Kali

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.

Pushkara challenges his brother Nala to dice, and Nala — possessed by Kali — cannot refuse. Over months of gambling, he loses silver, gold, vehicles, and garments while Damayanti watches helplessly, and no well-wisher can stop him from throwing the next throw.

For twelve years, the demon Kali waits in the land of the Nishadhas, watching King Nala for a single moment of ritual carelessness. When Nala performs his evening ceremony without washing his feet first, Kali finds his opening — and the ruin of a kingdom begins.

Exhausted and starving, Nala and Damayanti arrive at a public dwelling house and sleep on the bare ground. But Nala cannot sleep — his mind is tormented by the loss of his kingdom, his friends, and his dignity. He begins to brood over whether Damayanti would be better off without him, and in the grip of despair, he makes a decision that will shatter both their lives.

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.

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.

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.