Were King Nala and Damayanti mentioned in Ramayana?

 

Nala and Damayanti were mentioned briefly, first in the Sundara kanda of Valmiki Ramayana. However, their story is not available in Ramayana.

When Shri Hanuman was hiding on the branches of the Sishupa tree, under which Sita was sitting, Ravana comes there and a heated argument occurs between Ravana and Sita. After Ravana leaves that place, the women demons pressurise Sita to accept Ravana as her husband.

Then Sita replies as follows:

यथा शची महाभागा शक्रं समुपतिष्ठति |
अरुन्धती वसिष्ठं च रोहिणी शशिनं यथा || ५-२४-१०
लोपामुद्रा यथागस्त्यं सुकन्याच्यवनं यथा |
सावित्री सत्यवन्तं च कपिलं श्रीमती यथा || ५-२४-११
सौदासं मदयन्तीव केशिनी सगरं यथा |
नैषधं दमयन्तीव भैमी पतिमनुव्रता || ५-२४-१२
तथाहमिक्ष्वाकुवरं रामं पतिमनुव्रता |

"Like the highly fortunate Sachi who waits upon Indra, like Arundhati on Vasishta, like Rohini on the Moon God, like Lopamudra on Agastya, like Sukanya on Chyavana, like Savitri on Satyavanta, like Srimati on Kapila, like Madayanti on Saudasa, like Kesini on Sagara, like Damayanti the daughter of Bhima, devoted to husband Nala, in the same way I am devoted to my husband Rama, the best in Ikshvaku dynasty."

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Sita lists out the couples known for their devotion to each other. Among them were Nala and Damayanti.

Please observe the words of Sita. She says like Damayanti the daughter of Bhima, devoted to husband Nala, in the same way I am devoted to my husband Rama.

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Mahabharata was composed much later to Ramayana. In Vana Parva of Mahabharata, when Arjuna went to Indra's region for obtaining weapons, the remaining Pandavas were lamenting the absence of Arjuna. Then the illustrious Rishi Vrihadaswa came there.

Yudhisthira while lamenting about their predicament said as follows:

Is there a king on this earth who is more unfortunate than myself? Hast thou ever seen or heard of any such before? To my thinking, there is no man more wretched than I am.'

Then that Rishi narrates the story of Nala and Damayanti to those Pandavas. The entire story of Nala and Damayanti is narrated in Section 52 to 79 of Vana Parva.

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According to the brief mention of Nala Damayanti in Ramayana, we can understand that they were existing much before to Shri Rama and Sita.

We have to remember that Ramayana preceded Mahabharata and that the details of Nala and Damayanati are not available in Ramayana. However, their detailed story was incorporated in Mahabharata, which was composed at a much later period.