to choose
    Another love, as thou, that tremblest, didst? 
    Thy messengers over all regions ran,
    By the King’s name proclaiming:  ’Bhima’s child
    A second husband chooseth for herself,
    Whomso she will—­as pleaseth—­being free,’
    Those shameless tidings brought the Raja here
    At headlong speed—­and me!”
                                 Tenderly smiled
    Damayanti through her tears, with quivering lips,
    And joined palms, answering her aggrieved Prince:—­
    “Judgest thou me guilty of such a sin? 
    When for thy sake I put the gods aside—­
    Thee did I choose, Nishadha, my one lord. 
    In quest of thee did all those Brahmans range
    In all ten regions, telling all one tale
    Taught them by me; and so Parnada came
    To Koshala, where Rituparna dwells,
    And found thee in his house, and spake to thee
    Those words, and had thy gentle answer back. 
    Mine the device was, Prince, to bring thee quick;
    For well I wist no man in all this world
    Could in one day the fleetest coursers urge
    So many yojanas, save thou, dear Prince! 
    I touch thy feet, and tell thee this in truth;
    And true it is that never any wrong
    Against thee, even in fancy, have I dreamed. 
    Witness for me, as I am loyal and pure,
    The ever-shifting, all-beholding Air,
    Who wanders o’er the earth; let him withdraw
    My breath and slay me, if I sinned in aught! 
    Witness for me, yon golden Sun who goes
    With bright eye over us; let him withhold
    Warm life and kill me, if I sinned in aught! 
    Witness for me the white Moon, whose pale spell
    Lies on all flesh and spirit; let that orb
    Deny me peace and end me, if I sinned! 
    These be the watchers and the testifiers,
    The three chief gods that rule the three wide worlds;
    I cry unto them; let them speak for me;
    And thou shalt hear them answer for my faith,
    Or once again, this day, abandon me.” 
      Then Vayu showed—­the all-enfolding Air—­
    And spake:  “Not one wrong hath she wrought thee, Prince,
    I tell thee sooth.  The treasure of her truth
    Faultless and undefiled she hath kept
    By us regarded, and sustained by us,
    These many days.  Her tender plot it was,
    Planned for thy sake, which brought thee; since who else
    Could in one day drive threescore yojanas? 
    Nala, thou hast thy noble wife again;
    Thou, Damayanti, hast thy Nala back. 
    Away with doubting; take her to thy breast,
    Thrice happy Prince!”
                          And while God Vayu spake,
    Look! there showered flowers down out of the sky[28]
    Upon them; and the drums of heaven beat
    Beautiful music, and a gentle wind,
    Fragrant, propitious, floated, kissing them. 
    But Nala, when he saw these