Maniraj’s Sorrow and the Vision of His Father O star of strength! I see thee stand And smile upon my pain; Thou beckonest with thy mailed hand, And I am strong again. —H. W. Longfellow Maniraj, devoted to his father, decided not to assume the throne. He felt that he should place his father’s footwear on the throne and rule in his name. He conveyed his decision to all the officials of the state. The period of ritual mourning came to an end, but the dark shadow of sorrow continued to mark his face. The crown prince refused to fix an auspicious time for his accession to the throne. Maniraj wrote to Buskin Sahib, informing him of Mallaraj’s death, but made no mention of the new ruler. He gave no response to the repeated entreaties of Samant, Jarashankar, Vidya Chatura and Kamala Rani. The saying: ‘The king is dead, long live the king!’ proved false in his case. If anyone dared to address him as ‘Maharaj’, that person was certain to be insulted. Buskin Sahib was informed of these happenings. He wrote an affectionate letter to Maniraj and urged him to shoulder his royal duties. Buskin Sahib reminded him that the Father in Heaven does not die and urged Maniraj to perform his duties by submitting all his actions to that father. It was Maniraj’s duty to abide by both his mortal father and the Immortal One, Buskin Sahib wrote. The letter also mentioned that Buskin Sahib would attend the ceremony of Maniraj’s ascension to the throne of Ratnanagari. Maniraj read the letter and put it into his pocket. He reclined on an easy chair. It was seven in the evening. His mind was full of his father, and he wept silent tears. Weeping, he fell asleep and dreamt that he was in a small boat in the middle of a stormy sea. The boat rose and fell with the high waves and was tossed about by the strong gales, but it somehow remained afloat. The moon shone brightly. Unperturbed by the storm, Maniraj lay watching the moon. A figure emerged from the moon and sat facing him on the boat. It was Mallaraj. He took Maniraj into his arms and spoke lovingly, ‘Kumar, Samant was present at the time of my death, and hence I could not share all my secrets with you. I have come to you in this moment of solitude. I chose to remain silent as I did not want any ill feelings at the time of my death. I have come to share some secrets of my statecraft with you. Listen carefully. ‘Maniraj, you must retain your affection for Samant and Muluraj. But they do not know the reason for our relationship with the English; I share this with you from the heavens. Agnidev, the God of Fire, handed over Sitaji to Ram after her trial by fire. As she prepared to leave Ayodhya for her heavenly abode, Sugriva, Angad and Hanumanji approached her with