________________
XLVIII
THE INVASION
Suddenly, a spy came to King Yashodhar of Magadha; and said ;
"My Lord, King Dasarath of Ayodhya has arrived with a vast army and has invaded Magadha".
"What did you say ? King Dasarath of Ayodhya....No! No! This is impossible. This can never happen. King Dasarath was killed by Vibhishan, the brother of Ravan, the king of Lanka .... when that is so how can this happen ?”
"All that is untrue! King Dasarath has entered the territory of Magadha with a vast army”.
On hearing this unexpected news, the Emperor of Magadha was stunned. He suddenly became pale. He had not even dreamt of such a possibility. He became terribly angry with Chief Minister Shrishen. The flames of anger shot to the brims of his being. On one hand, the abduction of prince Nandan; and on the other hand the invasion of Magadha ! For a few moments, he fell into a confounding dilemma. Just then, the Chief Minister of Magadha, Maniratna, Sugupta the Field Marshal, the commander Suman and Suryadev, the great master of political strategy arrived. All were greatly agitated by the situation that had arisen and began to burn with anger.
"Your Highness. The two thousand soldiers who were sent to liberate our prince were killed mercilessly in the mountainous region in the north. Virdev is not alone there. He has with him five thousand able soldiers of Ayodhya".
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
