English
The sage in his anger cried out, " Fall, thou serpent," and Nahusha fell from his glorious car and became a serpent. Agastya, at the supplication of Xahusha, put a limit to the curse ; and according to one ver- sion, the doomed man was released from it by the instrumentality of Yudhi-shrtiira, when he threw off " his huge reptile form, became clothed in a celestial body, and ascended to heaven." ISTAIKASHEYAS. Carnivorous imps descended from Xi- kasha, mother of Ravarza. They are called also Nikashatmajas. NAIMISHA, XAIMISHARAiVYA. A forest {arawja) near the Gomati (Gumtl) river, in which the Maha-bharata was rehearsed by Sauti to the assembled itishis. XAIRit/TA. Belonging to the south-west quarter; the regent of that quarter. An imp, goblin, or Efdvshasa. :NAISHADHA-CHARITA, NAISHADHIYA. a poem on the life of Xala, king of Nishadha, by AS'ri Harsha, a great scep- tical philosopher who lived in the eleventh or twelfth century A.D. It is one of the six Mahii-kavyas. There are several printed editions. NAKSHATRAS. Mansions of the moon, lunar asterisms. At first they were twenty-seven in number, but they were increased to twenty-eight. They are said to be daughters of Daksha who were married to the moon. See Daksha. NAKULA. The fourth of the Pfrndu princes. He was the twin son of Madrl, the second wife of Pawdu, but mythologicaUy he was son of the Aswins, or more specifically of the Aswin NALA. 215 Nasatya. He was taught tlie art of training and managing horses by Dro?za, and when he entered the service of the king of Viril/a he was master of the horse. He had a son named Nir-amitra by his wife Karemi-matl, a princess of Chedi. See jSIaha-ljharata. NALA. I. King of Nishadha and husband of Damayantl. The story of Nala and Damayanti is one of the episodes of the ]\raha-bharata, and is well known from having been translated into Latin by Bopp and into English verse by Dean Milman. Damayantl was the only daughter of Ehima, king of Yidarbha (Birar), and was very lovely and accomplished. Nala was brave and handsome, virtuous, and learned in the Vedas, skilled in arms and in the management of horses, but addicted to the vice of gambling. They loved each other upon the mere fame of their respective virtues and beauty, and Damayantl pined for the presence of her unknown lover. Bhima determined that his daughter should hold a swayam-vara. Rajas flocked to it in crowds, and among them Nala. Four gods, Indra, Agni, YaruTia, and Yama, also attended. Nala met them on the way, and reverently promised to do their will. They bade him enter the palace and inform Damayantl that they would pre- sent themselves among the candidates, and that she must choose one of them. Kala reluctantly performed his task, but his presence perfected his conquest, and the maiden announced her resolve to pay due homage to the gods, but to choose him for her lord. Each of the four gods assumed the form of Nala, but the lover's eye distinguished the real one, and she made her choice. They married and lived for some time in great happi- ness, a son and a daughter, named Indrasena and Lidrasena, being born to them. Kali, a personification of the Kali or iron age, arrived too late for the swayam-vara. He resolved to be revenged, and he employed his peculiar powers to ruin Nala through his love of gambling. At his instigation, Pushkara, Nala's younger brother, projoosed a game of dice. Kali charmed the dice, and Nala went on losing ; but he was infatuated ; the entreaties of friends and ministers, wife and children, Avere of no avail ; he went on till he had lost his all, even to his clothes. His rival Pushkara became king, and proclaimed that no one was to give food or shelter to Nala, so the ruined monarch wandered forth into the forest with his wife, and suffered great 2i6 NALA. privations. Some birds flew away with his only garment. He resolved to abandon his wife in the hope that she would return to her father's court, so he divided her sole remaining garment while she slept and left her. Thus left alone, DamayantI wandered about in great distress. She did not go home, but she at length found service and protection with the princess of Chedi. Xala fell in with the king of serpents, who was under