9058009487

32 SUKUMAKI UI1A1TACIIA1UI

to procurc a groom for hcr and sent hcr out to find one hcrself. When she retumed and reporlcd ihat she had set hcr heart on Satyavat, the son of the banished blind King Dyumatsena, the sagę Nfirada who was present was dccply grievcd and truły shockcd, for, the prince would livc for only one morc ycar. Saviiri argucd and would not be dissuaded. The nuptials ovcr_f she Iivcd in bliss in ihc forest for a ycar. When the appointed day camc, she had bccn fasting and requestcd to be taken along when Salyavat was lcaving to collcct faggol for fucl. He prolcslcd, saying it was loo rough a trip for hcr, but she had hcr way. The husband's protest was promplcd by his lovc for hcr, so was hcr insislcncc to aecompany him. The story is wcll-known - the husband’s dcalh, S5vitrT*s long altercalion with Yama, politc yet firm, intclligcnt and bent on achicving hcr cnd. As Yama kepi promising hcr various blcssings in an attempt of dissuading hcr from pressing hcr pica, she said that wilhoul hcr husband she did not carc for happiness, cvcn for hcavcn or prosperity; without hcr husband she did not cven care to livc on.⁸⁰ The night grew dark, she followcd the God of Dcalh who was carrying Salyavat ’s lifc. Undauntcd and steadfast, she kepi up the dialogue unlil Yama madc a scrious slip in offering hcr ihc boon of a hundred sons, wilhoul a husband. So she gaincd hcr objcclivc: Salyaval relurned to lite. This lale is cilcd as an cxamplc of SaviirT’s ⁴pfiu\ratya \ ‘wifcly dcvotion', hcr sense of ihc ultimalc duły to ihc husband. Bul this interpretation misses Ihc Cardinal poini: what Saviirl did, she did not do bccausc the scriptures cnjoincd this as a duły of a failhful wifc, but bccausc she had chosen a mail whom she lovcd; Ihc rest followcd as a corollary of ihc basie premise: hcr lovc for Satyavat, not a wile’s dcvolion and duły, bul lovcr*s inner propulsion through a slrong cmolional atlachmcnt, the foundation of connubial bliss.

The olher world-famous anccdotc is that of Nala and Damayantl.⁸¹ They leli in lovc_f wcrc married and livcd happily for a timc, unlil Nala was dared in a gamc of chcss by an enemy. Possessed by a hoslilc spirit, Kali, he losl his all. When al lasl Ihcre was nolhing morc to stake or lose and the enemy suggeslcd ihal Nala slakc Damayantl, ihc outraged Nala refused, shed his omamenls and leli. Damayanll followcd him. The dicc in the shape of bird siole Nala ’s garmenl, so ihe couple shared one dress bclwecn them. Nighl camc and Nala realized that this way he would drag Damayanll to grcalcr and cvcn greater suffering and hardship. So he decided to leave her. He cxplaincd ihc counlrics in ihc different dircctions to her and told her to scek security and comfort. She rcplicd — “How can 1 lcavc you who havc losl your kingdom, your wcallh, even your elolhes, you are plagued by hunger and fatiguc; how shall go lcaving you in this loncsome forest ?"⁸² Thesc words Ihrob wilh lovc, Ihcy are not promplcd by a sense of duły, but by the compassion one fccls for a dearly bclovcd spouse. However inspired morę by the desire lo sparc hcr from pain, he does desert her