Katha: The Story of Nala - Part 1

Nala wins Damayanti's swayamvara

The sage Brihadaswa tells Yudhishthira a tale to console him, of King Nala, who also lost his kingdom to dice, and Princess Damayanti, whose love transcended even divine competition. In this first part, we witness one of the most romantic stories in world literature: how two people fell in love through the words of a golden swan.

Why This Story Was Told

Yudhishthira sat by the fire, his face dark with despair. The exile weighed heavily on him, not the physical hardship, but the shame. He had lost everything at dice. He had failed his brothers and his wife.

"Is there anyone," he asked the sage Brihadaswa who had come to visit, "who has suffered as I have? Who gambled away his kingdom, his wealth, his dignity?"

The sage smiled gently. "There was one, O King, who lost even more than you. His name was Nala, king of Nishadha. Listen to his story, and perhaps your own suffering will seem lighter."

The King Without Equal

Nala was king of Nishadha, a prosperous kingdom in central India. He was famed throughout the land for his virtues:

Yet for all his accomplishments, Nala had one lack: he had not yet married. Suitable princesses were proposed, but none captured his heart.

The Princess Beyond Compare

Meanwhile, in the kingdom of Vidarbha, there lived a princess named Damayanti. She was the daughter of King Bhima (not the Pandava), and her beauty was legendary.

Poets said her eyes put the lotus to shame. Her smile could illuminate dark rooms. Her grace made the apsaras of heaven seem clumsy. Suitors came from every kingdom, princes, kings, even gods, but Damayanti rejected them all.

"I will marry only for love," she told her father. "Not for alliance, not for politics. When I meet the one I am meant for, I will know."

The Golden Messengers

How could Nala and Damayanti, living in distant kingdoms, even learn of each other? The answer came on golden wings.