Chitrasen was having his food in his chamber. Suddenly, he started choking on his food. The choking stopped after some time. He was restless. Without finishing his food, he washed his hand and rushed towards Vinayak's chamber.

He said to the guard at the door,"Inform Rajkumar Vinayak about my arrival." Before the guard could say something, a maid arrived. She said to him,"Rajkumar Vinayak is waiting for you in the fighting arena." Chitrasen did not say anything to the maid. He rushed to the arena.

Vinayak was practicing sword fighting. He smiled on seeing Chitrasen. He said,"Come here, Chitrasen. Lift your sword and attack me." Chitrasen sighed. He went closer to Vinayak and stood still.

Chitrasen said to Vinayak,"Rajkumar, I am here to talk about a serious matter. The war with Pratapnagar has ended. Yuvraj Rudradev is on his way to the capital. He might be crowned as the new king now. What will we do then?"

Vinayak smirked. He whispered to Chitrasen,"That will happen only when Rudradev returns to the capital." Chitrasen realised that Vinayak had already planned something.

Rudradev on his way to Matangpur :

Jayendra's death had deeply saddened Sambhava. He had not spoken to anyone after his brother's cremation. Rudradev could not bear to see his beloved friend in such a condition. He ordered the soldiers to stop and said that, they would rest for a while.

It was a thick forest covered by green trees. Kirita said to Rudradev,"Yuvraj, we should not stay here for a long time. This place is dangerous." Rudradev looked around himself and nodded his head.

He started looking for Sambhava. He found him sitting under a tree. Rudradev stood close to him and continued to observe him. When Sambhava sensed his presence, he stood up and greeted him. He bowed his head and said,"Yuvraj, forgive me. I did not know that you were here."

Placing his hand on his friend's shoulder, Rudradev said,"You do not need to apologize. I can understand your pain. I do not have a brother. But still, I know how it feels to lose someone. Jayendra was one of my valuable commanders. We grew up in the same Gurukul and fought several battles together. We saw life and death together. You lost a brother and I lost a brave soldier and a loyal companion."

"But what can we do, Yuvraj?",questioned Sambhava. He looked at the sky and added,"As you said, we have seen both life and death on the battlefield. Some soldiers survive even after getting shot by four arrows while some others, die by just one arrow. These things were never in our hands, were they? My brother has departed for Parloka. His departure has left a void in my life. I do not know how I will fill it or what I will fill it with."

Rudradev sighed. He said,"Your wounds will heal with time. For now, it is important to be strong. We will rest here for a while. Then, we will resume our journey."

Sambhava said to him,"Yuvraj, I have a premonition of something untoward. We should leave this place soon."

A soldier arrived and greeted Rudradev. He said,"Yuvraj, Senapati Kirita is of the opinion that we should resume our journey now. He feels that we should cross this forest before the sunset."

Rudradev nodded his head and ordered,"Start the preparations. We will resume our journey."

They started their journey on their horses. They were travelling through the forest. As the journey progressed, the forest grew darker and darker. It seemed as if they were not going deeper into a forest, but entering the mouth of Aghasura.

The horses were galloping. The soldiers were happy. They had won the war and were returning home safely. But something happened, which drowned them in despair and pushed them into an abyss of uncertainty.
An arrow emerged from the branches of the trees covered with leaves, and struck Rudradev on his chest.

Rudradev collapsed immediately. Sambhava dismounted from his horse and ran towards him. He saw Rudradev and shouted,"Call the physicians! His body is turning black!"

The physicians came hurriedly. One of them removed his armor carefully to check his wound. Kirita ordered the soldiers to prepare a tent.

The head physician stood up and said to Kirita,"Senapati Kirita, the arrow was poisoned. We have to start the treatment immediately."

The physicians started the treatment. No one was allowed inside. Everyone was worried. The future of the kingdom, the pride of the dynasty, was fighting death.

After a long time, the head physician came out of the tent. He walked towards Sambhava and Kirita. With a voice filled with sadness, he said,"The poison is very powerful and it is spreading very fast. We have tried every medicine that we could prepare. But none of the medicines worked. Yuvraj's condition is worsening."

Royal palace of Matangpur :

Jayadrath was sitting in his chamber and looking at the accounts of the palace. A maid entered and greeted him. She said,"Mahamantri, Senapati Kirita has sent a messenger. He wants to meet you." Jayadrath said,"Let him in."

Jayadrath thought,"The army has won the war. What can be the matter now? And why did Senapati Kirita send a messenger?"

The messenger entered the chamber and greeted him. He said,"Mahamantri, an unfortunate incident has occurred. Yuvraj was shot by a poisoned arrow while we were crossing the forest. The physicians are treating him but his condition is worsening."

Jayadrath hurried out of the chamber after getting the message. He went to the king's chamber to talk to him.

Jayadev was having food in his chamber along with Niranjana. He questioned his brother,"Jayadrath, what is the matter? Why do you look so worried?"

Jayadrath said,"Bhratashree, Rudradev was shot with a poisonous arrow. His condition is worsening."

Niranjana's eyes widened with fear. With trembling lips, she said,"What are you saying? How did this happen? Who did this to my son?"

Jayadrath replied,"Bhabishree, the assassin has not been caught. The physicians are trying their best. We should pray for Rudradev. I will ask the royal priest to start a havan for his recovery."

Just then, Ojaswini entered the chamber. She said,"Forgive me for entering the chamber without permission. I heard about the incident. What are you going to do?"

Jayadrath said,"We are going to conduct a havan for Rudradev. We are also going to send our physicians to him."

Ojaswini argued,"That will create more problems, Pitashree. He is not an ordinary person but the crown prince of Matangpur. No one should get to know about the incident. I have cautioned the messenger. There are many people who are waiting to take advantage of such a situation. We should not send the physicians. The physicians who were sent with the army are highly efficient. If they do not have the remedy, most probably the physicians of the palace will not have it too. We should keep this matter hidden. If we want to send physicians, we should send someone who does not work for anyone in the palace. No one should get to know that we are sending physicians."