiveness, setting off a mutual exchange of pardon between two kings who both feel they owe the other something.

Pushkara, his eyes red with anger, demands that Nala stake everything. Nala smiles and accepts. In a single throw, Pushkara loses his entire kingdom, his treasures, and his life. But Nala does not kill him — he embraces him as a brother and sends him away in peace.

With Bhima’s permission and a small army, Nala returns to Nishadha and confronts his brother Pushkara. He offers a single stake: all his new wealth, Damayanti, and his life — against the kingdom. Pushkara, certain of victory, laughs and accepts the dice game.

Yudhishthira, overjoyed at Brihadashva's offer, asks to learn the secrets of dice. The sage gives him the knowledge that will protect him from future challenges, then departs to bathe at Ashvashira. But no sooner has Brihadashva left than troubling news arrives about Arjuna.

Brihadashva concludes the story of Nala, who lost everything to gambling and then regained it all. He draws a direct parallel to Yudhishthira's own exile, reminding him that prosperity is transient and that hearing Nala's tale brings blessings. Then he makes an unexpected offer: he will teach Yudhishthira the secrets of dice, to destroy his fear of ever being challenged again.

In the desert, the maharshi Utanka performs severe austerities for years to worship Vishnu. When Vishnu appears and offers him a boon, Utanka asks only for devotion to dharma and truth. But Vishnu has more to reveal — a great asura named Dhundhu is performing terrible austerities for the destruction of the worlds, and a king will be needed to stop him.

King Brihadashva, having installed his son on the throne, walks away from his kingdom to pursue austerities in the forest. The sage Utanka intercepts him and argues that protecting the subjects is the highest dharma — greater than any hermitage. Then he reveals why he needs the king to stay: an asura named Dhundhu sleeps beneath a desert of sand, breathing destruction once a year, and only a king empowered by Vishnu can stop him.