Evil Destroys Itself

Princess Padma was the only daughter of King Jagannath of Jaitpur. Seeing that the Princess was extremely beautiful, there were, of course, many suitors for her hand in marriage. However, the Princess had lost her heart many years ago to the youthful King Balakrishna, ruler of the neighboring Kingdom of Ratnagiri.

Yet there was one other who believed that Princess Padma should welcome his hand in marriage. That was Sivakumar, the arrogant King of Sringa. He considered himself far above any of the other kings, and his pursuit of the Princess was encouraged by his mother, the Dowager Queen. “Go to King Jagannath with a great retinue,” she insisted. “When the king understands the wealth and strength of this kingdom, he should be only too willing to give his consent to you marrying his daughter.”

When King Sivakumar arrived in Jaitpur, accompanied by a full company of cavalry, he was rather coldly received by the king, who mistrusted this arrogant ruler. When Sivakumar bluntly demanded the hand of the Princess, the king shook his head. “The betrothal of Princess Padma to the King of Ratnagiri is to be publicly announced tomorrow,” he said, and walked from the audience chamber.

King Sivakumar strode out of the palace in a towering temper. He considered himself humiliated and grossly insulted. Not long afterward, the betrothal of the Princess with King Balakrishna was celebrated, but in the midst of this happy occasion, news was received that the Kingdom of Ratnagiri had been invaded by the nomadic tribes of the North. King Balakrishna and his followers immediately left for Ratnagiri to repel the invaders, but in the first battle, King Balakrishna was badly beaten, and it seemed that the kingdom would fall to the murderous tribesmen.

Hearing the bad news, King Jagannath and his son, Prince Rajasimha, mobilized their army and went to the aid of the Ratnagiri army, which had been forced to retreat with heavy losses. The moment it was known that the army of Jaitpur had crossed the border into Ratnagiri, the Dowager Queen of Sringa hurried to her son. “Now is your opportunity,” she cried. “Invade Jaitpur and make the Princess your captive. Then we can force the girl to marry you.”

King Sivakumar, eager to wipe out the insult he had suffered from the king of Jaitpur, did not hesitate. Jaitpur, with only a handful of defenders, soon fell to Sivakumar’s army. After looting the city, Sivakumar forced his way into the palace, killing anyone who stood in his way, and compelled the Princess to accompany him to Sringa.

Meanwhile, in Ratnagiri, the defending armies suffered defeat after defeat. King Jagannath was killed while leading an attack to recapture the capital city, and on the following day, King Balakrishna’s army was annihilated by the tribesmen. However, the king and Prince Rajasimha managed to escape capture and flee.

This was wonderful news to King Sivakumar. Now, no one stood in his way of marrying the Princess. He gloated to the Princess about his victory, but she eyed him with contempt. “Never,” she said proudly, “I am betrothed to King Balakrishna, and I will marry no one else, certainly not a despot such as you, who fights defenseless women.”

When the Dowager Queen heard of this, she berated her son for allowing the Princess to speak in such a manner. King Sivakumar merely smiled. “In time, I am sure she will change her mind,” he said. “Nonsense!” retorted his mother. “I will break her obstinacy now!” With that, she stormed into the Princess’s chamber. “You will consent to marry my son,” she screamed, “or you will spend the rest of your days as a mere servant.” “I prefer to be a servant than marry your treacherous son,” replied the Princess heatedly.

From then on, the Princess was reduced to slavery, forced to endure abuse and hard labor under the virulent Dowager Queen. Two years passed, and it was hard for the Princess to remember she was of royal blood.

One morning, while washing clothes by the river, she saw a boat approaching. To her astonishment, it was her brother, Prince Rajasimha, and her betrothed, King Balakrishna. They embraced, and the King informed her of his plans. “Tomorrow at dawn, we shall attack this palace and rid the world of Sivakumar.”

The combined armies of Jaitpur and Ratnagiri invaded Sringa at daybreak. King Sivakumar’s unprepared forces were overwhelmed. In desperation, Sivakumar attempted to flee but ran straight into enemy soldiers, who killed him. The Dowager Queen was exiled, and Princess Padma was finally married to King Balakrishna. Peace once again reigned across the land.