The news of the defeat had reached the palace of Pratapnagar. The whole palace was sunk in sorrow. The king had died.The servants, the ministers, the soldiers, everyone had just one question in their mind,"What will be our future now?"

Vadaba was sitting in a corner of her chamber and shedding tears from her eyes. Her husband, whom she had considered as her life, was no more. How could she live? She stood up and wiped her tears. She said to a maid,"Did Maharaj's mortal remains arrive at the palace?" The maid said to her,"Yes, Maharani."

The small steps taken by Vadaba felt very heavy. She walked through the corridor towards the place where the dead bodies of her husband and her brother-in-law were kept.

The hall was filled with ministers, soldiers and servants. Everyone was crying. There was not a person who had not loved Anushrava. It was indeed a shock for everyone.

The beloved king laid dead. His body was covered with flowers.
Oh glory! How many men have traded their lives for you?

Vadaba broke down into tears on seeing her husband's lifeless body.

At some distance, Udbhava's wife Indraja was sitting quietly. Her pearl white face showed no emotion. Her eyes were moist but tears were not escaping from them. She kept staring at her husband. It had only been three months since her marriage. Her husband left her too soon. What was the reason? Was it because of her own misfortune?

Rajguru Kapila approached Vadaba and said,"Maharani, do not lose patience. The responsibility of the kingdom is now on your shoulders. You have to be strong for your subjects."

With tears in her eyes and a broken voice, Vadaba said,"What shall I do, Gurudev? My Swami has left me. How can I live? It is not possible for me to imagine a life without him. Gurudev, allow me to enter my husband's funeral pyre. I had promised him that I would always stand by his side. I had promised that I would never leave him. I kept my promise. I never left his side in this Loka . Now let me join him in the Parloka."

Rajguru Kapila said,"O' daughter of Laya, do not say such things. Your husband has attained veergati, the highest form of honour for a warrior. Do not lament for him. The dead one will not return, but the living ones are looking forward to you. You are not just the mother of your son, but the mother of all the people living in this kingdom. You have to take care of this kingdom till your son reaches adulthood, and returns from Gurukul to take the throne."

Anushrava and Udbhava were cremated. The smoke from the funeral pyres of the numerous soldiers who had died, filled the sky. The air was filled with the wailings of the widows of those soldiers.

Vadaba was sitting with Indraja in her chamber. Indraja had not spoken anything since she had heard about Udbhava's death. Vadaba placed her hand on her shoulder and said,"Indraja, do not hold back your tears. You are harming yourself like this. Cry, so that the burden of grief that you are carrying lessens."

Indraja said,"How will the grief end? My mother died while giving birth to me. My stepmother taunted me for all these years and called me names. She used to say that, my mother died because of my misfortune. After getting married, my husband gave me the love that I had been yearning for all these years. But now, I have lost my husband too. Does anyone in this palace have a misfortune greater than mine?"

Vadaba wanted to talk to her but she did not have the strength to say anything further. She was also suffering from the grief of losing her husband. Whose pain was greater? Could they possibly compare themselves with others and lessen their burden?

Indraja stood up and decided to go to her chamber. Suddenly, her vision blurred and she felt herself being engulfed by darkness.
Vadaba ran towards her and held her before she could fall down. With the help of a maid, she made her lie on the bed. She said to a maid,"Call the physician!"

The physician examined Indraja. After sometime, she came out of the chamber. Vadaba was waiting outside with Rajguru Kapila. The physician said to them,"Maharani, there is nothing to worry about. God has gifted us happiness in the dark times. Maharani, Rajkumari Indraja is pregnant."

Rajguru Kapila said,"May the child bring glory to his dynasty!"

Just then, a soldier arrived. He bowed to them and said,"A messager has arrived from Matangpur. He says that the crown prince of Matangpur wishes to talk to you." Rajguru nodded his head and instructed him to leave.

At Matangpur's camp :

Rajguru entered Rudradev's tent with the Mahamantri and a few other ministers. Rudradev touched his feet for blessings. Rajguru said,"Yashaswi Bhava!"

Rudradev said to him,"Guru Kapila, you have honoured us by coming here. As you know, we have won the war. So, I wanted to negotiate with Pratapnagar on behalf of Matangpur."

Rajguru said,"We have come here for the same purpose. We have lost the war and so, we are bound to accept all your conditions. But Yuvraj, keep one thing in your mind. I will never accept any humiliation towards the women."

Rudradev said politely,"Guru Kapila, humiliating women after winning a war is the custom of Asuras. It is not the custom of the brave warriors of Matangpur. If such evil thoughts ever cross my mind, may my head explode into a thousand pieces at that instant."

He looked at the commander-in-chief Kirita and said,"Senapati, read out the conditions."
Kirita took a scroll in his hand and read out,

“From now onwards, Pratapnagar will be one of our tributary kingdoms. Pratapnagar will be required to pay an annual tribute of 300 horses, silk fabrics, wheat and 50000 gold coins.

In return, Pratapnagar will receive the aid of Matangpur in war whenever it will be necessary. Also, Pratapnagar will not be required to pay any taxes to Matangpur for trading in rice, mustard and potatoes.”

Rajguru said,"We accept all your conditions. We hope that Matangpur will stick to its principles in future."

Rudradev said to him,"You do not need to worry, Guru Kapila. We will always stick to our principles."