III.

And Nala promised, 'I will do your will.'
Then turning to them, stood with folded hands,
And said, 'I pray you now explain to me,
What is this message and behest you mean,
And in whose service shall I do this thing?'
Then Indra answered Nala thus, and said,
The deathless gods are we, and come to woo
Fair Damayanti-Indra, King of Heaven,
And Agni, God of Fire, and Varuna,

God of the Seas, and Yama, King of Death.
Go now,
and bear this message to the maid:
"The guardians of the world, the deathless gods,
Have come to woo you-Indra, King of Heaven;
And Agni, God of Fire; and Varuna,"

God of the Seas; and Yama, King of Death-
So do you choose among them whom you will.”
And Nala stood with folded hands, and said,
'I pray you now excuse me in this thing,
For I too go to woo the blameless maid;
And sure no man in his right mind could think
Of doing court for other than himself.'
Then all the gods spake out with one accord,
'Have you not promised "I will do your will?"
Go now, and tarry not to make excuse!'
And Nala, sore perplexed, made answer thus,
'Her palace is well guarded; how shall I
Find access to the maid?' And Indra said,

"You shall find access.' Then the Prince went off
To Damayanti, to the blameless maid.
And when he reached the palace, Nala saw

Her sitting in a circle of her friends,

With wealth of beauty, delicately statured;
And Damayanti's beauty shone like fire.
Then Nala, for all wish of his to do

His message truly, scarce contained himself-
So sweetly smiled on him the blameless maid.

And those fair maidens sprang up from their seats,
For wonder at the beauty of the man.
But Damayanti, smiling sweetly, said
To Nala, who had sweetly smiled on her,

'Who are you, that your beauty makes me glad,
Coming here like a god? I long to know you;
And, pray you, how did you escape the guard
My jealous father sets to watch my home?'
To her the Prince made answer in this wise,
'Know, lovely lady, Nala is my name;
I bear a message to you from the gods.
Four of the first and chiefest of the gods
All long to win you-Indra, King of Heaven;

And Agni, God of Fire; and Varuna,
God of the Seas; and Yama, King of Death;

So do you choose among them whom you will.
Through the prevenience of these gods I passed
Unseen, and no one stopped nor hindered me.
This, lady, is the message that I bear;

I wait to hear your pleasure and your will.'

IV.

She bowed in reverence to the gods, then smiled,
And said to Nala, 'In all confidence

Advise me now what you would have me do;
For all I am, and all I have is yours;

I pray you, therefore, speak without restraint.
The words the swan spake to me, great my lord,
Do burn within me; and on your account,
In truth, is this assembly of the kings.
But if you spurn me and the love I bear you,
Trust me, I shall not fear, for your sweet sake,
Fire, water, poison, or a bitterer death.'
And Nala answered thus the royal maid,

In presence of the guardians of the world,
How can you choose a mortal son of man,
Unworthy of the dust from off their feet,
The noble potentates who made the world?
For my sake, lady, choose among the gods;
For surely death awaits the man who acts
Against the will and pleasure of the gods.
Who would not choose so grand a lord as that
Great God of Fire, whose mouth consumes the world?
Who would not choose so grand a lord as he
Whose rod compels the assemblies of the earth,
Through fear of him, to walk in righteousness?
Who would not choose so grand a lord as he
Who crushed the might of all his enemies-
The great, just God, the King of all the gods?
Who would not choose so grand a lord as he
Who rules the west, the champion of the gods?'
And Damayanti answered him again-
The dew of sorrow settling in her eye-
"I reverently bow to all the gods,

But choose you for my husband-none but you.'
Trembling she stood, with meekly-folded hands;
And Nala answered thus the blameless maid,,
'I come to you as an ambassador;

How can I woo you, lady, for myself?'

Then Damayanti, smiling, though her words

Were broken ever by her tears, made answer, 'Nala, my king, I will devise a way

To rid you wholly of all fault or blame.

Do

you, and Indra, and the other gods

Come all together to the trysting-place ;
And there, before the guardians of the world,
Will I make choice of you, Nala, my king!'
Then Nala, having left the royal maid,
Returned to bring an answer to the gods.
And as they saw him come, the deathless gods,
The guardians of the world inquired of him,
'King Nala, hast thou seen the smiling maid?
What answer gave she to our message sent?'
Then Nala spake out, Aided by your power,
I entered Dimayanti's home, unseen
By the ancient men who sat to guard the gate,
And no one saw me as I entered there,
Except the daughter of the Fearful King.
And now I bear this message from the maid,-
"Let all the gods come to the trysting-place."

V.