a curse from which Nala was to deliver him. The serpent bit I^ala, and told him that the poison should work upon him till the evil spirit was gone out of him, and that he should then be restored to all he loved. Through the effects of the bite he was transformed into a misshapen dwarf. In this form he entered the ser^dce of itituparwa, king of Ayodhya, as a trainer of horses and an accomplished cook, under the name of Bahuka. Damayanti was discovered and conducted to her father's home, where she found her children. Great search was made for Xala, but in vain, for no one knew him in his altered form. One Brahman, however, suspected him, and informed Damayanti. She re- solved to test his feelings by announcing her intention of hold- ing a second swayam-vara. King it^tuparwa determined to attend, and took Nala with him as driver of his chariot. Riiw- parna was skilled in numbers and the rules of chances. On their journey he gave a wonderful proof of this, and he in- structed I^ala in the science. "Wlien Xala had acquired tliis knowledge the evil spirit went out of him, but still he retained his deformity. Damayanti half penetrated his disguise, and was at lens^-th convinced that he was her husband bv the flavour of a dish which he had cooked. They met, and, after some loving reproaches and the interference of the gods, they became reconciled, and Xala resumed his form. He again played with Pushkara, and staked his wife against the kingdom. Profiting by the knowledge he had obtained from itituparw.a, he won back all and again became king. Puslikara then humbled him- self, and Nala not only forgave him, but sent him home to his own city enriched with many gifts. The text of this poem has been often printed, and there are translations in various languages. 2. A monkey chief, said to be a son of Yi^nva-karma. Accord- ing to the Ramaya?ia, he had the power of making stones float in water. He was in Rfinia's army and built tlie bridge of NALA-KUVARA—NANDI-MUKHAS. 2 1 7 stone called Eama-setii, or Nala-setu, from the continent to Ceylon, over which Eiima passed with his army. NALA-KUVAEA. A son of Kiivera. NALODAYA (Xala + udaya). ' The rise of Nala.' A poem describing the restoration to power of King Nala after he had lost his all. It is ascribed to a Kali-dasa, but the composition is very artificial, and the ascription to the great Kali-dasa may well be doubted. The text has been printed, and there is a metrical translation by Yates. NALOPAKHYANA. The story of Xala, an episode of the ]\Iaha-bharata. 8ee IS'ala. NAMUCHL A demon slain by Indra with the foam of water. The legend of IsTamuchi first appears in the ii/g-veda, wdiere it is said that Indra ground "the head of the slave Namuchi like a sounding and roUing cloud," but it is amplified by the commentator and also in the ^S'atapatha Brahma?ia and Maha-bharata. When Indra conquered the Asuras there w^as one Namuchi who resisted so strongly that he overpowered Indra and held him. JN'amuchi offered to let Indra go on promise not to kill him by day or by night, with wet or with dry. Indra gave the promise and was released, but he cut off Xamuchi's head at twilight, between day and night, and with foam of water, which was, according to the authorities, neither wet nor dry. The Maha-bharata adds that the dissevered head followed Indra calling out " 0 wicked slayer of thy friend." IS'ANDA. I. The cowherd by whom K7"ish?ia was brought up. 2. A king, or dynasty of kings, of Magadha, that reigned at Pa/aH-putra, and was overthrown by Chandra-gupta the Maurya about 315 B.C. See Chandra-gupta. NANDANA. The grove of Indra, lying to the north of Meru. • NANDI. The bull of *S'iva. The Vayu Pura/^a makes him the son of Kasyaj)a and Surabhi. His image, of a milky white colour, is always conspicuous before the temples of /S'iva. He is the chamberlain of ^Siva, chief of his personal attendants {ganas), and carries a staff of office. He is guardian of all quadrupeds. He is also called >S'alankayana, and he has the apj)ellations of ]S'adi-deha and Ta?i(iava-talika, because he accompanies with music the tawc^ava dance of his master. NANDI-MUKHAS. A class of Pit?-/s or Manes, concerning whose character there is a good deal of uncertainty.