As the battlefield grew quiet after the clash between the royal brothers, their distraught mother, unable to eat or sleep, placed a vigilant lookout upon the highest watchtower. From two leagues away, the watcher observed the horizon fill with dust as an army spread across the realm. The royal standard of Prince Gav fluttered high, yet nowhere were the golden crown, the royal war-elephant, or the golden slippers of young King Talkhand to be seen.
When word reached the mother that Talkhand’s divine royal glory had faded and he had perished atop his saddle, her grief shattered all bounds. She tore her garments, scratched her cheeks in agony, and struck her head against the stone walls. In her desperate sorrow, she ordered the royal treasury, the palace, and the crowns to be committed to the flames. She then prepared a towering pyre to immolate herself according to the ancient Indian rites of mourning.
News of her intended fate reached Prince Gav, who spurred his swift steed and rode frantically to the burning palace. Clasping his weeping mother in his arms, his own eyes flowing with blood-red tears, he implored her to stay her hand. He swore fervently that neither he nor any champion in his host had struck Talkhand or raised a weapon against him; rather, it was the turn of cruel fate and cosmic destiny that had extinguished his brother's breath as he sat motionless atop his war-elephant.
The mother bitterly rebuked him, declaring that no murderer of a brother for the sake of a throne could ever be called blessed. Yet Gav swore by the Almighty Creator of light, love, and the spinning heavens that he would renounce horse, mace, crown, and throne forever unless he demonstrated the truth of the battle and eased her sorrow. He reminded her that when the candle of life flickers out, no armor of forged steel can preserve a man from death. He vowed that if she still doubted him, he would cast himself into the flames before her eyes. Moved by his grief and noble posture, the mother relented, bidding him to show her precisely how King Talkhand had died upon his elephant, so that her burning heart might finally find peace.