As long as Pashupati was at home, he kept Manoroma under his watchful eyes. When he went to meet the Yavanas, he locked all the doors of the house and left Shantashil to guard it.

No sooner had Pashupati departed than Manoroma began to prepare for her escape. She searched every room of the house, but saw no path open for flight. There were some high windows, but they were almost unreachable; it was unlikely that a human body could pass through them, and even if one could, they were so high above the ground that to leap from there would surely shatter one’s bones. Yet Manoroma, driven to madness, resolved to escape through those very windows.

Therefore, shortly after Pashupati’s departure, Manoroma climbed onto the bed in his sleeping chamber. From the bed, it was easier to reach the window. Grasping the window’s edge, Manoroma pushed first her two hands, then her head, and then her chest through the opening. Near the window, she saw a slender branch of a mango tree in the garden. She seized it, and then, pulling the rest of her body through, she hung from the branch. The tender branch bent under her weight, bringing the ground within reach of her feet. Manoroma The branch slipped from her hand and fell effortlessly to the ground, and without a moment’s hesitation, she set off towards Janardhan’s house.