And she said, "Thy great ill-luck, O Kaikeyi, hath this day
been proclaimed by the king! O unlucky one, mayst thou be bitten by a
fierce and enraged snake of virulent poison! Kausalya, indeed, is
fortunate, as it is her son that is going to be installed on the throne.
Where, indeed, is thy prosperity, when thy son obtaineth not the
kingdom?"
"'Hearing these words of her maid, the slender-waisted and beautiful
Kaikeyi put on all her ornaments, and sought her husband in a secluded
place. And with a joyous heart, and smiling pleasantly, she addressed
these words to him with all the blandishments of love, "O king, thou art
always true to thy promises. Thou didst promise before to grant me an
object of my desire. Do thou fulfil that promise now and save thyself
from the sin of unredeemed pledge!" The king replied, saying, "I will
grant thee a boon. Ask thou whatever thou wishest! What man undeserving
of death shall be slain today and who that deserves death is to be set
at liberty? Upon whom shall I bestow wealth to-day, or whose wealth
shall be confiscated? Whatever wealth there is in this world, save what
belongeth to Brahmanas, is mine! I am the king of kings in this world,
and the protector of all the four classes! Tell me quickly, O blessed
lady, what that object is upon which thou hast set thy heart!" Hearing
these words of the king, and tying him fast to his pledge, and conscious
also of her power over him, she addressed him in these words, "I desire
that Bharata be the recipient of that investiture which thou hast
designed for Rama, and let Rama go into exile living in the forest of
Dandaka for fourteen years as an ascetic with matted locks on head and
robed in rags and deer-skins!" Hearing these disagreeable words of cruel
import, the king, O chief of the Bharata race, was sorely afflicted and
became utterly speechless! But the mighty and virtuous Rama, learning
that his father had been thus solicited, went into the forest so that
the king's truth might remain inviolate.
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