Matangpur palace:

Vinayak was sitting in his chamber with his friend Chitrasen.

Chitrasen looked at Vinayak with his eyes wide open in confusion. He said to his friend, "So you gave the bangles to her?"

"Yes, what can be possibly wrong with that?" Vinayak said.

Chitrasen positioned his hand on Vinayak's shoulder and said to him, "There is nothing wrong. But why did you give them to her? I mean, you are not very fond of your stepsister, right?"

Vinayak smirked and said, "She holds a powerful position in the kingdom. In order to become the king, I need her support too. Moreover, she is just a girl and my little sister. I can easily appease her with bangles and necklaces."

Just then, they heard some approaching footsteps. Chitrasen and Vinayak stopped talking.

Niranjana entered the chamber. The two young men said together, "Greetings to the Queen." Niranjana nodded her head.

Niranjana handed a black thread with beads to Vinayak and said, "Putra, this is for you. It will safeguard you from evil."

Vinayak wore the thread around his neck and said, "Maharani, you care a lot for me. But the one who needs protection from evil forces right now, is the Crown Prince, not me."

Niranjana looked at Vinayak with confusing eyes. Vinayak smiled and said, "I mean, he is the crown prince of our kingdom and our enemies will target him. Moreover, he is going to fight a war. Danger is lurking near him."

Niranjana patted his head and said, "I know that I do not need to worry for my dear son. Because, my other son will  always be there to look after him." After saying this, she left.

Chitrasen said, "Anyways, have you seen the princess of Ajaynagar?"

Vinayak said, "A dusky beauty, she is. I asked
Bhaskar for her hand in marriage. He gladly accepted my proposal. So I asked him to talk to his parents about it."

Vinayak was standing on the balcony when someone was observing him from another wing of the palace. It was the maid, Pragati. She observed him carefully. A few words left her mouth,

"Why are you standing there,
As if you are waiting for someone?
When in reality,
You stand there for none?
You have won
The kingdom of seduction,
I am the queen of intoxication.
O' soldier!
Don't keep me waiting!"

There was another wing of the palace where there was a large room for weapons. Outside that room, the sound of clashing of swords was being heard. Two mighty swords collided with each other. There was a heavily built man and a beautiful woman. They were none other than Rudradev and Ojaswini.

Rudradev overpowered Ojaswini and said, "So guess who won?"

Ojaswini said, "Yuvraj, you should not start guessing the results so early."

She slipped away from his clutches and within a nick of time, pointed her sword at him. The sharp end of the sword was only an inch far from Rudradev's throat. Rudradev smiled at her. She lowered her sword and walked away.

She drank some water and said to him, "You need to be very careful. Someone might be keeping a watch on us."

Rudradev whispered into her ears, "If you find someone doing so, just kill him at once." Ojaswini nodded her head.

Both of them sat down to take some rest. Ojaswini said, "When the Ocean of Milk was churned, Halahal and Amrit came out of it. Halahal was drunk by Mahadev inorder to save the world. Then, the Devas (Gods) and Asuras (Demons) began to fight for Amrit. At that time, Sri Hari took the form of Mohini and volunteered to distribute Amrit among the Devas and the Asuras. The beauty of Mohini made the Asuras forget about Amrit."

Rudradev smiled and said, "And then Mohini distributed Amrit among the Devas. An Asura named Svarabahu took the form of a Deva and drank some Amrit. When Mohini got to know about this, she beheaded him using her Sudarshan Chakra. From that day, his head was called Rahu and his body was called Ketu."

Ojaswini looked at Rudradev and said, "The beauty of a woman caused misfortune to the Asuras. A beautiful woman can do many things which a sword cannot."

Rudradev laughed a little. He looked at the sky and then said to Ojaswini, "Even Mahadev, the greatest of the Yogis lost his senses when he saw Mohini."

It was evening. Vinayak was sitting in the recreation hall of the palace and drinking a cup of wine. Some courtesans were dancing. After a while, they stopped. Another courtesan emerged from behind the curtains. She was a heavenly beauty. She looked just like the moon which emerges from behind the clouds. Her name was Menaka and she started to sing.

"ओ प्रियतम!
मेरे नयन बहाए नीर,
आ जा ,ओ आ जा।
अंग भी जले मेरा,
शीतल जल लेके आ जा ,
ओ आ जा।"

Translation:

"O dearest!
My eyes are tearful,
Come to me, just come to me.
My body is burning too,
Come to me with cold water,
Just come to me."

Vinayak was looking at her without blinking. Her facial expressions, the movement of her body and her melodious voice had captured him completely.

After her performance, Vinayak approached her and said, "It was amazing. You dance better than any other woman here." He took off the gold necklace he was wearing and gave it to her. She bowed before him and left.

That night, Vinayak saw that beautiful maiden in his dream. She was a celestial nymph who was dancing for him.

He wanted her at any cost so that he could keep her with him.