Holding his stomach with both hands, Jishnu burst into uproarious, loud laughter—"Ha ha ha! Oh lord, I'm dying! What supreme comedy this is, brother! This guy wants to romance someone? That too with the guard-soldier of this dungeon? A man making love to another man? Oh my goodness! What kinds of spectacles do I have to witness here in distant Junagadh! Coming to marry this crazy girl Snigdha has truly blessed my eyes and ears!"
Seeing Jishnu laugh like that, Snigdha spun around toward him like a ferocious tigress! Gnashing her teeth, she spat, "Shut up, you child of a Jishnu! Today I will beat you with dirty shoes and bury you so deep in the ground that no one will ever find even a splinter of your bones!"
The tantrik, however, gathered his saree's pallu with one hand and flew into a rage at Jishnu. Making a face, he snapped, "Oh boy! Look at the ugly tongue on this Snigdha! And this young fellow Jishnu wants to marry such a vile girl? A world of sorrow awaits your destiny! Anyway, what do I care? My handsome guard-groom is standing beside me so sweetly and calmly! Now listen here, you ugly Jishnu... what were you saying about love not happening between two men? Where do you get such nerve to poke your nose into my deeply secret, personal love life? Don't you dare speak another word! This is entirely my own private matter! Whether I love a man or set up a household with a crane-bird, I will handle it! Should I straighten you out with a whip, you ugly Jishnu? Go mind your own business!"
Right at that moment, King Aditya stepped forward and scolded Jishnu in a stern, booming voice!
Aditya spoke impartially, "Jishnu! The tantrik is absolutely right! You cannot barge into anyone's personal affairs and mock them like that! Whether he expresses love for another man as a male or sets up a household with a woman—that is entirely his personal right! You cannot belittle him unnecessarily like that! No one in this royal palace questioned you on why you are going to marry a woman! Just as you have your specific preference for women, he has his own preferences! God has given even you no right to mock anyone like this!"
The moment such neutral and respectful words left King Aditya's lips, tears of emotion and joy welled up in both eyes of the tantrik!
Raising both hands, the tantrik clapped loudly and shouted in an overwhelmed voice, "For this... for this supreme, noble mindset, I hold such deep reverence and respect for you in my heart, Aditya! Otherwise, listen... with the deadly, fiendish tantrik magic I possess, I could have turned all of you into wooden puppets in an instant, killed you, and sat as the absolute, sole ruler of all Junagadh! But I never did that, solely because of you, Aditya! Your beautiful way of thinking, this noble lesson of respecting everyone impartially—it keeps me enchanted! You are truly blessed, Aditya! Supremely blessed!"—Saying this, the tantrik lovingly rested his head on his guard-groom's shoulder once more to resume his romance!
Sticking her face through the iron bars of her cell, Sushila sneered, "Ha! As if Aditya knows how to respect everyone! What a grand, noble judge! Well, if he could respect everyone so much, he wouldn't have left me to rot in this dark, hideous prison like this! Nor would he seat that co-wife Arohi on the royal throne and worship her in utter luxury day and night! Surely that witch Arohi has bound my husband Aditya in a web of dark spells and made him her slave!"
Pausing his romance, the tantrik turned toward Sushila's cell and scolded her, "Shut up, Sushila! Don't drive me mad with your useless babble! Whatever anyone is doing, why do you harbor so much jealousy and engage in unnecessary screaming? You brought this punishment upon yourself through your own evil deeds and sins! Trying to murder so many people and hatching vile conspiracies, you got caught by the royal palace and are now rotting in this prison! If you chatter any further, I'll turn you back into that crane-bird like before in an instant! Shall I open my mouth about the evil news in your belly?"
Hearing the mention of becoming a crane-bird again, Sushila instantly silenced herself in terror! She did not utter another single word out of fear.
Meanwhile, Queen Arohi stood silently, looking down at the ground with a bowed head. Sushila's toxic barbs regarding 'a mother's tutoring' had pierced her heart like a poisoned arrow!
Prafulla approached his mother and gently held both of Arohi's hands with deep affection. Prafulla spoke in a soft tone, "Come, Mother... we don't have to stay in this dungeon for another second! Let's return to the royal palace above!"
However, the self-respect and rage burning inside Arohi were like a volcano on the verge of eruption! She could no longer contain herself!
Losing control in extreme grief and fury, Arohi screamed like a lunatic, "No, Prafulla! I will tolerate this no longer! You all go away... today I will shatter Sushila's toxic arrogance to dust!"
