In Shivdattgarh, Maharaj Shivdatt does not sit idly, feasting on sweets without a care. In truth, the worries of the entire world have beset him. Day and night, he is lost in thought, and the days of his spies and aiyyars are spent in constant running about. He knows every detail of Chunar, Gayaji, and Rajgriha, for he has made thorough arrangements to receive news from these three places. Today, upon hearing that the kingdom of Gayaji had fallen into Raja Virendra Singh's hands, that Madhavi had fled, abandoning her realm, and that Kishori had been captured by Diwan Agnidutt, Shivdatt was thrown into turmoil and became so absorbed in his thoughts that he lost all sense of himself. He was so enraged at Kishori that, had she been present, he would have torn her to pieces with his own hands. Even now, he rose with the resolve: "Until…"

"I shall not eat a morsel of food until I hear news of Kishori's death," he declared, and went straight to the palace, ordering as he went, "Send Bhimsen to me at once."

King Shivdutt entered the palace and sat beside his queen, Kalavati. Kalavati tried her utmost to discover the cause of the sadness and anxiety on his face, but Shivdutt did not answer a single one of her questions until his son Bhimsen arrived in the palace. As soon as Bhimsen reached his parents, he bowed respectfully and asked, "What are your orders?"

Shivdutt: "You must have heard the news that has come today about Kishori?"

Bhimsen: "Yes, I have."

Shivdutt: "It is a pity, and yet you are not ashamed to show your face! Who knows when your bravery will ever be of use, or when you will prove yourself worthy of being called my son!"

Bhimsen: "I am ready for whatever command you give me."

Shivdutt: "I do not expect that you will obey me!"

Bhimsen: "I swear, holding my sacred thread in my hand, that as long as I live, I will do everything in my power to accomplish whatever task you assign to me!"

Shivdutt: "My first command is this: bring me Kishori's severed head."

Bhimsen: (after thinking for a moment and sighing deeply) "Very well, it shall be done. What other orders do you have?"

Shivdutt: "After that, do not return here until you have killed Virendra Singh or one of his sons. Do not think that I am entrusting this task to you alone. No, I myself will leave this Shivduttgarh today and will do everything in my power to cool the fire in my heart. Seeing the rising glory of Virendra Singh, I am convinced that I cannot defeat him in open battle, so from today I abandon all thoughts of fighting him directly and will instead follow the path favored by tricksters, thieves, and dacoits."

Bhimsen: "You have the authority, do as you wish. If you permit, I shall leave at once and do my utmost to carry out your commands!"

Shivdutt: "Very well, go. But tell me, whom will you take with you?"

Bhimsen: "No one."

Shivdutt: "In that case, you will accomplish nothing. You must take at least two or three ayyars and ten or twenty warriors with you."

Bhimsen: "Who among your ayyars is capable of matching Virendra Singh's ayyars, and which of your warriors is brave enough to raise a sword before them?"

Shivdutt: "What you say is correct, but the actions of the spies who went with you will only be effective as long as the enemy does not learn that someone from Shivduttgarh has arrived! Besides this, I am sending the brave Naharsingh with you, for there is no one on Virendrasingh's side who can match him."

Bhimsen: "Indeed, Naharsingh is just as you say, but the difficulty is that as brave as Naharsingh is, he is even more determined to remain true to his word. He says, "The day any warrior defeats me in single combat, from that day I shall become his." God forbid, if such a situation arises, from that very day he will become our enemy."

Shivdutt: "That is only your imagination; there is no one there who can defeat him in single combat."

Bhimsen: "As you command."

Shivdutt (standing up): "Come, I shall go right now and make arrangements for your departure."

After Shivdutt and Bhimsen left, Queen Kalavati, who had for a long time been listening to their conversation and shedding hot tears, raised her head and, with a deep sigh, said, "Alas, now the world seems to be turning upside down. What fault is it of poor Kishori? She did not go away of her own accord! She did nothing herself that would bring dishonor upon her! Alas, with what heart will Bhimsen resolve to kill his own sister! My life is now useless, for the poor girl will surely be killed, and Bhimsen too, by making an enemy of Virendrasingh, cannot save his own life. Besides, what trust can there be in a man who would cut off his own sister's head with his own hands? Even if I forget all these things and think only that my husband is my everything, and what have I to do with sons and daughters, even then it is not right, for he too is becoming like a bandit. In such a state, he can never find happiness. Then how can I bear to see my husband suffering while I am still alive? Alas! Virendrasingh is the very same Virendrasingh by whose grace my life was saved; who knows what would have become of me at the hands of those cloth merchants! He is the same Virendrasingh who kindly sent me to my husband in the cave! The same Virendrasingh who forgave all our faults at once and was even ready to return the throne of Chunar fort! Which of these things should I consider? There can be no one in the world as righteous as Virendrasingh! Then whom should