Damayanti Declares Her Love to Nala

Brihadashva said: She bowed to the gods first — the proper gesture — and then she turned to Nala. She was smiling. "O king! What can I do for you? Tell me with love and respect. I, and whatever riches I possess, are all yours. O lord! Show me love with respect." She told him everything. The swan that had come to her in the inner chambers of the palace — the golden bird that had spoken of Nala's beauty, his virtue, his skill with horses, his lineage. The swan had described him in such detail that she had fallen in love with a man she had never seen. She had been tormented by those words ever since. "O brave one! It is for your sake that I have assembled the kings here. O one who shows respect! I love you. If you reject me, for your sake, I will have to find refuge with poison, fire, water or the rope." Nala looked at her. Then he looked at the gods standing beside him — Indra, Agni, Varuna, Yama — their forms blazing with divine light, their presence hidden from mortal eyes but unmistakable to him. "How do you desire a man when the lords of the worlds are here? I am not equal to the dust on the feet of those great-souled lords, the creators of the worlds. Turn your mind towards them. A mortal one who causes displeasure to the gods wishes for death. O beautiful and unblemished one! Therefore, save me by choosing from the supreme among the gods." Damayanti's voice choked with tears. But she did not look away. "O lord of men! I see a way, a way that will bring no sin. O king! Then no evil will be attached to you. O best of men! You and all the gods, with Indra at the forefront, must come together to where my svayamvara (ceremony of choosing a husband) takes place. O lord of men! O tiger among men! There, in the presence of the lords of the world, I will choose you and no sin will be attached to you." Nala looked at her for a long moment. Then he nodded. He returned to where the gods had assembled.