The Bite of The Snake Prince

नारायणं नमस्कृत्य नरं चैव नरोत्तमम्

 देवीं सरस्वतीं चैव ततो जयम् उदीरयेत्

महाभरत

Mahābharata

As retold by

Michael Dolan, B.V. Mahāyogi

Nala and Damayanti

Nala and the Snake Prince

What had become of Nala? After he had abandoned Damayanti, he wandered into the forest, losing his way.  His madness only increased. He fell deeper under the influence of darkness and the wicked demon Kali. And as he went farther from the kingdom of Vishadha, his path took him past the dens of bears and other wild animals into an unknown wilderness.

He walked for days. He ate the edible herbs and flowers of the forest and drank from the pure streams. Even so, his misfortune burned his heart. And one night, exhausted, he found shelter under a tree, spread leaves on the ground and slept on the cold earth in the cool moonlight.  He had not slept long when he was awakened by the sharp smell of burning wood. The air was warm. Opening his eyes, he looked around him and saw the flames licking the trees around him. 

Fire raged through the trees. Small animals scurried along the ground, racing away from the flames. A huge burning branch fell to earth, setting the bushing aflame. All around him burned a great conflagration. Snakes ran along the ground, away from the blaze.

He was about to run when he heard a sound, a voice in the fire, crying: “O great King, Nala, O hero. help me.” Shaking off the influence of Kali who filled his soul with fear, Nala was moved to pity. “Fear not,” he said.

“Help!” cried the voice again.

Nagas

Nala raced towards the sound and into the fire to save the poor creature trapped by the flames. He ran into a copse of trees that had begun to catch fire in the swirling heat. Burning branches fell from the blackened sky as cinders flew. Trapped beneath a fallen tree trunk he found a strange form. “Help!” he cried.

An explosion of flame and light revealed the form. It was  a giant snake-man, a mighty serpent of the Naga race, whose coils where trapped by the fallen tree trunk. The flames leaped higher. 

The serpents scaly coils gleamed green in the flash of the explosion. But from the hips to his head, the serpent’s upper body was that of a man. He was powerfully built and wore a golden crown. 

Naga Snake Prince

“Now this forest fire will burn me to ashes. Deliver me, O King.” 

Nala struggled with the tree trunk, wrestling it away, just as another burning branch fell from above, crashing to the ground with a roar of flames.

He freed the Naga King. “We must escape these flames.” He said. “Can you walk?”

The serpent looked up at Nala. With folded hands, saying, “O Nala. I am Karkotaka of the Naga race. Because I had offended the great rishi Narada, I have been cursed by him to stay here, immobile, until the great king Nala passed this way. As I am cursed, I am unnable to move. You must carry me.”

“But how can I carry you? You are as long as a palm tree is tall.”

“While I was cursed to remain immobile, I can change my shape.

With this the mighty Naga made himself smaller, assuming the form of a tiny viper.

Nala picked him up and ran through the flames. He ran  farther into the forest until he reached a stream. The fire had changed its path and raged out of sight in another part of the forest. 

They were safe. They could still smell the smoke from the blaze, but the fire was far away now. Nala kneeled down at the water’s edge, cupped his hand and wet his brow with the sacred water of the stream. In that moment, he was about to put the viper down, when Karkotaka the Naga said, “Don’t put me down!”

“Just a moment.” Said the snake-man.  “This is important. I want to reward you.  Carry me along a little ways. I will show you something that is to your benefit.” 

“How can you benefit me?” said Nala.

“Listen. I was once a great prince, like you. But I cheated the great Rishi Narada, the seer among the gods. Someday I will tell you the story. Anyway, when I cheated the good Rishi, he cursed me, saying, ‘You act like a snake, so live like one. Be a snake. Here you shall stay, immobile until Nala frees you on this very spot.”

“But I have freed you,” said Nala.

“Ahh, but the wind and the rain have moved me a bit. It’s just over there a few steps. Ten steps to the right. By that tree. Exactly there I shall be freed from the curse and I shall give you something you need.”

 “What will you give me?” said Nala. 

“I shall instruct you as to your welfare, and help deliver you from the curse that is burning your own heart.”

Intrigued,  Nala paced off ten steps to the right. 

“Here?” he said.

“Yes, said the snake. “This is it. The very spot.”

