नैषधीयचरितम्

Summary AI : King Nala rules Niṣadha, having mastered the fourteen branches of vidyā. Physical symptoms of longing for Damayantī afflict him, which camphor and moonlight fail to cool. He rides a saindhava horse to a forest grove filled with ketakī pollen and cuckoo calls. Finding a golden haṃsa asleep in a lotus pool, Nala captures it. The bird laments the fate of its aged mother and mate, moving the king to grant it freedom.

२

द्वितीयः सर्गः

A swan describes Damayantī's beauty.

Summary AI : The freed haṃsa returns to Nala and offers to assist him. The bird describes Damayantī's features, from her adharabimba lips to her lotus-like feet. Nala admits his desire for the princess, and the bird flies toward Kuṇḍina. It crosses mountains and rivers, reaching the Vidarbha capital's crystal palaces. The haṃsa enters a pleasure garden and finds Damayantī among her companions.

३

तृतीयः सर्गः

A swan speaks to Damayantī about Nala.

Summary AI : The haṃsa approaches Damayantī and lures her into a solitary grove. Speaking in human language, it praises Nala's character and physical form, noting that even celestial beings admire him. Damayantī confesses her love for the king and her anxiety regarding her father's plans. The bird assures her of Nala's devotion before returning to Niṣadha to report her words. Nala rejoices upon hearing the bird's account.

४

चतुर्थः सर्गः

Damayantī suffers from lovesickness.

Summary AI : Damayantī experiences a fever caused by the arrows of Kāma. She applies candana paste and lotus stalks to her body, but her heat withers the blossoms. She addresses the moon as a source of fire and the bodiless god of love as a tormentor. After she faints, her ali companions revive her. King Bhīma observes her condition and decides to organize a svayaṃvara so she may choose a husband.

५

पञ्चमः सर्गः

Gods appoint Nala as their messenger.

Summary AI : Nārada tells Indra that kings are gathering for Damayantī's svayaṃvara. Indra, Agni, Yama, and Varuṇa descend and encounter Nala on the road. The gods command him to act as their envoy to persuade the princess to choose one of them. Nala cites his own love for her as an obstacle, but the gods remind him of the duties of a petitioner. Indra grants him antardhisiddhi to enter the palace invisibly.

६

षष्ठः सर्गः

Nala enters the palace invisibly.

Summary AI : Nala uses his invisibility to enter Kuṇḍina and bypass the palace guards. He observes Damayantī writing messages on ketakī petals and painting a portrait of him. Nala reveals himself and delivers the gods' proposal. Damayantī rejects the divine suitors, expressing her preference for a mortal man from Bhārata. She cites the land's capacity for dharma and her singular devotion to Nala. The king hears her refusal with secret satisfaction.

७

सप्तमः सर्गः

Nala views Damayantī's physical form.

Summary AI : Nala examines Damayantī's body from her kaca to her pāda. He views her bhrū as the bow of the love-god and her netra as moving lotuses. His gaze travels from her grīvā to her stana, then follows the romāvalī to her nābhi. He compares her ūru to plantain trunks and her kara to young leaves. This systematic observation of her limbs from head to toe intensifies his longing.

८

अष्टमः सर्गः

Nala delivers the gods' message.

Summary AI : Nala appears before Damayantī and her attendants. She observes his form, comparing him to the god of love. Nala accepts her hospitality but maintains his role as an envoy for the dikpāla regents. He describes how Indra, Agni, Yama, and Varuṇa suffer because of her. He details their divine attributes and powers, urging her to select one of these four deities during the upcoming svayaṃvara ceremony.

९

नवमः सर्गः

Damayantī vows to marry only Nala.

Summary AI : Damayantī asks for the messenger's identity. Nala avoids the question and continues to praise the four gods. Damayantī declares she will enter a fire if she cannot wed Nala. The king momentarily loses his composure, imagining a dialogue between them, before his duty as an envoy returns. After a brief consultation with the haṃsa, Nala reveals his identity and departs to inform the gods of her rejection.

१०

दशमः सर्गः

The gods and kings gather.

Summary AI : Indra, Agni, Yama, and Varuṇa travel to Vidarbha, each assuming Nala's form. In the assembly hall at Kuṇḍina, King Bhīma receives the suitors. The goddess Sarasvatī appears to assist Damayantī, her form embodying the Vedas, vyākaraṇa, and nyāya. Damayantī enters the hall, causing the kings to snap their fingers in distraction. Sarasvatī prepares to introduce the suitors as the five identical Nalas wait.

११

एकादशः सर्गः

Sarasvatī introduces the first suitors.

Summary AI : Damayantī enters the assembly in a palanquin. Sarasvatī walks beside her, describing kings from the seven dvīpas. The goddess details the wine-ocean of Śālmala, the city of Vārāṇasī, and the vṛndāvana forests. Each king offers his wealth and lineage, but Damayantī rejects them with a silent gesture. She passes the lords of Avanti, Gauḍa, and Kāśī, keeping her mind fixed on Nala.

१२

द्वादशः सर्गः

Damayantī rejects further royal suitors.

