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The Mockery of Fate
309
“What is there to understand ? Oh my lord! Something unbelievable has happened. Whoever thought that such a thing would happen ? She whom I deemed all these days the goddess of our royal line has turned out to be a lewd woman. All these days, I thought that Anjana was a chaste, innocent and noble woman but now she has acted ignobly and has stained the honour of our family. She has shown herself to be an immoral woman. What shall I say to you? In fact, I feel ashamed of telling you this disgraceful thing that has happened....she is pregnant!”
"Ah! What did you say ?" King Prahlad, at once, shocked by this news, stepped down his throne. His face became wrinkled with shock and distress. He felt thunder-struck. Every word uttered by Ketumati pierced his heart like a sharp thorn. Yet he could not bring himself to believe it. He felt certain that Anjana who was an absolutely noble woman would not commit such an enormity. He felt certain that such a thing was not possible in the case of Anjana who was the daughter of the great king Mahendra and who was his daughter-in-law. His conscience repeatedly said, “This is not at all likely."..
"I have just now seen her and I have come from her chamber. What I said is literally true. Added to all this, she says that the child in her womb.... belongs to Pavananjay but you know our son has not seen her face even once. He has always kept her at an arm's length. We know that very well. When that is so how could her words be true? How could she become pregnant? Over and above all this, she shows Pavananjay's signetring in support of her claim that our son has visited her.”
King Prahlad fell into a state of deep thoughtfulness. During the last twenty-two years he had not heard anything improper said against Anjana; nor had he seen anything improper in her, conduct and when he heard his Queen Ketumati complaining against her he could not believe his ears and there arose a tremendous commotion in his mind and heart. At once, he stood up in great vexation and said :
"What do you propose to do about it ?" Ketumati asked him breaking the silence, "I say that she should be sent out of our
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