Snigdha pulled the door of her lavishly decorated room half-shut and sat quietly on the bed for a long while. Inside her head, only a single thought kept spinning—if Prabha and Rupanjan's wedding were to take place next week, her dream of establishing dominance over the Junagadh Royal Palace would turn to dust in an instant. Therefore, by any means necessary, the wedding had to be sabotaged, and Rupanjan had to be brought under her control.
Suddenly, it dawned on Snigdha that mere words or plotting alone wouldn't suffice; if she wanted to win over or subdue Rupanjan now, she needed the assistance of the royal palace's tantrik powers. After all, she had seen with her own eyes today in the dungeon the terrifying might of Tantrik Boudi's miraculous abilities. Snigdha thought to herself that if she could somehow win Tantrik Boudi over to her side, the entire Junagadh Royal Palace would rest right in the palm of her hand.
Snigdha waited for the night to deepen. When the entire royal palace was plunged into silent darkness and nothing could be heard around except the heavy boots of the guards, Snigdha wrapped herself in a black shawl and slipped quietly out of her room. Her destination was the secret cell of the dungeon where Tantrik Boudi engaged in her miraculous spiritual practices.
Treading softly through the dark corridor and descending the dungeon stairs, Snigdha felt a chill run down her spine. But the greed and jealousy festering inside her heart were far stronger than any fear. Reaching the dungeon door, Snigdha saw Tantrik Boudi sitting on a red mat amidst incense smoke, chanting something intently.
Snigdha cleared her throat slightly and stepped inside.
Without opening her eyes, Tantrik Boudi let out a piercing voice, "Who is it? Snigdha? What brings this beautiful princess to the lair of a sinful tantrik like me in the middle of the night? Has hearing about Prabha's wedding chased away your sleep?"
Snigdha was startled! Tantrik Boudi knew everything without even opening her eyes!
In a flattering tone, Snigdha said, "Boudi, your powers are infinite! You surely know why I have come. Prabha and Rupanjan's wedding must not be allowed to happen under any circumstances. And I will never marry that cowardly Jishnu. Give me some herbal medicine or sorcery that I can feed to Rupanjan so he forgets all about Prabha and goes mad with love for me alone!"
Tantrik Boudi leisurely opened her eyes. A strange, reddish glow burned within them. Letting out a loud laugh, she said, "Winning Rupanjan's heart is not that easy, girl! Prabha's pure love backs him up. However... I can help you. But what will you give me in return?"
With arrogance, Snigdha immediately replied, "I'll give you whatever you ask for! Half the kingdom of Junagadh, gold and jewels, expensive clothes—I'll sign everything over to you once I gain power!"
Handing a small black container over to Snigdha, Tantrik Boudi said, "This container holds a special herbal powder. If you can mix this into Prabha's drinking water tomorrow morning, Prabha will temporarily lose her memory! She won't even recognize who Rupanjan is! And taking advantage of that gap, you can win Rupanjan's sympathy and pull him over to your side."
Taking the container into her hands, Snigdha was beside herself with joy. She thought to herself, the best opportunity to banish Prabha from the royal palace once and for all has finally arrived!
Meanwhile, Prafulla was standing by the window of his room. Catching sight of Snigdha sneaking toward the dungeon direction in the middle of the night, his suspicions deepened further. Prafulla realized that Snigdha was weaving a major new conspiracy!