O Brightest! one from these to be thy lord. 
    By their help is it I have entered in
    Unseen; none could behold me at thy gates,
    Nor stay me, passing; and to speak their will
    They sent me, fairest one and best.  Do thou,
    Knowing the message, judge as seemeth well.” 
      She bowed her head, hearing the great gods named,
    And then, divinely smiling, said to him:—­
    “Pledge thyself faithfully to me, and I
    Will seek, O Raja, only how to pay
    That debt with all I am, with all I have;
    For I and mine are thine—­in full trust thine. 
    Make me that promise, Prince.  Thy gentle name—­
    Sung by the swan—­first set my thoughts afire;
    And for thy sake—­only for thee—­sweet Lord,
    The kings were summoned hither.  If, alas! 
    Fair Prince, thou dost reject my sudden love,
    So proffered, then must poison, flame, or flood,
    Or knitted cord, be my sad remedy.” 
      So spake Vidarbha’s Pride; and Nala said:—­
    “With gods so waiting—­with the world’s dread lords
    Hastening to woo, canst thou desire a man? 
    Bethink!  I, unto these, that make and mar,
    These all-wise ones, almighty, am like dust
    Under their feet:  lift thy heart to the height
    Of what I bring.  If mortal man offend
    The most high gods, death is what springs of it. 
    Spare me to live, thou faultless lady!  Choose
    Which of these excellent great gods thou wilt;
    Wear the unstained robes! bear on thy brows
    The wreaths which never fade, of heavenly blooms! 
    Be, as thou mayest, a goddess, and enjoy
    Godlike delights!  Him who enfolds the earth,
    Creating and consuming, Brightest Power,
    Hutasa, Eater of the Sacrifice,
    What woman would not take?  Or him whose rod
    Herds all the generations forward still
    On virtue’s path, Red Yama, King of Death,
    What woman would affront?  Or him, the all-good,
    All-wise destroyer of the Demons, first
    In heaven, Mahendra—­who of womankind
    Is there that would not wed?  Or, if thy mind
    Incline, doubt not to choose Varuna; he
    Is of these world-protectors.  From a heart
    Full friendly cometh what I tell thee now.” 
      Unto Nishadha’s Prince the maid replied—­
    Tears of distress dimming her lustrous eyes—–­
    “Humbly I reverence these mighty gods;
    But thee I choose, and thee I take for lord;
    And this I vow!”
                     With folded palms she stood,
    And trembling lips, while his faint answer fell:—­
    “Sent on such embassy, how shall I dare
    Speak, sweetest Princess, for myself to thee? 
    Bound by my promise for the gods to sue,
    How can I be a suitor for myself? 
    Silence is here my duty; afterwards,
    If I shall come, in mine own name I’ll come,
    Mine own cause pleading.