‘Venerable sir,’ Prithusen said, his voice full of despair, ‘I have been betrayed and rendered helpless. I have nowhere to go. All roads are closed to me and all places have become dangerous. It is only a matter of time now. The butcher has caught me in his noose. In a short time his axe will be on my neck. Revered sir, being unarmed, I am helpless, shelterless; a dishonourable death awaits me.’

The monk looked intently at Prithusen. Even in that darkness, Prithusen could notice a glint of pity in his eyes.

‘Son, if you are looking for shelter, there is the Buddhist monastery nearby,’ he spoke in a low, sympathetic voice. ‘Every applicant is granted shelter there. And it is beyond the pale of worldly conflicts and the bounds of state authority.’

‘O blessed one, I shall ever be beholden to you for granting me shelter at this time.’

At daybreak, the citizens of Sagal were awakened from their sleep by the sound of the kettledrum and bugle. Frightened and amazed, people peeped out of doors and windows, or lying in bed, listened to the proclamation of the criers:

‘His Excellency, the Master of Exceptional Virtues, the Shining Jewel of the Kshatriya Caste, the Defender of the Faith, the Great Noble, Sri Dev Sarvarth, having cleansed the earth of sin, with the consent of the caste society of Madra, assumes the sceptre of authority as President of the Republic of Madra. The office of the Chairman of the Council, with the consent of the members of the Council, is assumed by the Noblest of Acharyas, the one versed in scriptures, the Feudatory Chief, Mahapandit Rudradhir. With the consent of the caste society of Madra, the command of the defence forces is vested in the Feudatory Chief, Holder of Landed Estates, the Noble, Kartavir. The kingdom of Madra, standing on the laws of the caste society, shall henceforth be administered in accordance with the laws of justice. The entire Brahmin community, the Greeks, the Sudras and slaves, in the performance of their duty shall carry out the orders of the supreme authority.’

The full moon of the month of Kartik disappeared, and with it went the authority achieved by the rule of the low-caste people in Sagal. At sunrise, with the re-establishment of the caste-system, the authority of the Brahmins was restored. On the main roads, at crossings and other places, the weapons and helmets of the soldiers of the Brahmin feudatory chiefs glittered in the light of the sun. While this new splendour was a source of joy and a cause for rejoicing for one section of the community of Sagal, for others it was a source of terror. For ordinary citizens, it was a cause for fear mixed with curiosity.

The town was the same, its highways were the same, so were the lanes and byways, the palaces, mansions, lakes and gardens. People too were the same, only the form of government had changed. The Buddhist concept, that the same life force operates in all living beings, which had never aroused any enthusiasm among the high-caste Brahmins, and which encouraged self-assertion among people of the low caste, was now repudiated by the new law of the state based on the caste system.