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37
CHITRA AND SAMBHUTI
L ong long ago there was a King who ruled over
U Hastinapur. His name was Sanatkumar. He had a Minister called Namuchi. He fell from the favour of the King as a result of a serious lapse in his character. Hence the King asked the slayers Chitra and Sambhuti to behead Namuchi.
On hearing the sweet song sung by this unfortunate minister, one of the slayers took pity on him. This slayer's name was Chitra. Being moved to pity, he thought it fit to hide the minister in his hut, as an open disregard of the king's order was not possible.
Sometimes Namuchi used to sing at night. All the women-folk of this slayer's household were spell-bound. They were pleased with the music coming from the lute of Namuchi. They forgot that they were the members of an untouchable caste and began to mix with him. This led to some internal trouble. So Namuchi fled from the hut to avoid being embroiled in the trouble. He feared that the slayer would kill him.
After the departure of the minister, Chitra and Sambhuti continued to practise music. And they became very skillful in this art. But the bane of social untouchability had made people unappreciative of music. People were attracted by the magic of their songs, but as soon as they knew 120