Nagas

Nala held the tiny viper-man gently between two fingers and began to set him down. But with this, the viper bit him, infusing his venom deep within Nala’s veins. Nala was stunned. 

And just as he was reeling from the snake-bite, he saw the tiny viper grow in size. From a hideous and monstrous snake, he transformed himself into a princely young man, well-dressed and decorated with golden ornaments. 

Prince Karkotaka, for indeed he was a prince, smiled a charming smile. Nala sat on a rock, his head swimming with the venom of the snake-bite.

“My dear King Nala, I thank you,” said the snake who was now a charming prince. “You must forgive the indignity of the snake-bite.  But the venom of the Naga has medicinal properties. You have been possessed. Your body has been invaded by the spirit of Kali. 

“The venom will burn him. As long as the venom courses through your veins you can bring the influence of Kali under control. Gradually he will not be able to stand the medicine and he will leave you. In the meantime he whose power has deceived you shall be tortured by the venom of the Naga. As you have delivered me from the curse of Narada, so my medicine will deliver you from the curse of Kali.”

The snake-prince continued, “My dear Nala, you yourself shall feel no pain from the poison, but shall be immune from snake bite for the rest of your days. In addition you shall always be victorious in battle. From this day forward, none shall defeat you. You need never fear the fangs of any enemy, human or otherwise.”

“As to your appearance. You need a disguise. As long as you are recognizable as the King of Nishadha, you will be persecuted by your enemies. I have transformed your appearance. Do not be alarmed. For the moment your disguise is perfect.”

The snake-prince reached into the folds of his garments and produced a cloth. He offered it to Nala who was still reeling from the injection of snake venom.

“Take this cloth. Wear it when you are ready to return to your own form.”

Nala took the cloth. It glowed with celestial beauty. It was finer than silk. He folded it carefully until it was smaller than a matchbook and hit it on his person.

“You have freed me from a terrible curse. In return I shall tell you how to be freed from your own curse,” said the Naga prince.

Recovering his sanity, Nala turned and splashed water on his face. Famine and thirst had made him mad. Fire, Nagas, a prince? Perhaps he was dreaming. The cold water sobered him. Nala looked at himself in the clear waters of the stream.  And in that natural mirror he saw himself a changed man. 

He studied himself. His fine features had become rough. His perfect nose was hooked and long. He touched his face. He had a rough dark beard and large ears and a dull mouth. His fine and curly blond hair was now coal black and badly cut. He was an ugly, vulgar hunchbacked dwarf. And instead wearing the shredded  rags from Damayanti’s sari, he was now clothed. He wore the rough cloth of a chariot driver, a keeper of horses.

He turned to the smiling prince.  “What is the meaning of this?” he said, alarmed. “I helped you and you have bitten me. You said you would benefit me and you have made me a monster.”

“You misunderstand, Nala.” Said the Naga prince. O great king. I have helped you. My bite has transformed you. You are no longer beautiful, but ugly, it’s true. But your ugliness is the perfect disguise.  No one shall recognize you.  

“The poison of my bite will not affect you, but it will burn the one who has possessed you. You may not realize this, but you have been possessed by a powerful demon. His envy caused you to gamble at dice and lose your kingdom. But now he is paralyzed within you by my viper’s poison. As long as he lives within you this devil will be tortured by my snake venom. In this way I have saved you from one who torments you.”

“As I have said,  my venom has special properties. After my bite you shall never fear any animal with fangs, nor any brahmana’s curse.  No poison can harm you.  You shall always triumph in battle. 

“Listen carefully and profit by my instructions. Go now to Ayodhya, the ancient city once ruled by the great Rama, and present yourself to the prince there. 

“His name is Rituparna. Tell him that you are a charioteer and give your name as Vahuka. Make friends with him. Teach him how to handle his horses. He will teach you as much about dice as you know about horses. When you learn everything about dice, you will win your prosperity again. You will meet again with your wife and children and regain your kingdom. Have no fear.”

Adjusting his belt the snake-prince smiled at Nala. He turned to leave, then looked over his shoulder and said,

“Remember. When you want to regain your original form, wear the celestial cloth that I have given you.”

Nala was stunned. He wasn’t sure if he should thank this strange king or slay him on the spot. He stood to confront Karkotaka, but felt rooted to the spot, immobile. Was it the venom? He watched as Karkotaka disappeared into the woods.

Snake Prince, Thailand