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The Wheel of Joy and Sorrow
291
"Prahasit ! What you say is true. We have to get ready, at once".
"What for ?"
"We have to march with our army to assist Ravan, the King of Lanka, in his war".
"Oh! I see! This is the matter; is it? I thought it was something else”.
Pavananjay narrated to Prahasit the story of Ravan's invasion of Varun's kingdom. He narrated to Prahasit all the details he knew about the capture of Khar and Dushan; the message brought by the messenger of Ravan, the King of Lanka and his plan to wage a war against Varun again.
After hearing all this, Prahasit became serious and thoughtful.
"What are you thinking of, Prahasit ?”
"No, dear friend ! You are thinking of something. Have you no confidence in my valour and abilities ?”
"I have an unshakable confidence in your valour and abilities”.
"Then, what are you thinking of ?"
"I am thinking of this matter. Of course, we go to war but we do not know when we can return. This is a war. It may be over soon or it may go on for years”.
“What does it matter ? What work are we turning out here?”
"Of course, we have something to do here and it is a very important duty, if you deem it so".
The anguish that Anjana had been experiencing for the past twenty-two years was piercing Prahasit's heart like a thorn. This sorrow had been eating away his heart like a cancer, imperceptibly. Though Prahasit was a bosom-friend of
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