Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay

“ Rohini, suddenly rising, threw back the covering from her face, and, looking straight at Hara Lâl, said, "I am a thief! You a saint! Who told me to steal? Who bribed me to do it? Who was it deceived me, seeing I was but a simple woman? The greatest of swindles, the falsest of lies, which the commonest rustic would not have deigned to utter, you, the son of Krishna Kanta Râi, have been guilty of. Alas! alas! I unworthy of you! Never unfortunate woman met so base a swindler as you are! Were you a woman I would have shown you the besom. As you are a man—go in honour." ”

“ Bhramar did not satisfy this thirst. Rohini's beauty had arisen in his path as heavy clouds in a burning sky refresh the châtak's longing eyes. At sight of Rohini's form Gobind Lâl's mind became restless as the fickle peacock at the sight of clouds when the first rain begins. When he had become conscious of this the young husband swore to himself that even should it kill him he would not be unfaithful to Bhramar. He resolved to forget Rohini in devotion to business; in travel he should certainly be able to do so. ”

“ As though reflected in a mirror, he had seen into Rohini's heart. He saw that the charm that had infatuated Bhramar, had also subjugated this serpent. He was neither pleased nor angry. Like the surging of the ocean, so was his heart moved with pity. He said, "Rohini, I think death would be well for you, but you have no right to take your own life. We all come into this world to work, and until that work is done we should not die." ”

“ That sun, whose early rays were as yet not hot when Khirodâ first spoke of Rohini in the presence of Bhramar, had not set, when the fact was proclaimed from house to house that Rohini was favoured by Gobind Lâl.
How it grew from the simple garden matter to unmeasured passion, from unmeasured passion to unlimited jewellery, and to how many other matters! I, oh ye ladies of good family, full of artful rumours and scandal-loving—I, a man, and but a poor truth-telling writer, care not to dwell upon at length to you. ”

“ Gobind Lâl sat at the foot of a broken statue. The mid-day come, he still sits there. The intense heat burns his head, but he feels it not, his life is going. Since night he had thought only of Bhramar, of Rohini, first one, then the other, continuously. Now Bhramar, now Rohini seemed to rise before his eyes; the world seemed filled with these two figures. Sitting in that garden each shrub took the form of Bhramar; Rohini sat in the shade of every tree. Now Bhramar seemed to be standing there, and again she was gone; now Rohini came, and she too vanished. ”

“ She must not breathe a word of it to any one; so, with much effort, Rohini kept the matter hidden in her heart.
But as hidden fire burns outwardly, so it was with Rohini. The burthen of life became painful to her. Day and night she longed for death.
Who can reckon the number of people who long to die? I believe there are many, whether among the happy or the wretched, who heartily wish for death. The joy of this earth is not joy, it is full of pain. No happiness can be called happiness. No joy is complete ”

“ I have obtained that which is sweeter, more holy than even Bhramar. I have found peace. Wealth is nothing to me. Do you remain in possession."
Sachi Kânta asked humbly, "Is peace to be found in asceticism?"
"Not always. Only for the sake of dwelling in secrecy have I adopted this disguise. Only by placing one's thoughts at the feet of the Divine Being can one obtain peace. He alone is now my wealth. He is my Bhramar, and more than Bhramar." ”

“ Bhramar had given Khirodâ a beating, but not a single slap to Rohini; this much grieves me. Had any of my lady readers been present, I have no doubt they would have struck Rohini with their own hands. I honour the rule never to strike a woman; but not so much the command not to strike an ogress or a demon. Yet I can explain how it was that Bhramar did not strike Rohini. Bhramar was fond of Khirodâ, so did not hesitate to beat her. She was not fond of Rohini, and would not raise a hand to strike her. When children quarrel the mother corrects her own child, not the child of some one else. ”

“ Rohini had observed that Nishâkar was a handsome man with fine eyes. That in manliness Nishâkar was a prince among men. Rohini was firmly resolved never to be unfaithful to Gobind Lâl, but then unfaithfulness was one thing, this quite another, I fancy this sinful woman thought.
If a huntsman should see a deer carelessly straying, would he not certainly shoot an arrow at it? What woman seeing a vulnerable man would not strive to make a conquest? The tiger slays the ox, but he does not consume the whole carcase. A woman defeats a man only that she may flourish the standard of victory. ”