Shyama - the dusky beauty - a courtesan and a favorite of noblemen and King’s men alike - falls in love with Bajrasen, a foreigner, an innocent man wrongly charged for breaking into the King’s treasury. She wants to free him of the false charges at all cost, but doesn’t know how. Listening to her lament, Uttiyo, one of Shyama’s young admirers, comes forward and offers to accept the charges and of course the punishment, just to see his Lady Love happy. In spite of knowing this to be gravely wrong, Shyama accepts Uttiyo’s offer. Uttiyo announces his wrong-doing to the chief guard of the King’s palace, and is promptly beheaded. Shyama visits the King’s prison to receive her new love interest, the foreigner Bajrasen, as he is released. Bajrasen is overwhelmed by Shyama’s kindness and beauty, but wants to know - how, at what cost, did she buy his freedom? Shyama is afraid to tell him the harsh truth and dodges the question, until that time when she cannot dodge it any longer and is forced to give a truthful answer. The answer offends Bajrasen beyond measure. He becomes totally turned off by Shyama and orders her to leave him. Shyama begs for forgiveness but there’s no forgiveness in the young man’s heart…he cannot forgive her or himself for causing the unfair and untimely death of a youngster.

Rabindranath Tagore adopted this tragic story from a Buddhist scripture, in which Bajrasen prays to Lord Buddha to forgive him for his inability to forgive.