Nalopākhyānam: The Story of Nala
Overview
Published in 1879 by Oxford’s Clarendon Press, this scholarly edition of the Nala episode from the Mahābhārata served as the standard Sanskrit textbook at Victorian universities. Compiled by Monier Monier-Williams—Oxford’s second Boden Professor of Sanskrit and creator of the definitive Sanskrit-English dictionary—the volume presents the complete Sanskrit text in Devanagari script with comprehensive vocabulary and Henry Hart Milman’s poetic English translation.
The Nala story, one of the Mahābhārata’s most beloved episodes, tells of King Nala’s love for Princess Damayantī, their separation through gambling and exile, and their eventual reunion. Beyond romance, it explores dharma (duty), the consequences of weakness, divine intervention, and the power of faithfulness. For Victorian students learning Sanskrit, this accessible yet profound text provided entry into epic poetry while grappling with moral and philosophical themes.
About Monier Monier-Williams (1819-1899)
Born in Bombay to a British surveyor-general, Monier Williams grew up bilingual in English and Indian languages. Educated at Oxford, he became Professor of Sanskrit, Persian, and Hindustani at the East India Company College (1844-1858) before winning Oxford’s Boden Professorship in 1860—a position he held for nearly four decades.
His monumental Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872) remained the standard reference for over a century, surpassing earlier dictionaries in comprehensiveness and accuracy. Monier-Williams translated Kālidāsa’s plays (Śakuntalā, Vikramorvaśī), wrote influential works on Hinduism and Buddhism, and founded Oxford’s Indian Institute in 1883. Knighted in 1876 and made Knight Commander of the Indian Empire in 1887, he devoted his life to making Sanskrit literature accessible while advocating (controversially) for Christian evangelization in India.
His pedagogical approach combined linguistic rigor with literary appreciation. The copious vocabulary in this edition trained students in grammar while the poetic translation demonstrated Sanskrit’s aesthetic power—a dual method that shaped how generations encountered Indian literature.
The Collaboration with Dean Milman
Henry Hart Milman (1791-1868), Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral and prominent historian, published his English verse translation of Nala in 1835. His poetic rendering brought the Sanskrit tale to Victorian readers unfamiliar with the original. Milman, also Oxford Professor of Poetry and author of historical works on Judaism and Christianity, approached Nala as universal literature—a love story transcending cultural boundaries.
Monier-Williams revised Milman’s translation, correcting errors and improving fidelity to the Sanskrit while preserving poetic quality. This collaboration between the Sanskrit scholar and the literary dean produced a translation both accurate and artistically compelling—rare in Victorian Orientalism, which often sacrificed one for the other.
The Nala Story
The Nalopākhyānam from the Mahābhārata’s Vana Parva (Forest Book) parallels the main epic’s themes while standing as independent narrative:
King Nala of Nishadha, renowned for virtue and skill, wins Princess Damayantī through a divine swayamvara (self-choice ceremony) where even gods compete for her hand. Their happiness ends when Nala falls victim to his gambling addiction, losing his kingdom to his brother Pushkara. Abandoning Damayantī in the forest, Nala wanders in misery, his appearance transformed by a snake’s curse.
Damayantī, faithful despite abandonment, searches for Nala while her father seeks to reclaim his daughter. Through clever questioning at a second swayamvara, she recognizes Nala despite his changed form. United, they return to Nishadha where Nala—having learned chariot-driving and dice skills from a celestial being—defeats Pushkara and regains his throne.
The tale explores human weakness (Nala’s gambling), divine testing, wifely devotion (Damayantī’s unwavering love), and redemption through suffering. For Sanskrit students, it offered grammatical structures, poetic meters, and moral complexity within an engaging narrative.
Pedagogical Innovation
Monier-Williams designed this edition specifically for learners. The vocabulary doesn’t merely translate words but explains grammatical forms, etymologies, and contextual nuances. Students could parse sentences, understand compound formations, and grasp how Sanskrit poetry achieves its effects.
This approach transformed Sanskrit from dead language study to literary encounter. Students didn’t just memorize declensions—they experienced one of world literature’s great love stories while acquiring linguistic competence. The method influenced language pedagogy beyond Sanskrit, showing how literary texts could serve as grammatical primers without sacrificing aesthetic appreciation.
Victorian Reception and Legacy
The volume became a cornerstone of British Sanskrit education, used at Oxford, Cambridge, and colonial Indian universities. It introduced hundreds of students to Sanskrit literature, many of whom became administrators, scholars, or missionaries in India. The text shaped how the British understood Indian culture—through classical literary achievement rather than contemporary “degradation” (as many colonials viewed it).
For Indian students under British rule, the edition had complex significance. It validated Sanskrit literature through Oxford’s imprimatur while simultaneously framing it as object of foreign scholarly expertise. Indian scholars would later produce their own editions, reclaiming interpretive authority over their literary heritage.
The collaboration between Monier-Williams and Milman exemplified Victorian approaches to Indian texts—genuine literary appreciation combined with evangelical agenda (Monier-Williams advocated “conquering India for Christ” through education). Yet the scholarly work itself, rigorous and respectful, contributed substantially to global understanding of Sanskrit literature.
This Digital Edition
This Internet Archive preservation of the 1879 Clarendon Press edition offers access to a significant artifact in the history of Sanskrit studies. For students of Indian literature, Victorian Orientalism, or language pedagogy, the volume reveals both the achievements and ideological complications of 19th-century colonial scholarship. The Sanskrit text, vocabulary, and translation remain useful for learning, while the editorial apparatus documents how Sanskrit entered Western academic discourse.