After facing such extreme humiliation from his most cherished daughter, King Aditya could not stand there for another second. Filled with anger, sorrow, and deep embarrassment, his head bowed and his hands trembling, he silently left the dungeon and headed back upstairs.
Now, only four people remained standing outside that dark subterranean dungeon—Prince Prafulla, the sweet princess Prabhasa, the clever Snigdha, and the cowardly zamindar's son Jishnu. Inside the prison cells were the fiendish tantrik and the arrogant Sushila.
With a deeply melancholic expression, Prabhasa walked up close to the bars of Sushila's cell. Looking at Sushila, she joined her palms and said in a gentle, humble tone, "Mother, I am begging you repeatedly, please don't engage in these ugly brawls and fights anymore! I can't bear to watch your filthy, blood-stained brawls anymore, Mother! Please calm down."
Brushing the dust from her clothes and touching the spot where her co-wife had slapped her, Sushila let out a long sigh.
In a tender voice, Sushila said, "Very well, mother Prabha... since you are asking so earnestly, I won't fight with that witch Arohi anymore. I will listen to whatever you say."
Seeing this scene, Snigdha raised her eyebrows and began making a hideous, mocking face—"Oh, good lord! I'm about to die from watching this drama! What kind of a pure, pious, chaste mother-daughter play is going on here? Do whatever you like, what do I care!"
Right at that moment, the zamindar's son Jishnu, standing nearby, adjusted his silk tunic and took a step forward. Standing right in front of the prison door, he looked at the tantrik inside and broke into a bizarre, scornful laugh.
Sneering, Jishnu said, "Hey, old tantrik! Let me ask you something? You beat drums day and night telling everyone you possess infinite magical powers and mountain-like strength—then what are you doing locked up like a dog in this rotten, damp, rat-infested dungeon, you evil old man? And what kind of monstrous crime did you commit that King Aditya caged you up here like a goat? If you truly possess such supreme power, why don't you break this lock and key with your fancy magic spells and walk right out of this dungeon? Why are you sitting in this rotten room wrapped in grand respect and hypocrisy? You big fraud of an old villain!"
The moment such extreme disrespect and scornful abuse left Jishnu's lips, the eyes of the tantrik standing inside the cell flared up like blood-red volcanic craters! His entire face distorted with rage and fury!
Raising both hands, the tantrik roared like a tiger, "I'll land a stinging slap right across your face and break your jaw, you ugly, wretched devil's child! What do you know about my supreme powers and magical might, you insolent young boy? Want to see what I do to you right this second? Just wait, I'll turn you into such a monstrous, lethal, venomous python that you'll be spitting straight onto the dust of the earth!"
Jishnu did not feel a shred of fear upon hearing the tantrik's threat! Instead, clutching his stomach, he burst into a loud, hearty laugh!
Mocking him, Jishnu sneered, "Oh lord, good lord! Just big, empty talk in the mouth! Come on, show me by turning me into an actual python, old man! Let's see your power! If you manage to turn me into a snake, I'll fall at your feet and bow my head ten whole times! And if you can't, I'll beat your face with my shoes!"
The tantrik flew into a manic rage. Slamming both his hands fiercely against the iron bars, he shouted, "You... you are directly challenging me, you over-smart boy? You are awakening the ferocious beast inside me! You have no idea what terrible destruction I can unleash! If I display my true supreme power, you'll shit in your pants right here out of fear, you wretched fool! Even so, I am going to show you this extreme terror today! Because you spoke ugly, insulting words about my supreme, handsome guard-groom! If you had just insulted me, I might have let you off with a slap, but you dared utter disrespectful words about my beloved, handsome groom and I'd just let it slide? Today I'm going to show you such a fiendish trick that you will never forget it in any lifetime!"
Saying this, the tantrik grabbed his splendid pink and red silk ghaghra with both hands and yanked it up high in a single jerk. An unnatural silence fell heavily inside the dungeon. The air suddenly turned bitterly cold and heavy, as if the entire netherworld were trembling. Tossing his head back, the tantrik assumed a lethal form. A terrifying, hair-raising, ominous chant began echoing from his mouth—
"Om Hreem Kleem Ksheem Kaal Nagaya Namah! Rakta-payi Bhujanga roopam dharanam karatu!"
In an instant, the smoky glow of the dungeon torches turned pitch-black and blood-red! A thick cloud of green and black smoke carrying a foul, pungent odor enveloped Jishnu entirely!
Before Jishnu could comprehend anything, he suddenly let out a piercing scream of excruciating agony—"Oh lord! Mother! My body is burning with fire!"