At Ashwakootam,

It had been days since sleep had begun eluding Vijayamarthanda. Every time he had begun sinking into a deep and noiseless slumber, that nightmare would make its appearance. Every time, there would be newer, intricate and subtler improvisations to the dreadful vision that contributed towards making it even more scary.

He stood before his mirror and glanced at what he had turned into. Ten more deeply whizened hairs. He sighed as he drew a pair of scissors and began chopping off the hairs. He proceeded to examine his eyes next. The dark circles around them had dipped an inch lower. His eyes had almost sunk into his sockets. He could hardly recognize himself.

He perceived a form standing behind him in the mirror. It looked thin and hazy like smoke at first. It started crystallizing and solidifying till it looked like his former archenemy, Mahendra Baahubali. He stumbled backwards, literally collapsing on the ground. The figure began advancing towards him menacingly.

Till now, he had been witnessing just nightmares. But now his dreams were materializing even in broad daylight. He opened his mouth to call out to his valet. His vocal chords refused to cooperate. He clutched his throat as he began crawling backwards till he finally hit the wall. He shut his eyes. Baahubali's upraised sword hung just above him.

"Retribution!" His enemy whispered into his ears before he disappeared into thin smoke just the way he had come.

Vijayamarthanda screamed at the top of his voice.
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The raj purohit had been examining Vijayamarthanda's birth chart for nearly an hour. He looked up at last, "This period is indeed going to be very tough. These dreams and visions don't portend any good."

"That's why I have summoned you. Is there any way this impending calamity can be averted?" Vijayamarthanda asked.

"People in these parts undertake a special pilgrimmage to the sacred shrine of Goddess Vijaya on the Ashtami (the eight day after new moon or full moon in the Hindu calendar). If Maharaj performs the Astadala Swarna Padma Puja (a puja performed with goden lotus flowers with eight petals) on this day, all the threats to his life will be alleviated."

Vijayamarthanda ordered, "It is Ashtami tomorrow. Make preparations for the puja. We will set out in an hour."

The raj purohit hurried back home. He started sweating profusely. He found the note awaiting him, "You must convince your king to come to the shrine of Goddess Vijaya on the eve of Ashtami by hook of crook. Your lips should be sealed forever if you wish for the safety of your family."
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Vijayamarthanda came to say goodbye to his son, Virupaksh. Though he was old enough to be the ruler of a kingdom, his son had never grown up beyond the mental age of five. He watched his son playing peacefully with his toys. A dull ache began to eat away at his heart.

"What are you playing?" Vijaya asked his son.

"This toy good. This toy bad. Good wins bad."

His son knocked down one toy with the other. Vijayamarthanda smiled. He made the toy that had fallen down stand upright and then knocked down the other toy with it. His son started crying. He tried to console his son, "Don't cry. See he fell down. Good wins bad."

"Yes, good always wins", his son agreed.

"Goodbye. What shall I bring for you when I come back?"

"Goodbye", his son said. He resumed his game. Answering the second part of his question simply escaped his mind. Vijayamarthanda signalled the soldier who had come to infom him that his troop was waiting for him to remain silent. He quietly turned back and left musing over how simple everything appeared to his child-like son, "Good wins bad!"
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At Vijayapuri,
Shodasi Devi's army was advancing rapidly. After the death of Sambamurthy, no official Overseer had been appointed for Vijayapuri. All the officials and administrators had been running on some sort of autopilot.

By now, all the four major clans had declared their support for their former queen, Shodasi Devi. With very little and token resistance from the existing administrators and soldiers, fortress after fortress, village after village, town after town, and city after city came under Shodasi Devi's control. Her flag was flying in many areas of Vijayapuri.

Unaware of any of these developments, Vijayamarthanda was coming along with his troop to perform the veneration at the shrine of Goddess Vijaya. As they were on their way, his troop beheld several groups of common people walking ahead. They were carrying bamboo baskets filled with flowers. A few of them were carrying pots full of milk.

"Many people undertake a religious pilgrimage at this time of the year. They walk to the shrine with flowers baskets or carry pots of milk as offering to the goddess", the purohit told Vijayamarthanda.

The devotees blew conch shells from time to time. Vijayamarthanda and his entourage rode on. They reached the shrine.

The priest excused himself, "The temple is unusually crowded today, Maharaj."
He ran here and there organizing things for the special puja that Vijayamarthanda had requested.

Vijayamarthanda watched the people singing, dancing and throwing colors into the air. The people were pushing and jostling each other. The crowds had multiplied tenfold since the time he had arrived. He turned back towards his soldiers and was about to request them to clear some of the crowd from there when he noticed that his soldiers were considerably fewer in number to what he had set out with.

But the priest arrived just then to inform him that everything was ready for the Ashtadala Swarna Padma Puja. He followed the priest inside the sanctum santorum leaving his men standing outside. Nearly half an hour passed. The priest said, "The puja is over, Maharaj."

Vijayamarthanda gave the dakshina (money) to the priest for officiating the puja and followed him outside the sanctum sanctorum. He glimpsed casually at his men standing outside. Their number had drastically reduced even further.

Vijayamarthanda sensed that something was happening right beneath his nose. His fears were indeed justified. All his men were surrounded by the people in the temple. All the people whom he had seen walking with bamboo baskets and pots had been carrying weapons hidden beneath them.

Aparaajitha and Nachiyar came out and held him at their sword tip. Aparaajitha took out a conch and blew it two times in succession.

"You imposter you...", he said recognizing Aparaajitha as the princess who had been masqurading as a royal diplomatic dignitary. He realized very much to his dismay that the conch shells he had heard throughout the way  were actually signals.

Vijayamarthanda glared at his Raj purohit because it was he who had first suggested this remedial measure. The man hung down his head in shame. He immediately realized that the man had been coerced by some means.

But what happened after the final conch shell was blown was something even he did not expect. The former queen of Vijayapuri entered the temple followed by her men. All the people present there shouted, "Maharani Shodasi Devi ki Jai!"

She walked up to Vijayamarthanda with regal grace, "A pleasure meeting you Vijayamarthanda after such a long while."

Vijayamarthanda did not appear to share Shodasi Devi's sentiments. He sneered at her, "You cheated me, Shodasi."

"I had to enact this elaborate Chakra Vyuh(strategy) just to bring you face to face with me, Vijayamarthanda. You would have never come here if you knew I was coming. You would have sent bigger and bigger armies. And I would be wasting my time, energy and manpower fighting them again and again. You're here and I'm here. Let's end this once for all. I propose a one-on-one duel, queen against king."
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