Keshini Tests Bahuka with Damayanti's Words
Keshini repeats the words of a grieving wife — about the gambler who abandoned her, the half-garment, the bird that stole it — and asks Bahuka to recount the tale. He speaks with a choked voice, suppressing his grief, but when he finishes, he weeps uncontrollably. Keshini reports everything to Damayanti.
Keshini returned to Bahuka with a second question — this one carefully prepared.
"The brahmana who earlier went to Ayodhya repeatedly uttered the words spoken by a lady," she said. "'O gambler! O loved one! You are the one who sliced off half my garment. Where are you? You abandoned your beloved wife in a deserted region. It is in accordance with your instructions that she is still awaiting you, clad only in half a garment. The lady is tormented by grief. She repeatedly weeps because of that sorrow. O brave one! Show her your favour and reply to her words.'"
She paused, watching his face.
"O immensely intelligent one! Speak and recount her beloved tale. The unblemished daughter of Vidarbha wishes to hear those words. Ever since she heard the reply you gave to the brahmana then, Vidarbha's daughter has been desirous of hearing the words you uttered again."
Bahuka's heart suffered. His eyes filled with tears.
He suppressed his grief. The tormented lord of the earth spoke again, his voice choked with tears:
"Though they confront great calamity, women of a good lineage protect themselves through their own efforts and there is no doubt that they win heaven for themselves. Even if they are abandoned by their husbands, they are never angry. Faithful women sustain their lives with their armour as character. He was trying to sustain his life and a bird stole his garment. He is tormented by anguish and a dark one should not be angry. Whether she is treated well or whether she is treated badly, she sees her husband without his kingdom and without prosperity, hungry and addicted to vice."
As he spoke these words, Nala was extremely miserable. He could not restrain his tears. He began to weep.
Keshini went away and told Damayanti everything — every word he had said, and the transformation that had come over him as he spoke. Aranyaka Parva, Chapter 369