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XCVI
THE FLAMES OF JEALOUSY
Sita had a dream one night in the last Prahar when the day was about to break. It was an extremely auspicious dream.
"Two octopads suddenly alighted from a magnificent airship and entered her courtyard." She at once woke up from her dreams and felt stupefied by it. She could not sleep anymore. For a long time she was immersed in thought and kept walking to and fro in her chamber. Then, she woke up Shri Ram and described her dream to him. She desired to know what the dream signified.
"Dear Queen! You are going to be a mother. You will beget two sons but the octopads alighting from the airship is not an auspicious sign." Shri Ram said by way of giving a reply to her question. Shri Ram did not seem to be delighted or depressed but his voice was serious and his face was mysteriously
serene.
"Dear lord! Do not be depressed. I am sure that on account of my dharma (purity of mind and soul) and your greatness, nothing inauspicious can occur. Only something auspicious and felicitious will take place." Sita said smiling.
Sita became pregnant. She began to take care of the jivas in her womb with extraordinary concern and caution. Shri Ram loved Sita more than his life but after she became pregnant, his love increased a thousandfold. He always used to think of her comforts and safety. He would not allow her to be away from him even for a moment.
Undoubtedly, Sita enjoyed Shri Ram's heartiest love and affection. She bloomed like a flower in the endless showers of
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