So when a day that boded well had come,
The Fearful King sent proclamation out;
And all the suitors, sick at heart for love,
Came to the wooing of the royal maid,
And entered through the portal to the hall,
That dazzled with its columns of pure gold,
Like lions entering their mountain lair.
There sat they, each in his appointed place,
All crowned with flowers of exquisite perfume,
And wearing earrings wrought of costly gems;
Princes, with delicately rounded arms,

As smooth as serpents-very grand to view-
With flowing hair, and eyebrows of fair arch,
And countenances where the perfect beauty
Shone like the nightly planets of the sky.
But as the daughter of the Fearful King
Entered, all eyes were fixed, all minds were rapt
And not an eyelid winked, for wonder at
The beauty and fair stature of the maid.
Then, while the kings were being heralded,
The blameless maid saw five men all alike,
So that for doubt she knew not which of them
Was Nala, each resembled so the prince.
And, sore perplexed, she thought within herself,
'How shall I know which Nala, which the gods?
Of all the signs by which I should discern
The gods, I see no token here at all.'
And doubting long, and being sore perplexed,
She thought to seek her refuge in the gods;

So, trembling, as she stood with folded hands,

She spake out with meek voice and reverent heart; 'If, since I heard the message of the swan,

I truly chose King Nala for my lord,

I
pray
the gods to show him to me now.
If truly I am pure in word and thought,
I pray the gods to show him to me now.
If truly heaven designed him for my lord,
I pray the gods to show him to me now.
If truly I have vowed to love my lord,
I pray the gods to show him to me now.
And I do pray the gods, the supreme kings,
The guardians of the world, now to reveal
Their shape and nature, so I recognize

Nala, my lord, my lover-first of men.'

Hearkened the fearful prayer of that fair maid

The deathless gods, and straightway they revealed
The tokens of their godhead: so she saw

All those high gods-no sweat upon their brow-
No eyelid winking--not a stain of dust

Upon them; fresh the garlands on their heads,

They stood, nor touched the ground beneath their feet. But Nala touched the ground, and there his shadow Lay; and the flowers were withered on his head,

And ever and again his eyelids met.

Then knew the daughter of the Fearful King,
And went to Nala in all modesty,

And took the border of his robe, and placed
An excellent fair wreath about his neck,
And so made choice of him to be her lord.
Then a low sound of disappointment brake
From all the kings; but Nala, glad at heart,
Spake such sweet comfort to the smiling maid,-

'Love, since you choose me thus, in this high presence,

I am wholly yours, attentive to each word

And wish of yours—as long as life shall last

I will be with you-wholly yours for ever.'

Each joying in the other, then they two

With reverence approached the gods, and looked
On them as on their refuge; and the gods,

The guardians of the world, that dwell in splendour,
Blessed with good gifts the choice the maiden made;
And Indra, King of Heaven, gave him sight

To see the Unseen in the sacrifice,

And power to pass unhindered where he would;
And Agni made him master over fire,

And gave him power on earth, in heaven and hell;
Then Yama gave him to have benefit

Of all things good for food, and stablished him
In justice; and the King of all the Waters
Committed to him power over water,
And gave him flowers excellent in odour
And rich in virtue; lastly all the gods
Gave promise of two children: after that
Returned upon their way to heaven; and all

The princes having witnessed the betrothal
With admiration, then passed home again.

VI.

Thus did the daughter of the Fearful King
Make choice of Nala; and the glorious gods,
The guardians of the world, returning home,
Encountered Cali, with that other fiend,
The wily Dwapara; and Indra spake

To Cali-'Whither now?' That other answered-
"We would be present at Damayanti's choice;
And she shall be my bride, for I have set

My heart on her:' then Indra laughed, and said,
Lo, in our presence she hath made her choice
Of Nala!' then was Cali hot with wrath,
And, bowing with due reverence to the gods,
He said, 'Her punishment is surely just,
Who puts a man in preference to the gods.'
Then the great gods, whose home is in the heavens,
Made answer thus: 'Not without our consent
Hath Damayanti taken the blameless prince.
What maiden would not love the virtuous king
Who knows the law and wholly bides by it?
Well the gods love the sacrifice he brings,
And very lovely is his life with mercy,
And truth, and strict observance of the right.'
But, when the gods had left them, Cali said,
'I will not stay my wrath; lo, I will go
And keep an eye on Nala; he shall not
Enjoy the daughter of the Fearful King;
But I will surely thrust him from his realm,
So you but help me mastering the dice.'

VII.

Thus these conspired-Cali and Dwapara :

And Cali went to watch the blameless King,

And seek occasion to lay hold of him;

And twelve long years he waited, but found none.

At length in an unguarded hour he came
And got the mastery over him; then went
To Pushkara, the brother of the King,
And tempted him to play at dice with Nala,
Saying, 'I will aid you in such sort that you
Shall surely win his kingdom at the dice.'
Then, Nala, being sore provoked to play
In presence of his Queen, at last consented.
So they two played for gold and glittering coins,
For chariots, and for horses and attire;

But Nala ever lost continually;

For Cali worked enchantment of the dice.

And Nala, for all hero that he was,