Summary AI : Sarasvatī leads Damayantī past more kings, recounting the deeds of the lords of Ayodhyā, Kaliṅga, and Kāñcī. The goddess mentions their battlefield success and their patronage of poets. Damayantī continues to move past the suitors, including those from Nepāla, Malaya, and Magadha. Despite their royal status, she offers no sign of acceptance, her attention remaining on the search for the true Nala.

१३

त्रयोदशः सर्गः

Sarasvatī uses puns for five Nalas.

Summary AI : Sarasvatī stops Damayantī before five identical men. She describes each using śleṣa verses that apply simultaneously to a god and to Nala. These double meanings allow the goddess to tell the truth while maintaining the gods' deception. Damayantī looks for divine signs like animisa eyes or the absence of dust but finds the gods have concealed them. Confused by the linguistic ambiguity, she suffers in her attempt to identify the king of Niṣadha.

१४

चतुर्दशः सर्गः

Damayantī chooses the real Nala.

Summary AI : Damayantī identifies the human Nala by observing his nimeṣa (blinking), sveda (perspiration), and a wilting madhūka garland—signs absent in the gods. She places the wedding wreath on his neck. The dikpālas reveal their forms and grant Nala boons, including skill in cooking and weaponry. Sarasvatī gives him the cintāmaṇi mantra. The gods depart, and King Bhīma blesses the union.

१५

पञ्चदशः सर्गः

The bride and groom prepare.

Summary AI : Nala gives wealth to bards while attendants prepare Damayantī. They apply añjana collyrium and yāvaka dye to her feet. Her friends adorn her with parivādinī necklaces. Nala wears a jeweled crown and mounts a chariot driven by Vārṣṇeya. Women of Kuṇḍina crowd the balconies to see him, breaking their jewelry in the haste. They remark that Damayantī's choice of a mortal honors the gods.

१६

षोडशः सर्गः

The wedding and return to Niṣadha.

Summary AI : Nala and his priest Gautama perform the marriage rites at the Vidarbha palace. The couple completes the agnipradakṣiṇā and offers lāja into the fire. During the feast, guests eat pāyasam and yogurt with mustard seeds while joking with the attendants. King Bhīma gives Nala a cintāmaṇi necklace and Agni's chariot. The couple departs for the Niṣadha capital in a chariot driven by Vārṣṇeya.

१७

सप्तदशः सर्गः

Kali plans to ruin Nala.

Summary AI : The gods return to heaven in vimānas and meet Kali with his retinue. A heretic challenges the gods, mocking the Vedas and the efficacy of rituals. The gods defend the scriptures and continue their journey. Kali, angered by Damayantī's choice, vows to destroy Nala's kingdom. Finding the city protected by saṃhitā chanting and purity, he waits in a vibhītaka tree in the palace gardens for a moral lapse.

१८

अष्टादशः सर्गः

Nala and Damayantī's first night.

Summary AI : Nala delegates his duties to ministers and enters a palace of gemstones and śālabhañjikā statues. In a chamber scented with agaru, he and Damayantī spend their first night together. Nala uses speech to ease her vrīḍā. He leaves nakhakṣata marks on her skin, and her pearl necklace breaks during their play. As dawn approaches, the couple falls asleep.

१९

एकोनविंशः सर्गः

Bards awaken the king at dawn.

Summary AI : Bards sing to awaken Nala and Damayantī. Sunbeams cause saroruha lotuses to open while kumuda lilies close. Cakravāka birds reunite, and cuckoos sound like students of vyākaraṇa. Nala performs his sandhyā prayers and ritual bathing. He rewards the bards with gems and mounts the atipuṣpaka chariot to begin his royal duties.

२०

विंशः सर्गः

Nala and Damayantī converse in private.

Summary AI : Nala offers Damayantī a lotus and sits with her and her friend Kalā. To prove his identity in a game of doubt, Nala mentions rahaḥkriyā secrets, including the imprint of his teeth on her. Damayantī covers her friend's ears in bashfulness. Nala uses a boon from Varuṇa to make the attendants' garments transparent with water. After the attendants leave, a bard announces the arrival of noon.

२१

एकविंशः सर्गः

Nala performs his religious rites.

Summary AI : Vassal kings bow as Nala goes to practice weapons and bathe in perfumed water. He performs sandhyā and chants mantras with a crystal rosary. In the temple, he worships Śiva and Viṣṇu, reciting a hymn to the ten avatāras. After giving wealth to Brāhmaṇas, he rejoins Damayantī to listen to birds and music before the evening prayers begin.

२२

द्वाविंशः सर्गः

The couple describes the moonrise.

Summary AI : Nala and Damayantī watch the sunset from the palace roof. Nala compares the western sky to lākṣā juice. When the moon rises, he likens its orb to her face, while she calls the lāñchana mark a deer hiding from Rudra. They identify the stars as flowers for the god of love and the Milky Way as a river. The day ends as they conclude their conversation.

Other texts to read

किरातार्जुनीयम् भारविः

महाभारतम् वेदव्यासः

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