Nala

For other uses, see Nala (disambiguation).
Nala-Damayanti. Painting by Raja Ravi Varma.

Nala (Sanskrit: नल), a character in Hindu mythology, is the king of Nishadha Kingdom, son of Veerasena. Nala is known for his skill with horses and culinary expertise. He marries princess Damayanti, of Vidarbha Kingdom, and their story is told in the Mahabharata. His main weakness is gambling. He is possessed by the Demon Kali.

Story

Nala, also known as Nala Chakravarti (Nala the Emperor), was chosen by Damayanti as her husband in the swayamvara, a function in which the bride selects her husband from among the invitees, in preference to even the gods who came to marry her.

All the gods left the place praising the qualities of Nala and blessing the couple. But the Demon Kali to test Nala vowed to divert Nala from the path of Dharma, or path of righteousness and virtue, and to separate Nala and Damayanti. Such was the purity of Nala that it took twelve years for Kali to find a small fault in him and bewitch his soul. After being influenced by evil, Nala played a game of dice with his brother Pushkara and gambled away his wealth and the kingdom to him. Nala and Damayanti had to live in forests where they were separated. After undergoing many hardships, in spite of which Nala never deviated from the path of righteousness, he overcame the influence of Kali and regained his kingdom by defeating Pushkara in a rematch. Nala and Damayanti were reunited and lived happily thereafter. Kali offered Nala a boon when he left him. Nala sought the boon that whoever read his story would not be unduly affected by the malefic effects of Kali.

Translations

Norman Mosley Penzer translated the tale of Nala & Damayanti in 1926.[1]

References

  1. ↑ S. M. E. (April 1927). "Nala and Damayanti by Norman M. Penzer". The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (2): 363–364. JSTOR 25221149.

Bibliography

External links