Page 92 - Shri Venkateswara Book

of Lord Siva. There she found the maid servants
of Padmavati offering fervent prayers. She asked
them where she could find Padmavati. The maids
explained how the princess had fallen sick after she
met a hunter who expressed his desire to marry her.
Her parents, Aksaraj and Dharini, were caring for her,
but all their efforts and those of doctors and healers
had failed. She was dying due to a strange forlorn
nature that no one could understand. The maids
were praying to Siva to save her. Bakula went to meet
with Padmavati’s parents.
Meanwhile, Srinivasa transformed himself into a
gypsy woman. She had a magic wand to put spells on
people. The gypsy woman entered Aksaraj’s capital
city, Narayana puram. She began to call out, “I have
magical powers that can cure the sick and foretell
the future.” The maidservants of Padmavati heard
the gypsy woman’s claims. They told Dharini who
immediately ordered them to bring the gypsy to the
palace. Padmavati’s mother pleaded with the gypsy
to cure her daughter’s sickness and reveal what her
future destiny. The wry gypsy asked for certain things
before she could perform her miraculous cure. She
wanted rice, red powder, turmeric, silk saris and
gold coins. When she received paraphernalia, she
arranged them on a table and began to chant sacred

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Venkateshwara Book.indd 91
Venkateshwara Book.indd 91 28/04/2024 05:13:56