The
mint where the Chola Kingdom made its coinage was as heavily guarded as the
Thanjavur fort. That evening, Kundavai and Vanathi made their way through its
heavily guarded corridors even as the goldsmiths were departing after a hard
day’s work. The guards checked each of the goldsmiths thoroughly before letting
them leave. When the guards and the goldsmiths noticed the arrival of the
Princesses, they raised a cheer, “Long live Elaya Piratti!” The commander of
the Mint and the Dungeons came hurriedly to welcome them. He showed them the
fire smithy where the gold was melted and the moulds bearing the ensign of a
tiger and the image of a ship. Mounds of freshly minted gold coins lay on one
side and their glint caught the light of the lamps dazzling the onlookers.
 |
| Chola coins |
“See
Vanathi! For many centuries, gold has been coming to our kingdom from all our
conquered lands. So long, it was the womenfolk who had to bear the burden of this
gold as ornaments and trinkets. Thankfully that time is past now as our
Dhanadhigari (Royal Treasurer) started minting the gold into coins,”
“Akka!
How do these coins help?”
“They
are a big help to merchants and traders as they can now easily sell their wares
for ‘so many coins’ instead of bartering them with something else. It is easy
for the common people to pay their taxes instead of giving their produce. It is
easy to trade with foreign kingdoms as the coins help to regulate our
transactions. That’s why our merchants and traders are indebted to Periya
Pazhuvetarayar since he has eased their burden. It also helps in many other
things Vanathi! It also helps those who want to plot against the King and his
family. It is easy to buy treason with a bag of gold coins…”
The
Commander of the Mint who was standing next to her, heard this and said, “Yes
Princess! We have heard of such rumours and that’s why we have increased the
guards in this fort. That could be the reason why so many prisoners arrive and
leave.”
“I
know that Prisoners are coming quite frequently but I didn’t realize that they
left too…”
“Yes.
That has been happening too. This morning they brought a prisoner to shut in
the dungeons and about a hour ago, he was released and taken away…”
“Who could that be?” wondered
Kundavai.
After
looking at all the fire smithys’ in the Mint, the Commander took them to the
inner chambers of the fort through a small door. As they climbed down the
steps, to the dungeons, they could hear the blood curdling growls of many
hungry tigers. A guard stood at the end of the steps with a fire log to show
the way. In the light of the fire, they could see many cages with tigers locked
up in them. Some were prancing around majestically, while some were lying down.
 |
| Tigers in the dungeon |
Kundavai
held Vanathi’s hand tightly and whispered, “Vanathi! Are you frightened? Please
do not faint away here, it would be very difficult to revive you.”
Vanathi
gave a faint smile and said, “How could I be frightened of tigers akka? They are the protectors of our
clan!”
“Many
times it our protectors who join our enemies and become more dangerous than
ever.”
“No
Akka! Human protectors might do that but these tigers will never turn against
us,”
“We
can’t say that for sure. These tigers have tasted the flesh of many traitors
and undoubtedly their blood would have intermingled with these tigers…”
Vanathi
shivered when she heard these words despite the bravado that she had put up for
the Princess.
“Akka!
What are you saying? Do these guards feed the prisoners to these tigers?”
“No!
The dungeons have only one door. Any one who enters has to go past these tigers
to the prison below. If someone from below plans to escape, he needs to come
through this chamber and that’s when they become prey to the tiger’s hunger,”
“Shiva
Shiva! That’s barbaric!”
“That’s
how great kingdoms work Vanathi! Compassion and cruelty are shown in equal
measures here. You should have heard the way Chinna Pazhuvetrayar spoke to me
today. I would not have been surprised if he had shut me in the dungeons with
these tigers…”
“Akka!
There is no one in these 14 worlds who has power enough to shut you in the
dungeons. If someone were to attempt it, the earth that we stand upon would
split and swallow everything in its wake. I am a bit worried about our
Pazhaiarai Physician’s son. Let’s hope that poor boy did not attempt to
escape…”
“He
is a poor boy indeed! But one can’t always be sure as when they will change…”
As
they neared the chamber, the growls of the tigers increased as they noted the
new visitors. Kundavai asked the guard, “Looks like the tigers are very angry
today…”
“No
Princess! They are growling thus to welcome their Chakravarthi’s daughter,”
Kundavai
smiled at this clever retort and said, “That’s a nice welcome…”
“Moreover
it is time for their feed…”
“In
that case, we will leave early. Where is the door to the dungeons below?”
The
guard took them to the farthest corner of the dungeon and then moved the tiger
cage. On the floor, there was a strong iron door, which required two strong
guards to open. Built deep within the ground, there was no light save the fire
log that their guard carried. The dungeons were narrowly built and they had to
go in a single file following the guard with the fire torch. The narrow path
ended in a chamber filled with prison cells. Some had single prisoners while
some shared a cell. Most of them were skin and bones and their sad sorry selves
was pitiful to watch. Yet among these there arose a soulful sweet voice singing
–
“Ponnaar
meniyane!
Pulitholai
araikkasaithu
Minnaar
senjadai mel
Milirkondrai
aninthavane!”
The
cells in the dungeons were not built in order. They had to move around the
chamber like a maze to look into each cell as the guard raised the fire torch.
Some prisoners were left to roam in the cell free, while some were chained with
iron. Noting this, Vanathi asked, “Akka! This is very cruel indeed. So many
prisoners shut down here? Didn’t these people undergo any trial?”
