66697602-The-Ramayana-R-K-Narayan

unite with me, and quench the fire that’s burning me?” After
the turmoil of the night, sheer exhaustion found her calmer
when morning came. She decided on her strategy. “If I
cannot attain him, I will not live any more. But I’ll make one
more attempt. He does not care for me because of the spell
cast by that woman. If I remove her from his side and put her
away, he will then naturally take to me.” This gave her a fresh
energy.
Daylight in some measure lessened the pangs of love,
and she came out of her cave. She went along to Panchvati
and prowled around, looking for a chance. She saw Rama
come out of his hut and proceed towards the banks of the
Godavari for his morning bath and prayers. “Now is the
time,” she said to herself. “If I miss it, I’ll lose him for ever. It’s
a matter of life and death for me. After all, when he finds her
gone, he’ll begin to accept me.” Though the sight of Rama
had sent a tremor through her body, she restrained herself
from falling at his feet and confessing her love. She watched
him go, and presently Sita emerged from the hut to gather
flowers. “This chance is not to be missed,” Soorpanaka told
herself. Every decision seemed to her a valuable step in her
pursuit of Rama. She began to stalk behind Sita cunningly
like an animal following its prey. She would pounce and grab
and put her away, and when Rama came back, he’d find her
in Sita’s place. Excellent plan as far as the idea went, but
she did not reckon there could be another outcome to it. In
her concentration on the beloved image of Rama, and on the