Puṣkara, Brother of Nala
Puṣkara was the younger brother of Nala, king of Niṣadha. In the Nala-Damayantī Upākhyāna of the Mahābhārata, he is the one through whom Nala loses everything. Kali pushed Puṣkara to challenge Nala to a game of dice. Over several sessions Puṣkara took Nala’s whole kingdom, treasury and wealth, and drove Nala and Damayantī into poverty and exile.
When Nala came back, he had full command of the Akṣahṛdaya, the science of dice. He challenged Puṣkara again and won everything back in one session. Nala then spared Puṣkara’s life and gave him a place of dignity.
The dice game
Kali was angry that Damayantī had not chosen him at her svayaṃvara (the ceremony where a princess chooses her husband). He entered Nala’s body at a moment of ritual impurity and began to ruin his judgment. Then he urged Puṣkara to challenge Nala to a game of dice.
Under Kali’s hold, Nala’s usually sound judgment was gone. He could not stop playing and he could not win. Day after day he lost: his armies, his treasury, his chariots, his horses, his elephants, and at last the kingdom itself. Damayantī begged him to stop. His ministers and friends begged him. Nothing worked. Kali’s grip was complete.
At last, when Nala had nothing left, Puṣkara banished Nala and Damayantī from the kingdom. He announced that anyone who helped them would be punished. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 57–59)
Puṣkara’s boast and Nala’s return
Nala was freed from Kali’s hold after he and Damayantī were reunited. He returned to Niṣadha and challenged Puṣkara to a second game. Puṣkara was very sure of himself and agreed. He even boasted that he would stake Damayantī against Nala’s remaining wealth, for he wanted her. The result of the game answered this insult.
Nala had learned the Akṣahṛdaya, the divine science of understanding dice, from King Ṛtuparṇa. With it he played without a single mistake. He won back everything in one session, and Puṣkara could not win one throw. All that had been taken was returned. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 76–78)
Nala’s mercy
In victory Nala showed his noble character. He did not put Puṣkara to death or shame him. He spared his life and gave him a comfortable life, with a position of dignity. The Mahābhārata says that Puṣkara saw Nala’s greatness in his victory and was filled with remorse and gratitude. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 78)
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 57–59
- Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 76–78