On the Outskirts of Manoharpuri Manoharpuri is about ten miles from Suvarnapur. In ancient times it was a great city and the capital of learned, independent and able kings. Over time, these kings were vanquished by the mleccha. All that remained of this once glorious and flourishing city was a village, and with that its name also came to be corrupted—people called it Manohariyu or Manoriyu. In the present time, it formed part of the territories of the kingdom of Ratnanagari. The Karbhari of Ratnanagari, Vidya Chatura was born in this same village. Vidya Chatura’s maternal family and his wife Gunasundari’s parents belonged to this village. The couple had spent their childhood and adolescence here. For this and other reasons, they were both very attached to Manoharpuri. The village had revived through their efforts and was well looked after by the Karbhari, who was learned and endowed with a historical sensibility. Albeit its manmade glory had been destroyed, the village was still widely known for its natural beauty. Manoharpuri was situated on the borders of Suvarnapur, Ratnanagari and the territories of British India. On its west was the sea, forming a natural boundary. The westerly winds brought cool breezes which eased the impossible heat of summer. On its eastern side, there was a large mango grove, huge banyan trees and sugarcane fields. To its north were the hills of Sundargiri. It was flanked by dense forests on the other two sides. Tall taad trees on the southern side enhanced the beauty of the village. A tributary of river Subhadra meandered through the region from the east to the south. The river nurtured a diversity of flora and fauna in the forest. Leaves and fruits of the teak trees were carried by its sluggish flow until it met with the sea. It was Shukla Paksha, the fortnight of the waxing moon in the month of Chaitra which signalled the passage of spring and the onset of summer. The mango grove was fragrant with mango blossoms. The road from Suvarnapur, which separated the grove from the taad forest, skirted around the forest to reach Manoharpuri. Dusk, hitherto hidden in the forest, now emerged fearlessly to roll the sun down behind the taad trees. The rays of the setting sun lingered over the tree tops as their long yellowish green leaves fluttered like so many flags. At this hour, a slow-moving cart could be seen on the dusty but now cool road. Dear reader, this was the selfsame cart in which Sarasvatichandra had set out from Rajeshwar Mahadev. The cart driver was also the same; but neither Sarasvatichandra nor the other passengers were to be seen in the cart. The lone ascetic who was last seen walking alongside the cart now sat inside it. The bullocks who knew nothing of the events that had taken place in the interim were glad to carry a lighter load and pulled with renewed vigour as they neared their resting place. The cart driver and the ascetic