"There was also King Nala," Maitreya continued. "He lost his kingdom in a gambling match with his own brother, who then exiled Nala to the forest. Nala's loyal wife, Damayanti, accompanied him. Feeling ashamed, Nala abandoned her in the forest to live out his exile alone. Damayanti spent years searching for Nala but couldn't find him anywhere. Damayanti's father organized a swayamvara for her to choose a new husband, and Nala arrived, serving as charioteer to one of the kings seeking a bride. Damayanti recognized him, and together they won back Nala's kingdom and ruled again as king and queen."
Inspired by: Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata by Devdutt Pattanaik.
Notes: This story is on p. 195. There are many great twists and turns in Nala and Damayanti's story, which you can read about at Wikipedia.
No comments:
Post a Comment