enthral his mind; he did not care to be fettered by domestic ties.

While in such a frame of mind, Chandrashekhar came across Shaibalini. The sight of her broke the ascetic’s vow. He deliberated, he hesitated, and, at last becoming his own match-maker, he married Shaibalini. Who is proof against the charms of beauty!

The story opens eight years after this marriage.