Mallaraj’s Retirement and

Maniraj’s Youthful Reign The day passed. Night fell. All of a sudden Mena Rani came running, out of breath, to Mallaraj. She apprised him of the latest developments. Samant recognised that Mulu had instigated the Agent to fight his battle, and this was just the beginning of trouble. He feared that both Mallaraj’s throne and Maniraj’s life were in danger. Samant was also troubled by the anxiety that the Agent had caused Mallaraj; he did not want his ruler to be anxious. He saw his path clearly before him—his evil son had to die. He did not want to wait for any royal decree. He saw no violation of duty if the murder of his son was committed in the territory of another state. For him, the punishment for such a crime was as glorious as death in battle. At eight o’ clock that evening, he took five trusted men, fully armed, and set off towards Rana Khachar’s state. Mulu’s mother got wind of her husband’s intentions. The certain prospect of her son’s death gave her the courage to approach Mena Rani to seek her intervention. The queen ran to the king and informed him of the developments. The king set out in the dark and caught up with Samant. Samant was angry but powerless before the king. The king took a promise from him that he would not set out on such an adventure without royal command. Samant returned home, but resolved that he would not so much as look at his wife from that day on. Days turned to months, and months into years. Samant’s men kept a watch over Mulu. Mallaraj relied more and more on Samant and Jarashankar, and kept Maniraj by his side. Mallaraj placed more and more responsibilities on Vidya Chatura. Jarashankar retained the title of minister, while Vidya Chatura performed all the duties of the minister. As Vidya Chatura grew in stature, he was made the minister. Maniraj was appointed the crown prince and he performed all royal duties. The king and the former minister kept a distant watch on the new minister and the crown prince, while they spent their days in spiritual quest. Jarashankar became his counsellor even in this quest. They studied the scriptures and drew upon their wisdom gained through statecraft to enlighten their path. They sought the company and guidance of scholars and ascetics. Loss of royal power appears hellish to most people, but for these two it became heaven. The crown prince and his minister also benefited from this wisdom and aspired to have similar experiences at appropriate stages in their lives. While Jarashankar and Mallaraj retired from worldly affairs, Samant had other desires. It was Samant’s duty to look after the welfare of the crown prince and the new minister. He knew that Mulu was a constant threat, and that his destruction was the only guarantee of their security. Samant constantly thought of ways to eliminate this enemy. Hitherto, Samant had been unable