Character

Damayanti

दमयन्तीDamayantī

verses
664
books
9
chapters
60
Consort of
Nala

What the texts say

In the Mahabharata, Damayanti is the daughter of Bhima, king of Vidarbha. Mahabharata 3.66.1, 3.61.72 Hearing a swan's words about Nala, king of Nishadha, she grew restless in mind for him. Mahabharata 3.51.1, 3.54.25 At her svayamvara, the choosing of a husband, she chose him in accordance with dharma. Mahabharata 3.54.25 She then sent Sudeva, a brahmin, to King Rituparna of Ayodhya with word of another svayamvara, since it was not known whether Nala was alive or dead. Mahabharata 3.65.6, 3.68.21, 3.68.23 Nala and she had two children, a son Indrasena and a daughter. Mahabharata (Gita Press) 3.57.46

Where to read

Every verse that names Damayanti, book by book.

  1. Mahabharata

    578 verses · 35 chapters

    All 578 verses in the Mahabharata

    Also in the Gita Press edition: 403 verses

    • 3.61.12

      Damayantī said: O lion-chested, mighty-armed king, lord of the Niṣadhas—where have you gone, O ruler, leaving me here in this solitary forest?

    • 3.60.1

      Bṛhadaśva said: When Nala had departed, O king, Damayantī—her fatigue having subsided—awoke, the noble woman terrified in the solitary forest.

    • 3.65.2

      And Bhīma instructed them, providing abundant resources: “Search for Nala, and also for Damayantī, my daughter.”

  2. Skanda Purana

    37 verses · 11 chapters

    All 37 verses in the Skanda Purana
    • 6.1.111.28

      Among those great sages dwelling in the Sutīrtha-āśrama was a woman famed as Damayantī, her face lovely like the disk of the moon.

    • 3.1.36.185

      By performing the Mahālaya rite, Nala, the husband of Damayantī, having crossed a great calamity, regained this earth.

    • 3.3.2.29

      For that foremost of kings there was a virtuous beloved wife, known by the name Madayantī—famed like Damayantī, the wife of Nala.

  3. Devi Bhagavatam

    33 verses · 4 chapters

    All 33 verses in the Devi Bhagavatam
    • 6.27.1

      Description of Narada's marriage with the illusory Damayanti. Narada said: Hearing his daughter's words through the nurse, the king then spoke to his beautiful-eyed wife, Kaikeyi, who was standing nearby.

    • 6.26.1

      Description of the Proposal for Damayanti's Marriage. Vyasa said: Hearing these words of mine, Narada, the knower of the highest truth, smiled and spoke to me who was inquiring about the cause of delusion.

    • 9.1.130

      The famous Varunani (wife of Varuna), Vindhyavali the wife of Bali, the beautiful Damayanti, Yashoda, and Devaki.

  4. Shiva Purana

    6 verses · 3 chapters

    • 3.28.30

      O sinless one, you will be the daughter of King Bhīma in the city of Vidarbha; and you will become renowned as Damayantī, endowed with noble virtues.

    • 4.10.2

      That king had a blessed and beloved queen named Madayantī, most steadfast in righteousness. She was renowned as a chaste and noble lady—like Damayantī, the wife of Nala.

    • 4.37.54

      By the power of that accumulated merit, Nala indeed became a Bhilla (tribal hunter) for a time; thereafter he became a universal sovereign (cakravartin), a great king, and Damayantī again became his beloved.

Also named in

Key chapters

The chapters where Damayanti matters most.

  1. Damayantī’s Passage through the Wilderness

    Mahabharata 3.61 · 103 verses

    Central agent and sufferer

  2. Damayantī’s Lament, Serpent-Seizure, Rescue by the Hunter, and the Curse

    Mahabharata 3.60 · 36 verses

    Central agent of pathos and moral force

  3. Sudeva Identifies Damayantī in Cedi (सुदेवेन दमयन्ती-परिचयः)

    Mahabharata 3.65 · 36 verses

    The recognized heroine whose suffering, fidelity, and dignity…

  4. दमयन्त्या वणिजां सार्थगमनम्, हस्तियूथविप्लवः, चेदिराजपुरप्रवेशश्च (Damayantī joins a caravan; elephant-herd catastrophe; entry into Cedi)

    Mahabharata 3.62 · 33 verses

    Central agent of fidelity and endurance

  5. Damayantī’s Recognition by the Piplū Mark and Her Return to Vidarbha

    Mahabharata 3.66 · 26 verses

    Suffering heroine whose identity, dignity, and agency are…

  6. Damayantī’s Svayaṃvara: Divine Disguises, Truth-Vow, and Choosing Nala

    Mahabharata 3.54 · 25 verses

    Agent of choice whose discernment and satya become the decisive…

  7. Damayantī’s Dialogue with Bāhuka; Recognition and Disclosure

    Mahabharata 3.74 · 24 verses

    Moral interrogator and wounded spouse who converts private…

  8. Adhyāya 73: Damayantī’s Investigation of Bāhuka (Keśinī’s Observations)

    Mahabharata 3.73 · 22 verses

    Investigator and suffering spouse who converts grief into…

  9. Damayantī’s Message and the Dispatch of Brahmin Envoys

    Mahabharata 3.67 · 21 verses

    Strategist and moral petitioner

  10. Parṇāda’s Report; Bāhuka’s Counsel; Damayantī’s Strategic Svayaṃvara Message (अध्याय ६८)

    Mahabharata 3.68 · 21 verses

    Strategist-heroine who converts grief into controlled action to…

Key episodes

  1. Nala and Damayanti

    Mahabharata 3.50-3.78

Also known to Wikipedia · Wikidata Q3521321