A heavy darkness now looms over the Junagarh palace. After that strange, diabolical behavior of Subarnalata, alias Sushila, the Maharaja and the Queen Mother have become deeply concerned. They feel that if this girl truly goes mad, who will light the lamp of the Junagarh lineage? One afternoon, the Maharaja summoned Aditya. Sighing deeply, he said, "Aditya, the way the daughter-in-law's mental state is progressing, we are gravely alarmed. Our age is advancing, and so is yours. An heir to the Junagarh kingdom is now an absolute necessity. We need a descendant before the daughter-in-law becomes completely insane."
Aditya lowered his head and accepted his father's words. That very night, Aditya tried to get close to Subarnalata. Sushila smirked internally—this was exactly what she wanted. Once an heir to the lineage arrived, her position in this palace would be even more secure. Within a few months, the news spread that Queen Subarnalata was pregnant. Sushila began jumping around the palace in joy. Frightened, Aditya said, "What are you doing, Subarnalata? There is our child in your womb; should you be jumping now?" With an enchanting smile, Sushila said, "Oh beloved! I am just overwhelmed with joy!"
Another year passed. A beautiful baby girl was born in the Junagarh palace. Joy spread throughout the kingdom, but no one knew that the poison of a treacherous minister was mixed in this child's blood. This news spread like wildfire to the neighboring kingdom of Kanchangarh as well. In the Kanchangarh palace, Arohi was raising her two children—Prafulla and Snigdha. They had grown quite a bit now and had learned to speak. When the news reached Arohi's ears that a child had arrived to light up the lap of another queen of Aditya, the ground seemed to slip from beneath her feet. She felt, the Aditya she had loved more than her own life, did he forget her so soon?
Arohi could no longer restrain herself. She brought out the magic mirror kept in the secret chamber of the palace. Wiping her tears, she said, "Oh magic mirror, tell me the truth! What is happening in Junagarh? Why did Aditya marry someone else? Why did he forget about my children?"
A mist suddenly gathered on the transparent glass of the mirror. Then, one by one, all the scenes of the past began to appear. In a grave voice, the mirror began to speak, "Arohi, listen then to the ultimate truth. From the moment you left Junagarh, Shilajit and Sushila sought refuge with a terrifying witch. They changed their forms through illusion to become 'Subarnakumar' and 'Subarnalata'. Only from twelve to one at night—this one hour—do they return to their original hideous forms. The rest of the time, they are ethereally beautiful."
Arohi listened, stunned. The mirror continued, "Sushila forged your handwriting and sent a poisonous letter to Aditya. It was written there that the child in your womb was not Aditya's, but belonged to some other man. Unable to bear that false stigma and blinded by Subarnalata's enchanting beauty, Aditya was forced to marry her."
Arohi screamed out in tears, "No! This cannot be! Aditya didn't believe me even a little bit?"
The mirror added, "Not only that Arohi, Sushila pushed your mother-in-law from the stairs. She is secretly making the Maharaja consume poison-laced wine so that he withers away bit by bit. And now they even have a daughter. Junagarh has now turned into a pit of hell."
At that moment, sparks of fire seemed to emanate from Arohi's eyes. Just then, Prafulla and Snigdha entered the room. Prafulla tugged at his mother's saree and said, "Ma! Why are you crying? What happened, Ma?" Snigdha wiped Arohi's tears with her tiny hands and said, "Ma, who has hurt you? Tell us."
Arohi pulled the children to her chest. Her heart was breaking, but she steeled herself. She thought—"Aditya, if only you could know the truth! That devilish girl is burning down your home." Calming the children and sending them off to play, Arohi went straight to her mother (the Queen Mother of Kanchangarh).
She revealed everything. Hearing of that ghastly conspiracy by Shilajit and Sushila, the Queen Mother trembled with rage. In a formidable voice, Arohi said, "Mother, I took an oath for the well-being of my children that I would not return to Junagarh. But the way that serpent and the evil minister are destroying my family, I will not accept it. I may not be able to go right now, but the fire of my revenge will now char Junagarh. Sushila, you snatched my husband, you poisoned my in-laws—you will have to settle this account!"
Standing in that chamber of the Kanchangarh palace, Arohi took a new vow that day. Alongside her maternal tenderness, a form of Goddess Mahakali appeared in her eyes. She realized that it was now time to tear the web of conspiracy and bring back the light of truth. Arohi stood before the mirror and said in a firm voice, "I break that oath given to me today. To follow an oath that indulges unrighteousness is a sin. Sushila has blinded my husband and snatched the rights of my children—I will remain silent no longer. But if I go to Junagarh in person right now, they will recognize me. I must do something so that my existence vanishes from their minds."
She called her two children—Prafulla and Snigdha—close to her. Kissing their foreheads, Arohi said, "Children, you have to appear for a difficult test. From today, you will go to the Guru's hermitage. There, for five years, you will gain knowledge of warfare, scriptures, and secret occult arts. You must acquire the power to read human minds. Remember, you are not just a prince or a princess; you are the only hope for restoring the lost glory of Junagarh."
Prafulla and Snigdha set out for the hermitage, obeying their mother's command. After they left, Arohi made a grand plan. She decided she would enter the Junagarh palace in disguise as an ordinary maid. But before that, she had to prove that 'Arohi' no longer existed in this world.
Arohi sought help from the magic mirror. The mirror said in a grave voice, "Arohi, you must pretend to be dead. Sushila is extremely cunning; if she finds out you are alive, she will always be alert. But if you die, no one will search for or suspect you anymore. Only then can you sit right under their noses in disguise and gather all the news."
