Damayanti Rescued from the Serpent by a Hunter

Damayanti wandered through the forest, lamenting like a female osprey, her voice growing thinner as her body dried up from grief. She did not see the serpent until she was upon it. It was a boa constrictor — giant, hungry, and coiled in her path. As she came near, it grasped her. She felt its body wrap around her, squeezing, and she began to be devoured. Even then, she was not sorrowful for herself. She thought of Nala. "O protector! I am being devoured in this deserted forest by this serpent, like one unprotected. Why don't you rush here? O Nishadha! How will you live when my memories come back to you? When you are tired and hungry and exhausted, who will reduce your fatigue?" A hunter was roaming in the deep forest. He heard her cries and ran toward the sound. He found her — the long-eyed one, being devoured by the serpent — and he did not hesitate. With a sharp weapon, he severed the serpent's head. He slashed at it until it was motionless, then freed her from its coils. He cleaned her with water. He comforted her. He asked if she had eaten. "O one with the eyes of a deer! Whom do you belong to? Why have you come to this forest? How is it that you have encountered this great difficulty?" Damayanti told him everything — exactly as it had occurred.