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24
Appointment with Kalidasa
passed away. It was fortunate that Indumatí had given birth by this time to a son who was named Dasaratha.
Once Aja and Indumats were in the garden outside the city. Nārada was passing through air to Gokarņa to pay his holy respects to Siva located at that southern place of pilgrimage. The garland of flowers hanging from his lute broke loose and fell on Indumati's breasts and she died on the spot. Aja fainted with the shock. But when he recovered consciousness the fact that he had lost Indumatī sent him in inconsolable sorrow. The heart-rending lament of Aja bewildered the birds, the trees wept with him shedding tears of falling leaves. How could a garland of flowers kill any one ? And why did Indumati go away without telling him ? The whole place was filled with memories of her. Could not death show a little mercy ? In taking Indumats away death had robbed Aja of the mistress of his house, a wise counsellor, a companion and a beloved pupil in fine arts. There was nothing left for Aja to live for. Aja completed the funeral rites and somehow came back to the city. Vasiştha was engaged in a sacrifice at the time; but he sent a message through his pupil. Death is a mystery; but no mortal can escape it. Death is the law of nature; life is a borrowed experience. So, it is not proper for the wise to mourn over death. It is true that Indumatī died suddenly; but she was an apsarā really, by name Hariņī; Indra had sent her to spoil the penance of a sage, Trņabindu, and it was due to his curse that she had taken a human birth; the curse was to end at the sight of a celestial flower; so, she went back to her heavenly regions. Aja should understand all this, said Vasistha, and control his sorrow. No amount of tears would bring the dead back to life; on the contrary the tears are supposed to burn the departed. Ending one's life is also no good, because it does not mean re-union with the departed. Vasiştha's words were weighty, full of deep philosophical truth, and they carried sympathy and consolation. But Aja had decided otherwise. He lived for eight years somehow till Daśaratha came of age; and then committed suicide by fasting unto death at the confluence of Gangā and Sarayü.
Dasaratha governed his kingdom well. He had the ideals of his father before him; bis mind was tuned to the happiness of his people and the people too were happy. Personally he had no vice.
Once he thought of going on a hunting expedition. It was spring time. The scent of flowers, songs of birds, the cool touch of the gentle breeze were in the atmosphere, in addition to the riot of colours, the sweet honey of the flowers and other paraphernalia of nature to excite and gratify the senses and mind. Dasaratha could not but be affected by the emotion-charged atmosphere. The plumage of the peacock reminded him of the tresses of his beloved wife interspersed with flowers, and the sight of the deer of her eyes; he could not use his arrows against them. But he hunted and killed wild boar, rhino and tiger. With night-fall he encamped in the wood. In the early hours of the morning he thought he heard an elephant
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