feet, did not wink and had no sweat on their bodies. Their garlands did not fade. Thus she became certain about their identity. On knowing Nala's identity, bashfulness took full control of her. She would put the garland around Nala's neck but her fingers did not move even a little to do so, restraint and bashfulness forbidding her. She whispered into the ears of Saraswati uttering the letter (lit. no) and stopped. She touched the fingers of Saraswati who laughed at this. The bridesmaid took the princess before Nala and addressed the gods that Damayanti, a chaste woman, would not choose any of them and requested them to shower their favour on the princess. The gods gave their assent through the movement of their eyebrows and returned to their regions. The marriage celebrations followed on a grand scale. Kali, the evil genius, met the gods who were returning to their regions, and was informed of Damayanti's choice. He avowed to spoil the happy life of the wedded pair and took his position on a tree in Nala's mansion. The last five cantos deal with the happy life of Nala and Damayanti. The poet takes care to show that Nala did not violate the rules of conduct in his religious acts. The poem abruptly ends after narrating Damayanti's beauty in the moonlit night. Events occurring in each chapter The progress of the story spanning across 22 chapters is presented below, by showing the significant events covered in a range of verses. The verse numbers referred to here are taken from the book Naishadhiya Charitam Of Harsha published by Nirnaya Sagar Press. Sarga 1 Sarga 2 Sarga 3 Sarga 4 Sarga 5 Sarga 6 Sarga 7 Sarga 8 Sarga 9 Sarga 10 Sarga 11 Sarga 12 Sarga 13 Sarga 14 Sarga 15 Sarga 16 Sarga 17 Sarga 18 Sarga 19 Sarga 20 Sarga 21 Sarga 22 Date and authorship Sriharsa flourished during the 12th century A.D. He lived during the reign of Jayachandra of Kanauj who was defeated by Shihabuddin in 1193 A.D. Translations Naishadha Charita was translated into Telugu by the 15th-century Telugu poet Srinatha. It was translated into English by Krishna Kanta Handique, and into Hindi by Guman Mishra and Rishinatha Bhatta. References External links Naishadha-charita English translation (searchable and includes glossary) (English translation) Sanskrit poetry Epic poems in Sanskrit 12th-century Indian books Poems based on the Mahabharata