| Dasaratha was thunder-struck. When his mind resumed its function, he doubted the reality of what
had happened. "Could it be other than a hideous dream? Or the phantasmagoria of a
disordered brain? Or the sudden mate rialisation of the sins of some past birth called up
for my chastisement? I am certainly the victim of an illusion. I cannot believe this to be
reality."
Unable to stand the confused agony of
shapeless terrors, he closed his eyes and became unconscious. Opening his eyes a little
later, they fell on Kaikeyi and he trembled like a stag at the sight of a tiger. He sat up
on the floor and moaned, swaying helplessly this side and that like a cobra held by the
spell of a potent charm. Again he swooned. |