Arohi said worriedly, "But how will I prove myself dead? Whose corpse will I place in my stead?" The mirror replied, "Take your mother's help. Go to the cremation ground of Kanchangarh; find a corpse there that has no one to perform the last rites or belongs to the very poor. Bring that body; I will make it look exactly like you with my magical touch."
Arohi quickly went to her mother, the Queen of Kanchangarh, and explained everything. Though the Queen Mother was frightened at first, she agreed seeing her daughter's determination. In the dead of night, mother and daughter reached the Kanchangarh cremation ground in ordinary clothes. The funeral pyres were burning, and on one side lay a corpse. Beside it, a poor family was wailing. They were so poor that they didn't even have the money to buy wood for the cremation.
The Queen Mother stood before that family. She said in a humble voice, "Can you give me the body of your kin? I will not use it for any evil work. I need it for a noble cause and the well-being of all. In return, I will give you whatever you ask for."
The head of that family said in surprise, "Maharani! You are here? Of what use is this corpse to you? We don't even have the means to cremate it." The Queen Mother handed them a pouch of gold coins and said, "There are a hundred gold mohurs in this. Keep it; your poverty will be removed. And I myself will perform the last rites of your kin with royal honors, but not now. For now, let me take this."
The family began to praise the Queen Mother's greatness. They agreed to give the body. Arohi and the Queen Mother secretly returned with the body to the chamber where the magic mirror was kept.
Arohi placed the corpse before the mirror and said, "Magic mirror, I have brought the body. Now show your illusionary magic."
Suddenly, a strange blue flash of lightning emerged from within the mirror. That light illuminated the entire room. The blue light circled over the corpse a few times and entered its body. Arohi watched in amazement as, in the blink of an eye, the body of that unknown woman became exactly like her! That hair, that nose and face—even Arohi's birthmark appeared there. Through the magical power of the mirror, a corpse became the very reflection of Arohi.
Arohi shuddered seeing her own 'corpse.' Wiping her tears, the Queen Mother said, "Now this body must be sent to the borders of Junagarh. Everyone will think Princess Arohi has lost her life in grief and distress."
The Scene in Junagarh:
Meanwhile, there was a tide of joy in the Junagarh palace. Sushila had given birth to a princess. The entire palace was decorated with lights. Sweets were being distributed among the subjects. Aditya was smiling, holding the princess with great affection. He did not know that the mother of this child was actually a witch. The Maharaja announced, "In a few months, the naming ceremony of this princess will take place. Junagarh has regained its heir."
Sushila, lying on a royal couch, was laughing a diabolical laugh. She thought she had won. She said to herself—
"Aditya is mine now, this kingdom is mine, and this princess will be the future of Junagarh. Arohi is probably crying in some forest or is dead. All the thorns in my path have been removed!"
But Sushila does not know that the message of her destruction is rushing in from across the border. She does not know that Arohi has started a terrifying game by faking her own death. Very soon, a new maid will arrive at the Junagarh palace, behind whose eyes the fire of revenge will be hidden. When the news of that corpse from Kanchangarh reaches Junagarh, the real thrill of the story will begin.
As days passed in the Junagarh palace, a strange mystery began to take root. Although Subarnalata (Sushila) herself was exquisitely beautiful through magical illusion, whispers began inside the palace regarding the looks of the little princess who had brought light to her lap. At birth, the child looked quite fine, but as days went by, a strange change began to appear in her appearance.
Aditya himself is divinely handsome, and everyone knows Subarnalata as a celestial nymph. Yet their daughter is becoming dark-complexioned and hideous day by day. Her skin is becoming rough, and her gaze lacks the innocence of children; instead, a strange cunning peeks through. Sushila would shudder internally seeing her daughter before the mirror. She could realize that the dark shadow of the witch entity within her had begun to fall upon her daughter. The veil of illusion was only for the exterior; how could the poison within the blood be hidden?
In time, the princess completed six months. Today is the day of her rice-eating and naming ceremony. The Junagarh palace is festive. But when the guests came to see the princess, they began to exchange glances. A maid whispered, "Both the Maharaja and Maharani are so beautiful, yet why does the princess look so hideously dark? This is like a witch's curse!"
Aditya felt very hurt hearing all this. He stood before the mirror holding the princess. Seeing that bronze-colored and oddly formed face beside his own beautiful face, he thought in surprise, "Why didn't my daughter take after me? Her mother is so beautiful, then why is her appearance so distorted?" But Sushila then melted Aditya's heart with magical tears. She said in a cooing voice, "Beloved, what is the use of beauty? Our daughter is the symbol of our love. Her heart will surely be very beautiful."
Then began the turn for naming. The royal priest, after much consideration, announced, "The name of this princess of Junagarh is—Prabhasha."
Though the name Prabhasha was quite grand, when the child tasted the pudding, she gave a strange, diabolical smile. Seeing that smile, everyone's heart skipped a beat. The naming ceremony was completed, but a scent of omen remained in the palace air.
Sushila smirked internally. She thought, "Whatever the appearance, Prabhasha will be the next heir of this kingdom. Shilajit and I will turn this kingdom into a hell." She did not know that in Kanchangarh, Arohi had started a terrifying game of illusion by arranging her 'corpse.' The light of this festival in Junagarh is soon to turn into sorrow. Because Arohi is now returning to her own home, not as a princess—but as a mysterious maid.