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Chapter Twenty-Four
485. "Seize this foreign woman, whose intentions are evil. Grab her by the hair and drag her away forcefully, you wicked girl!" ||17||
Having said this, the kings, led by Dasharatha, all armed and ready, marched towards him, their hearts filled with rage. ||98||
Then, overwhelmed with fear, Shubhamati, the girl's father, spoke to Dasharatha, "O noble one! While I hold back these enraged kings, you take the girl and hide her somewhere. The knowledge of time is the supreme principle in all strategies." ||99-100||
Hearing this, Dasharatha, the wise and valiant king, smiled and said, "Be at ease, my friend. See how they flee in fear!" ||101||
With these words, he mounted his chariot, drawn by powerful horses, and became as terrifying as the midday sun in autumn. ||102||
Kekaya quickly dismounted from the chariot and, taking the reins and whip, stood in the battlefield, her courage unwavering. ||103||
She said, "My lord, command me. Whom shall I attack? Death is eager to embrace whom today?" ||104||
Dasharatha replied, "What good is killing these petty kings? I will strike down the head of this army, the leader of these men. O wise and beloved one, drive the chariot towards the one with the white umbrella, shining like the moon." ||105-106||
Following his command, she drove the chariot forward, its white umbrella raised high, its great banner waving in the wind. ||107||
The flames of the chariot, like the blazing light of the banner, consumed thousands of warriors like moths drawn to a flame. ||108||
The kings, struck by the arrows released from Dasharatha's chariot, fled in all directions, trampling over each other in their panic. ||109||
Then, Hem Prabha, seeing the kings defeated and ashamed, rallied them and urged them to attack Dasharatha's chariot once more. ||110||