The rains battered the earth once again. Everyone had returned to their respective war camps. Narasimha was the sole person on that battlefield. He screamed pouring out his raw pain, anger and angst into that cry. He looked up and cried, "I have always tried to be a good son. When did I end up becoming this?"

Narasimha wearily stood up and dragged himself back to his camp. He walked into his tent. He sent word to Marakasura to cancel the war council meeting. Whom was he meeting anyway? It was just the two of them. He slumped down on his bed. He hadn't even removed his battle robes or his shoes. His weapons were still strapped to his robe. The quiver still dangled around his shoulder.

Narasimha shut his eyes to forget the scenes from the battlefield. But they kept on pursuing him. He woke up with a start. He felt unusually suffocated within his tent. He thought he would take a small stroll outside the camp. He meandered this way and that aimlessly. When he looked up, he saw that he was before the East War Camp.

Narasimha was about to hastily turn back and head to his own camp. But the sight of Bhagiradhi who stood at the threshold of her tent dragged him inexorably towards her. He would seek his answers from her. He took her hand in his and asked, "You claim to be my elder sister. You tell me. What's my fault?"

Bhagiradhi took in his haggard appearance and desolate face. He was torn and conflicted. She held his face between her palms and stared into his eyes. She gestured him to wait. She went into her tent. Narasimha cursed himself for coming there. He ought to leave at least now before she came back. But his feet were rooted to the spot.

Bhagiradhi rejoined him outside after a couple of minutes. She held a manuscript and a red thread in her hands. She gave him the manuscript. Narasimha read the title of the manuscript, "Bhagavad Gita!" Bhagiradhi earnestly nodded her head indicating him to read it when he was alone. Her personal maid who accompanied her outside informed Narasimha, "All the others are sleeping. She is under a vow of silence."

Bhagiradhi silently took his right hand and proceeded to tie the red thread around his wrist. The aforementioned maid once again supplied, "It is a sacred thread for your protection."

Narasimha silently took his leave of Bhagiradhi and her maid. He looked at the red thread on his wrist, and then at the manuscript in his hands. He reached his tent. It was dark. Nobody had noticed his temporary absence from the camp. He lit the lamp beside his bed and opened the manuscript in his palms.

The manuscript appeared to have been read numerous times before this. Though its leaves were tattered at a number of places, it had been very carefully preserved by its previous owner.

He opened a leaf at random. He read out the lines that fell across his line of vision,
"Uddhared atmanatmanam
Natmanam avasadayet
Atmaiva hi atmano bandhur
Atmaiva ripur atmanah!"
(Let a man lift himself by his own self. Let him not degrade himself; for this self is one's friend and also one's enemy!)

Narasimha felt uplifted by the words he read. Everyone in the camp began stirring. He rose up and began preparing for the next day of battle.

The dawn arrived bringing strife along with it. Narasimha spoke and rallied his men, "Two days went against us. But this is a new day. Quoting the words he had read that morning,
'Uddhared atmanatmanam
Natmanam avasadayet
Atmaiva hi atmano bandhur
Atmaiva ripur atmanah!'
What defeats a person is his thinking."
Pointing towards his brain, he remarked, "He who is defeated here cannot win anywhere else. Victory and defeat lie here."

The soldiers were motivated by Narasimha's words. They charged with renewed vigor into the battlefield. Mrithyunjay and the others found it momentarily difficult to withstand the onslaught of Mahishmati's army. But they immediately regrouped themselves. The fighting dragged on. Neither side seemed willing to give in. The hours rolled by inconclusively.

Mrithyunjay was fighting in one corner of the battlefield. Narasimha was engaged with General Samarth in another corner of the battlefield. General Marakasura observed that the opportunity was right to put his plan into action. He signaled one of the soldiers. The man edged closer to Mrithyunjay's chariot while fighting other soldiers.

Once he was within earshot of Mrithyunjay, he fell upon his feet and pleaded, "They are holding our kids hostage. We did not want to fight. Please help us, kind Sir."

"What are you blabbering? Who is doing this?" Mrithyunjay asked.

The man shivered and pointed towards General Marakasura, "It is that villain. Their army strength was low so he kidnapped kids from our village and forced all the fathers of those kids to fight in the war. There are so many like me. If you come with me now, we can free those children."

Mrithyunjay remembered an incident similar to this yesterday. He was unsure if he should go with the man and help him. He was the supreme commander of their army. What if something went wrong during his absence?

But the man was persistent. He said, "You would realize the pain of a father if only you also had a child."

The instant he heard these words, he steered his horse away from the field and said, "Take me there. We will free the kids."

Mrithyunjay rode behind the man. Arindam who had been fighting nearby did not overhear what both of them spoke. But he felt something was amiss. He called out to the soldier, "Do you need help, mate?" But the man walked faster pretending as though he hadn't heard Arindam.

Arindam shook his head in surprise, "Strange! I thought he heard me."

Arindam decided to follow the soldier and find out what he was up to. He lost sight of them after a while. He immediately decided to inform the Prince about what he had seen. It took quite a while locating Prince Narasimha on the battlefield. He was in the middle of a duel with General Samarth.

Narasimha said, "Later, Arindam."

"I am sorry to bother you at a moment like this but..."

"But what, Arindam?"

"I suspect foul play", Arindam blurted.

Samarth also let up on the fighting to allow Arindam to complete what he had to say. He had simply been defending himself from Narasimha till now. He hadn't been fighting in real earnest.

Arindam confessed, "I saw General Marakasura wink at one of the soldiers. He said something to their supreme commander. I started following them outside the battlefield. But soon, I lost sight of them."

Narasimha, who realized what had been happening beneath his nose, breathlessly asked, "Do you know in which direction they went?"

"They headed towards the mountains in the north", Arindam said pointing towards the north.

Narasimha and Samarth had been fighting in the southern part of the field. They had quite a lot of distance to cover. They galloped towards the north after thanking Arindam.
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In the East Camp,
The midwife had finished examining Bhagiradhi. Shodasi Devi had brought her along with her to the camp. Beaming with smiles, she announced, "It's good news indeed."

Shodasi Devi instantly gave her the chains and necklaces she was wearing, "This is indeed the best piece of news I have heard in a long while." She hugged Bhagiradhi, "I just can't believe that my little girl is going to be a mother herself. I am going to be a grandmother."

Bhagiradhi's personal maid who had gone out on an errand blabbered, "I assume this news was why Master rode back in the midst of the battle. He couldn't wait to meet the mistress."

Shodasi Devi reprimanded the maid, "Why would we disturb him in the middle of the battle? The midwife confirmed it just now."

"I did see him right now while you sent me on that errand", the maid blurted out. "I simply assumed he must be coming here."

Bhagiradhi's head reeled and her knees buckled under pressure the moment she heard this. Shodasi Devi supported Bhagiradhi as she continued to question the clueless maid, "Where did you exactly see him?"