Damayanti in the Forest

A queen who woke alone was seized by a python, saved by a hunter who then turned on her, and protected in that very instant by her own curse

Alone, unaware

Damayanti woke to find Nala nowhere near. She screamed in panic, ran weeping through the forest, calling his name.

"Why did you leave me, Nala? I never once promised to leave your side. Did I do something wrong?" — her calls echoed through the forest, and no answer came.

A python's grip

Wandering on, a huge python seized her. Damayanti screamed. A hunter passing nearby heard her and ran to her, killing the python.

Damayanti was saved — but after saving her, the hunter's intentions changed. He tried to touch her improperly.

Filled with anger and grief, Damayanti cursed him — "I have never once thought of any man but my husband, the king of Nishadha, even in my mind. By the strength of this truth, let this wicked hunter fall dead right here." The hunter fell dead on the spot.

Lost among hermits

Damayanti walked on and reached a grove of ascetics, where sages resembling the great ones — Vasishtha, Bhrigu and Atri — sat in penance. Weeping, she told them her story.

The sages said — "Do not grieve, my lady. You will find Nala again — healthy, having defeated his enemies, ruling that very city once more." With these words, the hermitage and the sages themselves vanished before her eyes.

Damayanti was left alone, astonished, but carrying that prophecy in her heart.

From a caravan to Chedi

Further on she came across a merchant caravan, led by a man named Suchi. She travelled on with them.

One night, near a lake full of lotuses, a herd of rutting elephants attacked the caravan. Many merchants died, goods scattered everywhere. The survivors blamed Damayanti — calling her a demoness who had brought this disaster upon them. Ashamed, she fled from there.

Wandering on, she reached the capital of the Chedi kingdom. Covered in dust, in torn clothes, dishevelled — someone reported her to the queen mother. Watching from the palace terrace, the queen mother had her called in.

Damayanti herself set her own conditions — she would not eat another's leftovers, would not wash anyone else's feet, would not speak with men; and any man who pressed her to become his wife or companion should be punished, and put to death if he did so again. The queen mother accepted all of it and made her a companion to her daughter Sunanda — naming her Sairandhri.

Note: This episode covers the part of the Nalopakhyana where Damayanti passes alone through the forest and then through the world of people. The hunter episode is in the original text; this site keeps it brief, without elaboration — to show the strength of the curse, not for detail. The sudden vanishing of the hermitage and its sages is in the text itself, and is traditionally read as a divine sign. The English dialogue lines are flowing paraphrases of the Sanskrit verses, not word-for-word translations.

Source: Mahabharata, Vana Parva — Nalopakhyana, Damayanti in the Forest