Kali Plots Nala's Downfall with Dvapara
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 had gone. Kali and Dvapara stood alone on the road.
Kali's anger had not cooled. If anything, it had deepened — the warning from the gods still fresh, the image of Damayanti choosing Nala still burning in his mind. He turned to Dvapara and spoke.
"O Dvapara! I cannot control my anger. I will take possession of Nala. I will dislodge him from his kingdom. He will not be able to sport with Bhima's daughter."
The plan was simple in its cruelty. Kali would enter Nala himself — possess him, corrupt his judgment, turn him into a vessel for his own ruin. But possession alone would not be enough. Nala would need to fall in a way that could not be undone.
"Help me by entering the dice."
Dvapara agreed. The dice — the instrument of gambling — would become the mechanism of destruction. With Dvapara inside them, they would fall as Kali willed them to fall. Nala would play, and Nala would lose. Everything. His kingdom. His wealth. His wife. His mind.
The pact was sealed. The two of them set out, carrying their plan like a disease waiting to be released. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 352