Fear no more the wood,
    Thou tiger of all princes! fear thou not
    Horned nor fanged beasts, nor any enemies,
    Though they be Brahmans! safe thou goest now,
    Guarded from grief and hurt—­Chieftain of men! 
    By this kind poison.  In the fields of war
    Henceforth the victory always falls to thee;
    Go joyous, therefore, Prince; give thyself forth
    For ‘Vahuka, the charioteer:’  repair
    To Rituparna’s city, who is skilled
    In play, and dwells in fair Ayodhya. 
    Wend thou, Nishadha! thither; he will teach
    Great subtlety in numbers unto thee,
    Exchanging this for thine own matchless gift
    Of taming horses.  From the lordly line
    Descended of Ikshvaku, glad and kind
    The King will be; and thou, learning of him
    His deepest act of dice, wilt win back all,
    And clasp again thy Princess.  Therefore waste
    No thought on woes.  I tell thee truth! thy realm
    Thou shalt regain; and when the time is come
    That thou hast need to put thine own form on,
    Call me to mind, O Prince, and tie this cloth
    Around thy body.  Wearing it, thy shape
    Thou shalt resume.” 
                       Therewith the serpent gave
    A magic twofold robe, not wove on earth,
    Which (O thou son of Kuru!) Nala took;
    And so the snake, transformed, vanished away. 
      The great snake being gone, Nishadha’s Chief
    Set forth, and on the tenth day entered in
    At Rituparna’s town; there he besought
    The presence of the Raja, and spake thus:—­
    “I am the chariot-driver, Vahuka. 
    There is not on this earth another man
    Hath gifts like mine to tame and guide the steed;
    Moreover, thou mayest use me in nice needs
    And dangerous, where kings lack faithful hearts. 
    Specially skilful I am in dressing meats;
    And whatso other duties may befall,
    Though they be weighty, I shall execute,
    If, Rituparna, thou wilt take me in.” 
      “I take thee,” quoth the King.  “Dwell here with me. 
    Such service as thou knowest, render us. 
    ’Tis, Vahuka, forever in my heart
    To have my steeds the swiftest; be thy task
    To train me horses like the wind for speed;
    My charioteer I make thee, and thy wage
    Ten thousand gold suvernas.  Thou wilt have
    For fellows, Varshneya and Jivala;
    With those abiding, lodge thou happy here.” 
      So entertained and honored of the King,
    In Rituparna’s city Nala dwelled,
    Lodging with Varshneya and Jivala. 
      There sojourned he (my Raja!), thinking still
    Of sweet Vidarbha’s Princess day by day;
    And sunset after sunset one sad strain
    He sang:  “Where resteth she that roamed the wood
    Hungry and parched and worn, but always true? 
    Doth she remember yet her faultful lord? 
    Ah, who is near her now?”