Chitrasen entered Vinayak's chamber and bowed before him. Vinayak looked at him but did not say anything. It irked Chitrasen. Controlling his anger, he said,"Forgive me Rajkumar but you are not taking things seriously. I have important news for you. Senapati Kirita's messenger arrived at the palace. Mahamantri Jayadrath looked very tense."

Vinayak sighed. He poured wine into a cup and started drinking it leisurely. After taking a few sips he said,"Chitrasen, I know about that. My beloved brother was shot. The arrow was poisoned and his condition is worsening. But you are right. I should go and ask my father about the message."

Vinayak stood up and walked towards his father's chamber. On reaching there, he asked Chitrasen to wait outside and entered the chamber alone. He greeted his father. "You look worried, Pitashree. What is the matter? I heard that Senapati Kirita sent a message. Is it about that?", Vinayak said.

Jayadrath placed his hand on his son's shoulder and said to him,"Putra, dark clouds have covered Matangpur. A poisoned arrow was shot at Rudradev. His condition is worsening. We have decided to follow Ojaswini's advice. There is a healer who lives outside the capital. The messenger will take him to Rudradev. But Vinayak, be careful. No one should get to know about this. We have enemies who will try to take advantage of this situation."

Vinayak thought for a while and said,"Ojaswini is right. There are indeed many people who have been waiting for such a situation."

Just then, a guard entered the chamber. He said,"Mahamantri Jayadrath, Maharaj is waiting for you in his chamber." Jayadrath nodded his head and walked away with him.

Vinayak said to himself,"Ojaswini, you think that you are very clever. But my dear sister, this time the victory will be mine. I have taken all the precautions. You will not be able to save Rudradev."

 
Ojaswini was standing on the balcony of her chamber. There were visible signs of worry on her face. A maid entered her chamber and said to Ojaswini,"Rajkumari, no message has arrived." Ojaswini turned around and looked at the maid. The maid continued,"Rajkumari, that place is not too far from the capital. If they had reached by now, we would have gotten a message. I think that they have not yet reached."

Ojaswini said to her,"You are right, Kamini. Ask your brother to go there immediately. We need to find out what has happened."

The sun had set. Gradually, the sun of hope was also setting in the eyes of the soldiers who had accompanied Rudradev.

Sambhava was lost in deep thought. Kirita walked towards him with some fruits. He handed a bunch of bananas to Sambhava and said,"Eat something or else you will feel weak."

Sambhava started eating a banana. He said to Kirita,"Senapati, the physicians are not able to heal Yuvraj. What shall we do if he does not wake up?"

"Do you know what this forest is called?",Kirita asked. Sambhava replied,"Yes, I know that. This forest is called Chakora Van."

Kirita said,"There is a story about the Chakora bird and a hunter who came to this forest to hunt. Once upon a time, there was a hunter named Siraka. One day, he came to the forest.

He waited for a long time but still could not find any animal to hunt. He went to the river and climbed a tree on its bank. He thought,'After sometime, deer will come here to drink water. I will shoot my arrow and kill a deer.' But, he fell asleep while waiting for the deer. He woke up after a long time but then, he realized that the sun had already set. He cursed his fate. He spent the night on that tree. 

The next day also, he could not find any animal. It was strange. He could not understand why he was not able to see any animal in such a big forest. He kept going deeper and deeper into the forest.

Three days and three nights passed in the same way. Siraka was tired and hungry. He had given up hope. He sat under a tree and ate some wild fruits. The sun was about to set. He had decided to spend a last night there before leaving the forest. The night fell. The moon illuminated the forest with its soothing rays. Suddenly, the unexpected happened. Siraka heard the sound of a Chakora bird. He took his bow and shot an arrow at the bird. But, the arrow missed the target and the Chakora bird flew away. It was night and so, it was not possible for him to follow the bird.

Siraka kept walking. He stopped when he heard someone's voice. He looked around but could not see anybody. When he heard the voice once again, he realized that it was a snake who was calling him. The snake said to him,'Help me! I am stuck under this rock. I will give you something valuable if you help me.'

Siraka lifted the rock using his hands and freed the snake. The snake asked Siraka to follow him. The snake took him to a den and showed him a box. He said,'Take these! Take these away! Everything in this box is yours.' Then, the snake slithered away before Siraka could say anything. Siraka opened the box and found several valuable gemstones in it."

Sambhava, who was listening to the story attentively, said,"Senapati, the story is beautiful. But why did you narrate this story to me now?"

Kirita said,"Sambhava, a Chakora bird led the hunter to a treasure. It is believed that the Chakora bird brings fortune. The hunter had given up hope. But at last, he got something even better. We are in the same forest. We may witness a miracle too. Do not lose hope. Yuvraj will heal soon."

Sambhava felt that the night was longer than usual. Rudradev had shown no signs of progress.

The physicians were preparing medicines inside Rudradev's tent. One of them said to the head physician,"Gurudev, we have tried everything. We prepared all the kinds of medicines that we could. But Yuvraj has shown no signs of recovery."

The head physician sighed. He said,"It is getting difficult with the passing time. The poison has spread in his body. If we cannot heal him by tomorrow, we will lose his life."