Page:Tales from the Indian Epics.djvu/81

Rh for nothing delights me so much as swift driving. You shall be the chief of my stable-men and I shall pay you ten thousand pieces of silver yearly." So King Nala disguised as a charioteer entered the service of King Rituparna. But his thoughts always turned to the queen whom he had forsaken. And each night as he lay down he said aloud a verse in which he expressed his sorrow.

In the meantime the news had reached Bhima, king of Vidarbha, that King Nala had lost his kingdom and with his wife Damayanti had fled away from the country of the Nishadas. King Bhima called together the most learned Brahmans in Vidarbha and he addressed them saying, "Go forth and seek my daughter Damayanti and her husband King Nala. And to him who brings me news of them I will give a thousand kine, a hundred fields and a village as large as a city." So the Brahmans left Vidarbha and scattered in all directions, each hoping to find Damayanti and King Nala and to win for himself the reward offered by King Bhima.

In course of time the Brahmans returned, all but one, to the court of King Bhima, having sought King Nala in vain. But chance guided the footsteps of a Brahman named Sudeva to the chief city of the Chedis. He entered it and going to the royal palace saw Queen Sunanda through one of the windows. Damayanti was seated by her side, and although she looked tired and worn, Sudeva knew her to be the daughter of King Bhima. As one of the holy Brahman caste the guards permitted him to enter the palace. Gradually drawing near Damayanti he spoke to her in a whisper. "O daughter of Vidarbha," he said, "your father King Bhima is well and your mother and children also are well. But they