sted by me and my
ministers as prince-regent of all my subjects!'

"Meanwhile Manthara (the maid of Kaikeyi), hearing these words of the
king, went to her mistress, and spoke unto her as was suited to the
occasion. And she said, 'Thy great ill-luck, O Kaikeyi, hath this day
been proclaimed by the king! O unlucky one, mayst thou be bitten by a
fierce and enraged snake of virulent poison! Kausalya, indeed, is
fortunate, as it is her son that is going to be installed on the throne.
Where, indeed, is thy prosperity, when thy son obtaineth not the kingdom?'

"Hearing these words of her maid, the slender-waisted and beautiful
Kaikeyi put on all her ornaments, and sought her husband in a secluded
place. And with a joyous heart, and smiling pleasantly, she addressed
these words to him with all the blandishments of love, 'O king, thou art
always true to thy promises. Thou didst promise before to grant me an
object of my desire. Do thou fulfil that promise now and save thyself
from the sin of unredeemed pledge!' The king replied, saying, 'I will
grant thee a boon. Ask thou whatever thou wishest! What man undeserving
of death shall be slain today and who that deserves death is to be set at
liberty? Upon whom shall I bestow wealth to-day, or whose wealth shall be
confiscated? Whatever wealth there is in this world, save what belongeth
to Brahmanas, is mine! I am the king of kings in this world, and the
protector of all the four classes! Tell me quickly, O blessed lady, what
that object is upon which thou hast set thy heart!' Hearing these words
of the king, and tying him fast to his pledge, and conscious also of her
power over him, she addressed him in these words, 'I desire that Bharata
be the recipient of that investiture which thou hast designed for Rama,
and let Rama go into exile living in the forest of Dandaka for fourteen
years as an ascetic with matted locks on head and robed in rags and
deer-skins!' Hearing these disagreeable words of cruel import, the king,
O chief of the Bharata race, was sorely afflicted and became utterly
speechless! But the mighty and virtuous Rama, learning that his father
had been thus solicited, went into the forest so that the king's truth
might remain inviolate. And, blessed be thou, he was followed by the
auspicious Lakshmana--that foremost of bowmen and his wife Sita, the
princess of Videha and daughter of Janaka. And after Rama had gone into
the forest, king Dasaratha took leave of his body, a