After the long night had passed, the ministers, officers and elders assembled in
the hall in the morning. Maarkandeya, Vaamadeva, Kaashyapa, Kaatyaayana, Gautama, Jaabaali
and other learned men, with Sumantra and the other ministers, bowed to Vasisbtha and said:
"Sir, the night we have passed was
like a century. The King is no more. Raama and Lakshmana are in the forest. Bharata and
Satrughna are in far off Kekaya in their grandfather's house. Some one must forthwith be
asked to take up the responsibility of rule. A land without a king cannot survive. Order
will disappear, son will not obey father, nor wife her husband. The rains will hold back.
Thieves and robbers will range at will. There will be no mutual trust among people.
Neither agriculture nor trade can flourish. Without a king, the land must lose its
prosperity. |
