‘What bloody nonsense!’ yelled Shiva as his disturbed thoughts finally broke through his
desperate efforts at silent acceptance. He was lying in his bedroom at the royal guest house.
He had not undergone the shudhikaran. He had not even bothered to find out what the
ceremony was.
Why would I need to be purified for touching Sati? I want to spend all my remainingyears
touching her in every possible way. Am I going to keep on undergoing a shudhikaran every
day? Ridiculous!
Just then a troubling thought entered Shiva’s mind.
Is it because of me? Am I not allowed to touch her because I am caste-unmarked? An
inferior barbarian?
‘No. That can’t be true,’ whispered Shiva to himself. ‘Sati doesn’t think like that. She is a
good woman.’
But what if it’s true? Maybe if she knows I am the Neelkanth...
singke
(singke)
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