66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

you wear the robes of ascetics, and if they see you, nothing
can stop them from attacking you. But if they realize that we
are married like Gandharvas, they will relent, be kind to you,
and even adopt you and confer on you honours and wealth
and overlordship of several worlds … think of it.”
At this Rama was amused and remarked, “Ah, is this one
way in which the fruits of my penance and sacrifices are to
be realized—achieve the grace of rakshasas, gain domestic
bliss through your company, and all the conquests thereof?”
She noted his smile, but missed the irony and was about to
say something else when she noted that there was another
woman in the picture. Sita had just emerged from the
cottage. At the sight of her, Kamavalli looked stunned. She
scrutinized the vision inch by inch and was filled with the
profoundest admiration as well as despair. If that beautiful
creature was the occupant of the cottage, there was no hope
for her. She demanded bluntly, “Who is this?” Sita’s
radiance seemed to precede her actual arrival. Kamavalli
had first noticed the light and only then had she seen Sita
engulfed in that effulgence. Her jaw fell at this spectacle; for
a moment she lost herself in gazing on this pair whose
beauty complemented each other; if there was anywhere in
creation a male with the perfection of attributes, to be
matched by a perfect female, here it was. Kamavalli
momentarily forgot her own infatuation in the spell cast by the
presence of this pair. But it was only a fleeting distraction.
Her passion soon revived. She assumed that Sita too was