Brihadaashwa said - "After leaving Damayantee sleeping, Nal proceeded in the forest. After a while he saw a great fire and heard a voice, "O Nal, come here. Don't fear". Nal entered the fire and there he saw a big Naag lying coiled. He said - "O Nal, I am Karkotak Naag. Because of Naarad Jee's curse I am here. He cursed me - "You be here till Nal takes you from here and then only you will be free from this curse." That is why I cannot move a bit from here. I can tell you the way for your good, so please take me out of here. I will be your friend, there is no snake like me. When you will take me I will be very light, so take me out." After saying this that big snake became of the size of a thumb and Nal took him out of the fire. Nal wanted to drop him there but Karkotak requested him to carry him a little bit more. As Nal carried him a few steps more, the snake bit him on his 10th step.

This snake bite brought a great change in Nal's physical form, and in the meantime the snake also took his own form. Karkotak said to Nal comforting him - "I have changed your beautiful body so that people cannot recognize you. And O Nal, Who has brought you in this situation will stay in you, and as long as he will not leave you he will stay in the form of pain in your body. O King, I have saved you from his hands. Now you will not have any fear from any kind of animal with fangs and Braahman who are knower of Ved also. You will not feel any pain due to my venom in you. You will always be victorious in battles. Now you go to Ayodhyaa, to Rituparn (he was in Ikshwaaku Vansh) who is a skilled gambler and present yourself as a charioteer by the name Baahuk. He will give you his knowledge of dice in exchange of your knowledge of horses. He is born in Ikshwaaku Vansh and he will become your friend. When you will be good at dice you will get your prosperity back. You will also meet your wife and children and regain your kingdom. When you wish to see your original form, you should remember me and wear this cloth. This will bring you in your original form." The Naag gave Nal the two pieces of celestial cloth and disappeared then and there.

Note
This Rituparn was in Soorya Vansh or Ikshwaaku Vansh - Sagar >> Bhageerath > Shrut > Naabh > Sindhudweep > Ayutaaryu > Rituparn and was in the 4th leg of Sat YUg. [Bhaagvat Puraan, 9/5    and    Ikshwaaku Vansh according to Bhavishya Puraan] Thus he was in the 5th generation of Bhageerath and the ancestor of Raam.

Nal Arrives in Ayodhyaa

Brihadaashwa said - "After the Naag had disappeared, Nal started for Ayodhyaa and arrived there the 10th day. He introduced himself - "I am "Baahuk", an expert of horses. You may also seek my expert advice on other matters. I also surpass other in cooking. I am good at other arts that exist in this world. I can give you solutions in other difficult situations also. Please keep me with you." Rituparn got very happy to hear him and kept him in his kingdom as the superintendent of stables. He was paid 10,000 coins. Both Vaarshneya and Jeeval were working under him. Thus he started living there, but every evening he recited this Shlok in remembrance of Damayantee - "Where are you O Helpless, affected with hunger and thirst, and worn with toil, thinking of that wretch? And upon whom also does she now wait."

Once Jeeval asked Nal - "For whom you recite this daily? I wish to know about her. Whose spouse is she for whom you lament like this?" Nal answered - "There was a senseless man. For some reason that wicked man was separated from his wife. now he is not at rest day or night, but at night he recites this Shlok. He is passing his days thus. When the calamity fell on this man, she followed him, but the man deserted her in the forest alone." Thus Nal passed his days there.

Search for Damayantee

Brihadaashwa said - "After Nal had left his kingdom, it so happened that with the desire to see Nal, Bheem sent some Braahman to look for Nal and Damayantee and announced that whoever would bring them to him he would get 1,000 cows, fields, and a village as large as a town. Even if a person would bring their welfare he would get 1,000 cows. So Brahman scattered all around but no one could find him. A Braahman named Sudev arrived in Chedi Desh and saw the Princess Damayantee there seated with Sunandaa. He got very sad seeing the condition of Damayantee. He approached Damayantee and spoke thus - "O Princess of Vidarbh, I am Sudev, a dear friend of your brother. I have come here looking for you at the request of your father Bheem. Your father, brothers, children, all are well, but otherwise your relatives are very worried about you."

Brihadaashwa said to Yudhishthir - "Damayantee also enquired about her relatives and then wept bitterly. Sunandaa saw her Sairandhree talking to an unknown Braahman and weeping in front of him, so she got surprised and reported this to queen-mother. Her mother came there and saw this with her own eyes, so she asked the Braahman - "Whose wife and whose daughter she is? How has she been separated from her relatives? And how have you come to know about her?" At this Sudev described Damayantee's story to her.

Sudev said - "There is a very virtuous ruler of Vidarbh Desh, named Bheem. This lady is his daughter. And there is another Desh, Nishadh whose king's name is Nal. She is his wife. He lost everything in dice game to his brother. He left his country with his wife without telling anybody. We have been searching for them everywhere but she is found in your son's palace. She has a mole between her eyebrows placed there naturally, now it is covered with dust." Hearing this Sunandaa washed Damayantee's face and that mole appeared clearly. Seeing that mole both Sunandaa and queen-mother started weeping. The queen-mother embraced Damayantee and said - "By this mole, now I can say that you are the daughter of my sister. Both your mother and I are the daughters of Sudaamaa, the ruler of Dashaarn. She got married to Bheem, and I was married to Veerbaahu. I was there when you were born in Dashaarn at our father's place. My house is for you like your father's house, and even this wealth is also yours as much as it is mine."

Hearing this Damayantee got very happy and said to queen-mother - "Although unrecognized, I stayed here with lots of comfort, but, please, now let me go home as my children must be missing their parents." The queen-mother readily sent her to Vidarbh with lots of food and drink and best of clothes, she soon came to her father's house. Everybody got very happy to see her. She said to her mother - "If you want to see my alive, please bring Nal." Her mother was also very sad about Damayantee, she could not reply her, but she told Bheem that he should try his best to search for Nal to save his daughter's life. So Bheem again sent many Braahman in every direction to find Nal. Damayantee told those Braahman that they should cry, "O Gambler, Where have you gone cutting my cloth?" and tell more also so that he can feel pity on me. Fire burns the forest assisted by the wind, in the same way a wife must be maintained by her husband. Why have you been so unkind?"

Thus directed by Damayantee, those Braahman went in every direction and told what they were instructed to to tell.