Saying this, Arohi shouted at the top of her voice, "Guards! Come quickly! Open this door with the iron key to the dungeon! Today I will land a stinging slap on that witch Sushila's cheek with my own hands!"
But down in that dark dungeon deep underground, no guard could arrive quickly with the key! Arohi could not hold her patience for another moment. Acting like a complete lunatic, she rushed forward and bit into the heavy iron lock of the cell door with her own teeth, trying to break it!
"Crunch, crunch!"—she clamped her teeth forcefully onto the lock!
Failing to break the lock with her teeth, Arohi grabbed a fistful of Snigdha's hair, who was standing nearby, and began violently bashing Snigdha's head against the iron lock on the wall—"Thud! Thud!"
Screaming in pain, Snigdha yelled, "Oh lord, Mother! Why are you hitting my head against the lock?"
Arohi still did not stop! Acting like a maniac, she gave a hard yank to the grand cotton dhoti worn by the zamindar's son Jishnu, pulling it off completely! Taking the unraveled dhoti in her hand, she began creating a wild rampage with whatever she could grab!
Terrified by such a horrific and insane spectacle, the tantrik inside his cell trembled in sheer horror! Gathering up his silk ghaghra, he retreated to the farthest back corner of his cell, joining his hands and screaming, "Oh lord! She has assumed the fearsome form of Goddess Chandi and will devour everyone! Save us, God!"
Placing a hand on her forehead, the sweet princess Prabhasa burst into tears and cried, "Mother! Calm down, Mother! What are you doing?"
However, even after his worn dhoti fell off, Jishnu, standing nearby, could not hold back his laughter! Holding his stomach, Jishnu sat down on the floor and began laughing out loud—"Ha ha ha!"
The moment the loud sound of that uproarious laughter reached her ears, flames of blood seemed to shoot out from Queen Arohi's eyes! She turned toward Jishnu with a terrifying and bloodshot gaze!
Letting out a fierce scream, Arohi yelled, "What are you laughing so loudly for, you uncouth son-in-law? Wait, let me show you!"—saying this, Arohi bolted over and snatched the ring of keys hanging from a guard's waist with a sudden, violent jerk!
Taking the keys, Arohi quickly turned the key inside the lock of Sushila's cell door and threw it open! Then, grabbing Snigdha by her hair, she threw her outside the door with a powerful shove and barged straight into Sushila's cell like a tigress!
Before Sushila could comprehend anything, Arohi raised her right hand and landed a thunderous, heavy slap right across Sushila's cheek—"THWACK!"
From the severe force of the blow, Sushila lost her balance and crashed into a corner of the cell!
But Sushila was no less devilish! Screaming in pain, she stood up straight from the floor and lunged at Arohi like a ferocious beast! Sushila grabbed Arohi's hair tightly with both hands, twisting it violently, while Arohi yanked at Sushila's hair and saree pallu, biting her forcefully!
The two co-wives began rolling on the floor of that dimly lit dungeon, pulling each other's hair and wrestling furiously!
Witnessing this unprecedented, horrific scene, King Aditya covered his eyes with his hands and collapsed onto the floor with a thud! He could not figure out whether to cry or laugh! Clutching his forehead with both hands, Aditya thought to himself, "Lord! With both co-wives rolling on the dungeon floor pulling each other's hair... whom do I stop now, and whom do I manage?"
Meanwhile, even though the situation had escalated to such an extent, the zamindar's son Jishnu, despite having his royal dhoti stripped away, lay on the floor and began weeping with laughter—"Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Oh lord... what kind of a family have I landed into! Ha ha ha!"
At first, Snigdha glared viciously at Jishnu's laughter, seething with anger. But seeing the two co-wives rolling on the floor like maniacs and pulling each other's hair, a wire in Snigdha's own head seemed to snap as well!
Snigdha could no longer hold back her laughter—collapsing heavily onto the floor herself, she began rolling around in the dirt, laughing hysterically like a complete lunatic!
And on the other side of the dungeon, the tantrik, lifting his silk ghaghra high with both hands, ran back and forth from one end of the cell to the other in a mixture of utter terror and sheer amusement!
Among the darkness of the prison, the fierce catfight between the two co-wives, Jishnu and Snigdha rolling on the ground in hysterical laughter, and the tantrik running around holding up his ghaghra—this unprecedented rampage brought the subterranean atmosphere of the Junagadh Royal Palace to an utterly destructive and unbelievable climax!