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74
JAINA STORIES
produce this as a proof of your chastity! Do I pot koon what the attitude of my son has been towards you all these years? And how did he behave towards you on the day of his departure ? And now do you mean to tell me that he loves you and he came to your apartment ? I don't want you to stay here even for a moment. You get out at once."
All the entreaties and requests were curtly turned down and the queen oply repeated :
"You get out at once. You talk of permitting you to stay at the palace, but I won't permit you to stay within the boundary of my kingdom even I must now arrange for your expulsion”
The queen went straight to the king and reported, adding,
"I wish, Your Majesty, Adjana be deported at once, 10 a black veil and on a black chariot, and dropped in some dense forest near her parents' home"
The king agreed He did not think it necessary even once to look into the matter himself before passiog such a cruel order
When Anjana came to know of the further worsening of her luck, she nearly broke down She had suffered misery for long twelve years when she was neglected by her husband; but she could never guess that half-a-night's meeting with him could be so very pernicious for her She felt most miserable but she must get ready to face the situation, howsoever bad She gathered courage, covered herself with a black veil and sat on a black chariot
She was taken to a dense forest and asked to alight. It was no easy job even for the charioteer to check his tears But he was a slave unto the king's order He expressed his sense of horror and regret, but at the same time he confessed his utter helplessness.
Adjana calmly alighted from the chariot and thanked the man for his kind words She asked him to entertain no fear or anxiety on her own score For, she would henceforth be under the protection of the Five Great
