Kali Possesses Nala and Incites Pushkara
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.
Kali and Dvapara had made their agreement. Dvapara would enter the dice. Kali would enter the man who threw them.
Kali went to the land of the Nishadhas, where King Nala ruled. He did not rush. He did not force his way in. He waited — always looking for an opportunity to enter — and lived there for twelve years.
Twelve years of watching Nala perform his daily rituals. Twelve years of waiting for a single lapse.
It came on an ordinary evening. Nala passed urine, touched water to purify himself, and performed the evening ceremony — but he did not wash his feet first. It was a small omission, a minor deviation from the prescribed order. Kali saw it and moved.
He entered Nala.
Now possessed, Nala was no longer entirely himself. Kali, working through the king's body and mind, went to Pushkara — Nala's brother — and spoke to him directly.
"Come and play dice with Nala. With my help, you are certain to vanquish him. O king! Having vanquished King Nala, win over the Nishadha kingdom."
Pushkara agreed. Kali entered Pushkara as well — becoming a bull among cows, the text says — and the two brothers were set on a collision course that would destroy one of them entirely. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 353