“These
men are not ordinary prisoners Vanathi. They have committed treason against the
King and the crown. Spies and people who help these spies are incarcerated in
these dungeons. If they confess their crimes and tell the truth they are
banished from the Kingdom but most of them have nothing to tell. Their
condition is quite pitiful, indeed.”
As
they searched for the Pazhaiarai’s Physician son, they neared the cell where
the prisoner was singing. They found a young man with a slight build in the
cell. He was none other than our old friend, Senthan Amuthan.
 |
| Senthan Amuthan |
His
innocent looks and thoughtful eyes made them stop there for a while. Kundavai,
“You were the one who was singing?”
“Yes
Princess!”
“Looks
like you are quite happy here.”
“There
is no dearth of happiness for me here amma!
My God who is omnipresent, is here with me in this darkest of the dungeons…”
“You
speak like a wise man. Who are you? What were you doing outside?”
“I
am not a wise man Princess. I used to present my lord with flowers as my
offering, when I was outside. Since that’s not possible here, I am offering him
songs.”
“Do
you know only this one song or many others?”
“I
know many others Princess. But ever since I came here, I have been singing this
song…”
“And
why is that?”
“When
they brought me here, I came through the mint and there I saw piles and piles
of gold coins. The sheen and the glint of the gold reminded of my Lord Shiva
who glows like a gold… hence the song,”
“You
are lucky! It is easy to corrupt people with gold and fortunate are those who
see the God in them. Do you have any relatives living outside?”
“My
mother is there. She lives outside the Thanjavur Fort where we have our
garden…”
“What
is her name?”
“Vaani
Ammai”
“I
will meet her and tell her that you are living happily here.”
“That
would be useless, Amma! My mother is deaf and mute.”
“Is
that so? Is your name Senthan Amuthan?” asked Kundavai
“Yes.
How is it that the Princess knows my name?”
“Do
you know why you have been imprisoned here?”
“I
didn’t know about it until yesterday. I learned about it today.”
“What
did you learn?”
“They
have shut me here because I helped a ‘spy’ to escape from Thanjavur Fort.”
“Who
was this spy?”
“I
met a traveller near the Thanjavur Fort. He was looking for a place to rest
that night so I took him to my home. I didn’t know that he would turn out to be
a ‘spy’,”
“Do
you know his name?”
“His
name was Vallavareyan Vandiya Devan. He said that he belonged to the old Vanar
clan…”
 |
| Vandiya Devan |
Excited
by his reply, Kundavai and Vanathi looked at each other. Vanathi asked Senthan
Amuthan, “Tell us everything that happened after you met him…”
Senthan
Amuthan told them all about their meeting and Vandiya Devan’s return during the
dead of the night with his wounded friend, Kandan Maran. And then he also
described their flight from Thanjavur on the horse and the chasing Pazhuvur
soldiers and his subsequent capture.
“Why
did you help this stranger? It seems like, he got you into a lot of trouble…”
“Devi!
Life is strange. I didn’t know Vandiya Devan very well but I liked him and
trusted him, right from the moment I met him. I would have sacrificed my life too,
if I had to save him from those murderous soldiers of Pazhuvetrayar. And there
are some we meet for a very little while and we feel like murdering them. The
guards brought a prisoner today and shut him in this cell along with me. I
couldn’t control the anger that I felt towards him. Thankfully, he got released
by Pazhuvur Elaya Rani’s men, a short while ago…”
“Is
that so?” said Kundavai. She bit her lips with her pearly white teeth and let
out an angry sigh, “Do you know this prisoner’s name?”
“I don’t know his name but he is the son of a
physician from Pazhaiarai.”
“What
did the physician’s son say to make you so angry?”
“He
spoke ill of my uncle’s daughter, Poonguzhali who lives in Kodi Karai. That is
why I got very angry. But he also gave me a good news so I let him go…”
“What
good news was that?”
“This
scoundrel went to Kodi Karai along with my friend Vandiya Devan and he double
crossed him and betrayed him to the Pazhuvur soldiers but my friend escaped.”
“He
escaped? Are you sure about this?” asked Kundavai and Vanathi simultaneously.
“Yes
Devi! Poonguzhali took him on her boat across the sea to Elangai and this fool
got captured by the Pazhvur soldiers instead…”
 |
| Poonguzhali helping Vandiya Devan |
Smiling
with relief, Kundavai said to Senthan Amuthan, “If you are so happy because a ‘spy’
escaped, then it is best that you stay imprisoned here in the dungeons…”
“Devi!
If that is true, then you both should rightfully occupy the cell next to me…”
His
witty reply elicited laughter from both the women. The sound of their mirth
sounded as strange and out-of-place as Senthan Amuthan’s song.
“You
are very clever indeed! If we leave you here, you might just corrupt the other
prisoners with your songs. I will speak to the commander and get you released
immediately…”
“Devi!
Please do not do that. One of the prisoners here keeps telling me, ‘Teach me at
least one song and I will tell you where I have hidden the Pandyan Crown and
Indra’s pearl necklace in Elangai,’ I don’t want to leave this place before
learning that secret,”
 |
| Pandyan's Treasures |
Smiling
at his wit, Kundavai said, “So you want to be here until you become mad like
the rest of them. What will happen to your mother then? Think about it…” and
left with Vanathi. After an hour’s time, the guards released Senthan Amuthan
and escorted him out of the fort.
