lovest her, being loved in return? O king of the earth, O
respected one, O represser of foes, O thou of large eyes, why dost thou
not regard me, emaciated, and distressed and pale, and discoloured, and
clad in a half piece of cloth, and alone, and weeping, and lamenting
like one forlorn, and like unto a solitary doe separated from the herd?
O illustrious sovereign, it is, I, Damayanti, devoted to thee, who,
alone in this great forest, address thee. Wherefore, then, dost thou not
reply unto me? Oh, I do not behold thee today on this mountain, O chief
of men, O thou of noble birth and character with every limb possessed of
grace! In this terrible forest, haunted by lions and tigers, O king of
the Nishadhas, O foremost of men, O enhancer of my sorrows, (Wishing to
know) whether thou art lying down, or sitting, or standing, or gone,
whom shall I ask, distressed and woe-stricken on thy account, saying,
_Hast thou seen in this woods the royal Nala?_ Of whom shall I in this
forest enquire after the departed Nala, handsome and of high soul, and
the destroyer of hostile arrays? From whom shall I today hear the sweet
words, _viz_., _That royal Nala, of eyes like lotus-leaves, whom thou
seekest, is even here?_ Yonder cometh the forest-king, that tiger of
graceful mien, furnished with four teeth and prominent cheeks. Even him
will I accost fearlessly: Thou art the lord of all animals, and of this
forest the king. Know me for Damayanti, the daughter of the king of the
Vidarbhas, and the wife of Nala, destroyer of foes, and the king of the
Nishadhas. Distressed and woe-stricken, I am seeking my husband alone in
these woods. Do thou, O king of beasts, comfort me (with news of Nala)
if thou hast seen him. Or, O lord of the forest, if thou cannot speak of
Nala, do thou, then, O best of beasts, devour me, and free me from this
misery. Alas! hearing my plaintive appeal in the wilderness, this king
of mountains, this high and sacred hill, crested with innumerable
heaven-kissing and many-hued and beauteous peaks, and abounding in
various ores, and decked with gems of diverse kings, and rising like a
banner over this broad forest, and ranged by lions and tigers and
elephants and boars and bears and stags, and echoing all around with
(the notes of) winged creatures of various species, and adorned with
_kinsukas_ and _Asokas_ and _Vakulas_ and _Punnagas_, with blossoming
_Karnikaras_, and _Dhavas_ and _Plakshas_, and with streams haunted by
wat