Hearing this Queen SumitrŒ (Lakƒma˜a’s mother) sorrowfully observed, “The ways of Providence are most perverse and strange: He creates, maintains and then destroys. God’s designs are as silly as child’s play.” Said KausalyŒ, “It is nobody’s fault; sorrow and joy, loss and gain are determined by our past actions. The enexorable ways of Providence are known to God alone, who dispenses all kinds of fruits, both good and evil. God’s commands prevail over all, including the processes of creation, maintenance and dissolution and even over poison and nectar (which destroy and restore life respectively). It is no use lamenting, O good lady, out of infatuation. The doings of Providence are, as I have said, immutable and eternal. If we mourn over the contrast 604 * ÝR” RMACARITAMNASA* between the king’s lifetime and his loss, my friend, it is because we see that our interests have suffered on account of his demise.” S¶tŒ’s mother replied, “Your noble words are quite true, a spouse that you are of AyodhyŒ’s lord, who was the greatest of all virtuous souls known to history.” (1—4)