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Indra and Ahalya
91
"Chandra, I know nothing about Ahalya. But somehow I cannot persuade myself to love her as you suggest."
"My Lord, permit me to say how little you actually care for her. You think you have great respect for her. But you have none, and she means just nothing to you. You do not even seem to desire to meet her in the flesh. Are you sure you are not afraid of Gautama's temper? Then please stop thinking of her.”
"Chandra, I am not afraid of anything. And I cannot give up paying my homage to Ahalya."
"You cannot please her that way. What she expects from you is not empty adoration.”
At this moment Manmatha also arrived and confirmed what Chandra had said. "Ahalya," observed the God of Love, "is quite conscious of her unsurpassed beauty and she does not want to waste it in the dreary sands of austerities. For her, therefore, no bliss can be greater than your kisses and caresses. So please do not hesitate to meet her in the flesh, my Lord. And you have it on the authority of the God of Love that she is now ready to throw herself into anybody's arms, because of her irrepressible passionate youth. My Lord, this is the right time, if you really love her."
"I do, I do. But still I cannot reconcile myself to the thought of seeking the fulfilment of my love in the manner you suggest. Anyway, indeed I must at least meet her and see how she takes me. But how about her husband ?"
"I shall tackle him," assured Chandra.
"And I shall dwell in her secretly and persuade her to accept you the moment she sees you," assured Manmatha.
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