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342
JAIN RAMAYAN
and dignified dress and went to Queen Lakshmivati's temple with a large basket full of flowers.
It was noon. The people who had come to worship the Lord had left, for the most part. Only one or two remained there singing songs and hymns. The priest was sitting outside the sancto-sanctorum taking rest. Sulekha felt that this was the best opportunity to carry out her plan. She decorated the magnificent image made of the Sphatika gem, with flowers so cleverly that nobody could make out that it was being carried away. She put the image in her flower-basket. Then, with great caution and circumspection she came out of the temple. She saw the guards watching at the gate of the palace and as she did every day, on this day also, she smiled at them and then hurriedly made her way to the palace of Kanakodari. Kanakcdari sat at the window of her palace waiting for her. When she saw Sulekha coming towards the palace, she swayed with delight. Sulekha made a sign to Kanakodari to follow her. Both went to a lonely and secret part of the palace.
"We are now safe."
"Dear friend! You never fail in whatever you undertake to do. You are always successful”. Kanakodari said patting Sulekha's back.
"Look! It will be really a joy to see Queen Lakshmivati agitated and anguished on account of the drama I have enacted".
"How is it? I cannot say how it will be. When you see it you will understand. Do you know the capacity of your friend ? Yet...."
"I say! Please wait. You will see it yourself. You will see when that event takes place !" she said boasting of her intelligence and cleverness.
Anjana and Vasanta Tilaka were extremely eager to know what happened next. They impatiently said, "Gurudev, what happened next ?”
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