Part 3: Episode of Sāgaracandra

And now Dhanasena, living in Dvārakā, gave his daughter, Kamalāmelā, to Nabhaḥsena, son of Ugrasena. As he roamed about, Nārada came to Nabhaḥsena’s house and he was not honored by him, his mind fixed on the marriage. With the desire to injure him, he (Nārada) went to Sāgaracandra, son of Niṣadha, son of Rāma, very dear to Śāmba and others. He got up to meet him and asked: “Divine sage, have you seen anything marvelous as you roamed about? For you are devoted to seeing that.” He said: “The daughter of Dhanasena, named Kamalāmelā, a marvel in the world, has been seen right here. Just now she has been given to Nabhaḥsena.” After saying this, he flew up and went elsewhere. But Sāgara fell in love with her. Sāgara thought of her only; spoke her name only; saw her only everywhere, like one crazed by datura seeing gold.^[1]

Nārada went to Kamalāmelā’s house and, asked by her about a marvel, he, crooked-minded, said: “I have seen two marvels. Of these one is Prince Sāgaracandra because of a wealth of beauty; and Nabhaḥsena because of ugliness.” At once deserting Nabhaḥsena, she fell in love with Sāgara. Nārada went and told Sāgara about her love. Seeing that Sāgara had fallen into the ocean of separation from her, his mother and other princes became very distressed.

Then Śāmba came there and, standing behind Sāgara-candra in such a state of mind, covered his eyes with his hands. Sāgara said, “Are you Kamalāmelā here?” Śāmba replied, “I am Kamalāmcla.”^[2] Naiṣadhi said: “You alone will cause Kamalā to meet me. Enough of thinking about other devices.” Śāmba did not agree to this proposition, but was made to agree by all the princelings who made him drink much wine and tricked him. When he had become sober, Śāmba thought: “Why did I promise this wicked thing! Nevertheless, this must be carried out.”

Then, after recalling Prajṭapti, Śāmba went with the other princes to a garden on the day of Nabhaḥsena’s marriage. He had Kamalāmclā brought there from the house by the goddess (Prajṭapti) and married her, infatuated, to Sāgaracandra properly. When the partisans of her father and father-in-law did not sec her in the house, searching here and there, they went to the garden. When they saw Kamalāmelā in the midst of the Yadus who had assumed the forms of Khecaras, they told Viṣṇu. Angered, Krṣṇa approached Kamalāmelā’s abductors and attacked, wishing to kill them. For he was not tolerant of bad conduct.

Assuming his own form, Śāmba took Sāgaracandra with Kamalāmelā and fell at Kṛṣṇa’s feet. Embarrassed, Kṛṣṇa said: “What is this you have done, wretch, that Nabhaḥsena, a refugee, has been so deceived, alas! What is to be done for him now?” Keśava informed Nabhaḥsena and gave Kamalāmelā to Sāgara, no one else. Nabhaḥsena, unable to do an injury (to them), from that time always watched for a weak point in Sāgaracandra.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Pīta must be the datura. See III, p. 168 and n. 228. People poisoned by datura see things in a yellow light. Cf. Prabandhacintāmaṇi (Tawney), 54 n. and 194 n. Tawney calls it ‘gold-sickness.’

[2]:

This is one of those double meanings impossible to translate. Kamalāmelā, the girl’s name, means ‘a meeting with Kamalā.’ It needs only a change of quantity in the final vowel to make it a man’s name, of course.