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JAIN RAMAYAN
She was a woman of indisputable nobility and she belonged to a lofty level of ethical excellence. Pavananjay might not love her; he might have done her a grievous injustice; but she would not despise him for that reason. On the contrary, her love for Pavananjay continued to burn brightly in her heart always. She never entertained the evil thoughts of forgetting her harsh and heartless husband and developing love for some other person. She never entertained such ignoble thoughts. That is why she is famous even today as a Mahasathi, a wife of indisputable ethical excellence; that is why even today she is adored and worshipped by all.
Every nook and corner of the city began to reverberate with the sounds of the bugles. The sounds of the battle-drums inspired the warriors to issue ferocious war-cries. The warcries of the vast army rolled through the sky like a mighty wave. Soon after Pavananjay sat in his chariot and set off, his army also marched behind him. The march of victory passed slowly through the main roads of the city.
Anjana with her dear companion Vasanta Tilaka stood behind a huge pillar to have a glimpse of her husband's face and to wish him success in his march of victory.
She had grown lean and emaciated. The loveliness of her face had faded away. The radiance of her face had disappeared. Her large eyes which were black as collyrium had grown, bleak and blighted. On account of bitter anguish her rosy cheeks had faded away. She stood there looking for the appearance of her husband with fixed eyes.
All of a sudden, Pavananjay's eyes fell on Anjana. As soon as he saw her, the flames of abhorrence flared up in his heart. Anjana's incomparable beauty which had faded, her fascinating body which had become withered; her sublime virtues; her extraordinary knowledge, her intellectual and spiritual excellences could not extinguish the fires of his disdain and abhorrence. As long as sinful Karmas are potent, a person's virtues, beauty and accomplishments cannot make any impression upon the minds of others.
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