self, he plied her with every form of entreaty to take back the fell request, but all in vain. He flattered the queen on her beauty and good sense; he urged the rightfulness of Rama's claim, the completeness of the arrangements, the expectation of the citizens; he dwelt on his own forlorn state if deprived of Rama. But the queen only vowed that, if he did not meet her demand, she would that day drink poison before his eyes; and when Dasaratha, exhausted and desperate, fell again into a swoon, she, with no thought of pity, did but ask why he lay senseless, neglecting his plighted word. The king then arose, and wrathfully declared that Kaikeyi was no longer his true wife.
Meanwhile Vasishtha was sending word to Dasaratha to bid Rama come forth without delay, for the impending moment was most auspicious. Sumantra, the chief counsellor, was sent to fetch the prince, who thereon ascended a two-horse chariot, Lakshman standing behind him with the royal fly-whisk of yak's-tail. Rama found his father seated with Kaikeyi, and did obeisance to each in turn; but the hapless king could find no word but his son's name. Coldly the queen explained that Dasaratha was not angry, but was merely seeking to evade a promise made on oath to herself, which she would tell Rama when he had sworn to carry out the king's will in everything.
To this Rama replied that at his father's behest he would give up life itself. Then Kaikeyi told the prince that the king had promised to send him to the forests for fourteen years and to install Bharat as king. Rama dutifully accepted the mandate, and
