of a portion of this branch, thou wilt be
satisfied of the truth of my assertion." And thereupon Vahuka speedily
alighted from the car, and felled that tree. And struck with amazement
upon finding the fruits, after calculation, to be what the king had
said, he addressed the king, saying, "O monarch, this thy power is
wonderful. I desire, O prince, to know the art by which thou hast
ascertained all this." And at this the king, intent upon proceeding
speedily, said unto Vahuka, "Know that I am proficient at dice besides
being versed in numbers." And Vahuka said unto him, "Impart unto me this
knowledge and, O bull among men, take from me my knowledge of horses."
And king Rituparna, having regard to the importance of the act that
depended upon Vahuka's good-will, and tempted also by the horse-lore
(that his charioteer possessed), said, "So be it. As solicited by thee,
receive this science of dice from me, and, O Vahuka, let my equine
science remain with thee in trust." And saying this, Rituparna imparted
unto Nala the science (he desired). And Nala upon becoming acquainted
with the science of dice, Kali came out of his body, incessantly
vomiting from his mouth the virulent poison of Karkotaka. And when Kali,
afflicted (by Damayanti's curse) came out (of Nala's body), the fire of
that curse also left Kali. Indeed, long had been the time for which the
king had been afflicted by Kali, as if he were of unregenerate soul. And
Nala the ruler of the Nishadhas, in wrath, was bent upon cursing Kali,
when the latter, frightened, and trembling, said with joined hands,
"Control thy wrath, O king! I will render thee illustrious. Indrasena's
mother had formerly cursed me in anger when she had been deserted by
thee. Ever since that time undergoing sore affliction I resided in thee,
O mighty monarch, O unconquered one, miserably and burning night and
day with the venom of the prince of snakes. I seek thy protection. If
thou dost not curse me who am affrighted and seek thy protection, then
those men that will attentively recite thy history, shall be even free
from fear on my account." And thus addressed by Kali, king Nala
controlled his wrath. And thereupon the frightened Kali speedily entered
into the _Vibhitaka_ tree. And while the Kali was conversing with
Naishadha, he was invisible to others. And delivered from his
afflictions, and having counted the fruits of that tree, the king,
filled with great joy and of high energy, mounted on the