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knowing what to do. At his request I
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pulled the arrow out to release him from
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the mortal pain. He is dead. I have told
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you the horrible sin I have committed. I
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throw myself at your mercy. I await your
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judgment.' The miserable couples were
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struck dumb by my dreadful tale about
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their
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son.
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Tears
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poured
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from
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their
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sightless eyes, and the old man said:
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'King, your sin is indeed great. But it was
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done in ignorance. And you have come
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yourself to tell me your crime. So you
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shall live. Now take us both to the spot.
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Let us touch our beloved son with our
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hands and send him into Yama's keeping.'
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I carried them to the river bank where
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their son lay dead. They felt his body all
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over, cried and blessed his soul and
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performed the cremation. Then before
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ascending the funeral pyre and giving
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them selves up to the fire, they turned to
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me and said: 'This great grief you have
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brought about for us, you too, will endure
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in good time. You will die of grief parted
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from your son.' Saying this, they burnt
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themselves and their souls joined the
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gods. My sin has pursued me and I am
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now in its grip. My old crime is killing me
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now. As food prohibited by they doctors
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foolishly consumed by a sick man kills
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him, what that old father uttered in
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unbearable grief has now come true. I
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have sent my innocent son to the forest
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and, unable to bear the grief, I now enter
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Yama's abode. How else could these
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unnatural events occur? How else could I
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be thus deceived and betrayed? Even if I
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ordered Rama to go to forest, why should
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he obey my unjust command? Why
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should he insist on being exiled? It is the
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curse of that old blind couple, nothing
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else. Kausalya, I
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do not see you. My sight
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is gone. Death is fast approaching. Come
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nearer and let me feel you. All is over.
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The messengers of Yama are calling me.
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Will Rama come? Shall I see him before I
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die? Oh, I am dying. The oil is all
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consumed and my light is going out! Ah
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Kausalya! Oh Sumitra!"
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His life slowly ebbed away and that
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night at some time unobserved by any, the
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King breathed his last.
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As described by Valmiki in the early
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pages of the epic, Dasaratha was one who
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had mastered all the Vedas and Shastras,
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was a farsighted person, the hero of many
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battles, the performer of many sacrifices,
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follower of dharma, a far-famed king with
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many friends and no foes, and one who
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had conquered his senses. His power was
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like Indra's. His wealth was like Kubera's.
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In statesmanship, he was like Manu. Fate
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had ordered that such a one should exile
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his beloved son and die of a broken heart,
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with none by him in his last moments but
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two faithful women stricken by himself
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with a common sorrow.
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Since the King had so often fainted and
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recovered, his death was not immediately
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noticed by Kausalya or Sumitra. They
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were weary, too, with grief and watching,
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and fell into a sleep of fatigue in a corner
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of the apartment. At dawn, the musicians
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and singers, whose duty it was to rouse
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the King from slumber, came to his
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bedchamber and played on instruments
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and sang the usual hymns.
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But they saw no sign of the King
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waking. The royal servants who attended
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to the King's morning needs waited long
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and wondered why he slept till so late.
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Then
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they
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made
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bold to enter the
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apartment and saw him lying dead.
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Soon the news spread and filled the
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palace with grief. The widows of the great
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Dasaratha cried like orphaned children,
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embracing
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one
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another
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in
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unavailing
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