Damayanti Sends a Messenger for Nala
From the palace, Damayanti sees King Rituparna, Varshneya, and Bahuka — but not Nala. The chariot's roar was identical, yet the man is absent. Tormented by the mystery, she debates whether Varshneya has somehow acquired Nala's skill, or whether Rituparna equals him. Then she sends a messenger to search.
From the palace, Damayanti looked down at the chariot.
She saw King Rituparna. She saw Varshneya, the son of a suta (charioteer). She saw Bahuka, the driver. She did not see Nala.
The sorrowful daughter of Vidarbha began to think. Whose chariot had roared in that way? The great sound was like Nala's, but Nishadha was not to be seen. Was it possible that Varshneya had acquired the knowledge — the secret art of driving horses that only Nala possessed? Was that why the roar of the chariot made a great sound like that of Nala's? Or was it the case that Rituparna was the equal of King Nala?
The roar of the chariot seemed to be like that of Nishadha's. She debated this in her mind.
Then she made a decision. She sent a lady messenger in search of Nishadha — not to the king, not to the charioteer, but to find the man himself, wherever he might be hidden in this city. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 368