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A Meeting with Madhu at Mathura
215
Strange are the ways of fortune! Buying the horse, riding it to test it; going into a dense forest; meeting Vanamala there; and marrying her were all unexpected and unforeseen circumstances. Sometimes, people get more than what they hope for; and sometimes their hopes are shattered and frustrated. Such are the ways of this world.
King Sumitra entered his palace with Vanamala. In the palace, all had been shocked and stunned by the king's disappearance. They were agitated by various fears and doubts. Especially, Prabhav's condition was the most miserable. He was in deep anguish. Separated from his friend, he could not take food and drink; and he could not sleep; but when he saw the king riding towards the palace, with an unknown young lady, he was greatly delighted and elated.
Soon after arriving there, Sumitra embraced Prabhav; and narrated to him all that had taken place in the forest. Prabhav was greatly delighted to hear the story. He glanced at Vanamala; but as if it was a mockery of fate, he became infatuated with her as soon as he saw her. Passion rose in his heart and filled him to the brims of his being. At once, he went away to his residence; but only his body moved away; not his mind. His mind and heart kept hovering over Vanamala in a frenzy of passion; and infatuation. His mind and heart were caught in the coils of her beauty. Eventhough he tried his best he could not restrain his infatuation for Vanamala, the wife of his friend. Again and again, Vanamala's fascinating form rose before his mental eyes like a heavenly damsel; bathed him in the nectar of love and danced before him in all her grace and splendour. She rose thus in the form of a resplendent vision before his inner eyes. As time passed, his infatuation for her grew intenser. He became completely ensnared in the coils of his passion for her. Thinking of her whom he could not attain, he began to wither away like a fallen flower. His face which was formerly radiant was now black and bleak with anguish. Yet, he went daily to the royal court; as a matter of routine; sat conversing with Sumitra; but he did all this mechanically. King Sumitra was greatly worried when he saw that his dear friend, Prabhav was
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