Chapter 52: The Broken Ship

When Vandiya Devan saw the sails on fire, he knew assuredly that the ship wouldn’t escape the rage of the sea. His fate too was tied to this ship and therefore he too would give up his life along with it. Despite the realization that he would die soon, the thought didn’t drown him with despair or sorrow. On the contrary, his enthusiasm grew by leaps and bounds. He unbound himself from the ropes that he had tied around himself and laughed out aloud. He was happy that he didn’t have to die burning in the fire that would soon spread through the ship. Death by water was much more preferable.

He didn’t want to waste the precious few moments that were left to live. He wanted to enjoy the terrible beauty of the stormy sea before he left this world. He looked around the sea in the light of the burning sails and tried to guess as to where he would drown precisely. He had heard people say that those who die with unfulfilled wishes and dreams would rise again as ghosts and haunt the place where they gave up their life.

Vandiya Devan wonders whether Kundavai will grieve his death

Will my ghost float through these skies? Will I fly through these waves in a spectral form? Aha! One day, Princess Kundavai might make a journey through here and will the sailors show her this place saying, ‘This is where Vandiya Devan died!’ Will her beautiful eyes shed a few pearls of tears for me? Would I be allowed to wipe her tears then?

Just when his thoughts raced towards death the ship was tossed high on a huge wave that allowed him to see the sea from a great height. Like a moving light, the ship illuminated the entire surroundings and he looked around eagerly to enjoy the last few precious moments of his life. And that’s when he saw it!

He saw a ship and there was a tiger flag hoisted on top of it!

Dear God! Is there no end to your miracles? That ship must surely bear Prince Arul Mozhi Varmar. He must have come searching for me!

Parthibendran’s ship that had come searching for Vandiya Devan too was tossed around by the cyclone’s mad fury but the ship was manned by experienced sailors who have traversed the sea in stormy weather. They brought down the sails from the mast and had tied it securely and held the ropes of the ship together to prevent it from capsizing. The waves played around with the ship tossing it up and down as if it were a toy. When the force of the wind increased the ship would have spun around uncontrollably but the brave sailors of Chola Kingdom prevailed.

“I have seen worse storms and cyclones than this and have brought my crew safely through them, my Prince,” assured the Captain of the ship but he also mentioned yet another danger that might be fatal.

“With the storm raging all around us, it is very dark as it is and the rains have been pouring without any respite. I fear that we might get very close to the ship that we have come searching for and in the darkness the possibility of colliding with it is very high. That ship too must be stuck in this cyclone just as we are and we may not even know that we are close to it until we collide on it. That would be fatally dangerous! Both the ships will be break apart. That’s why, I am not worried about this storm as much as I am worried about this darkness,”

The Prince was aware of this danger, which is why, he was on the upper deck ignoring thunder and rain, looking around with his sharp eyes when lightening struck. His heart was heavy and worried.

Will I ever meet my friend Vandiya Devan again? That courageous man who bore my sister’s message came to me braving so many dangers, what would be his fate, stuck in the hands of the murderous Arab pirates? And if these dangers were not enough, the weather was posing the biggest challenge for the Prince. What if we die here just as the Captain feared, by colliding on the other ship in this darkness? Who would tell my father the new about Oomai Rani?

He had no intention of reveal their family secret to Parthibendran. The Pallava warrior was loyal but his attitude irked the Prince to no end. Until now, the Prince had never faced an outright defeat in any of the mission that he had undertaken. But his heart wondered often, that night, ‘Will I fail in this mission?’

The Prince heard a loud thunder and involuntarily he had to close his eyes and when he opened it again, his eyes followed a light that was newly alight in the sea. At a distance they saw a ship with its sails flapping wildly and the top of he sail was burning and on the deck of the ship was a lone man standing! That must be Vandiya Devan! But why is he standing there alone? Where are the others? But there was no time for any more thoughts. The Prince decided almost immediately as to what he would do now.

 

Prince Arul Mozhi spots the burning ship

The others in their ship too had seen the other ship now and raised an alarm. The Prince went and stood next to a small boat that was tied to their boat and spoke to the sailors who stood next to it.

“Who among you is prepared to come with me?” When the sailors learned his intention they were understandably shocked but soon many came forward. Parthibendran and the Captain tried to stop the Prince.

“My Prince! What is this? How is it possible to ply a boat in this storm? It would be almost impossible to reach that burning ship to rescue Vallavareyan but still we will make an effort to do that. However you need not go, there are others here, who would do it,”

“Be careful! I will not forgive those who try to stop me now,” said the Prince sternly and lowered the boat into the sea and then turned towards the sailors and said, “I need two of you to come with me,”

The Prince then jumped into the boat along with the two sailors and the boat moved away from their ship. The Prince and the sailors plied their oars with much difficulty and slowly the boat approached the burning ship. By then, the fire that had started at the top of the sails had burned it half way down. Vandiya Devan looked at the approaching boat in the light of the fire but didn’t move towards it. His astonishment rendered him speechless and had robbed him of his mobility. He watched the Prince silently.

“Jump! Jump into the sea now!” shouted the Prince but Vandiya Devan didn’t hear it. He stood still like a statue. The Prince saw that the fire was soon spreading through the ship and if they tarried any longer it would be disastrous for all. Within a second he decided what to do and set things in motion. He tied the rope that they were carrying the boat and asked the sailors to hold it tightly and jumped into the sea. The sea played around with the Prince lifting him high into the air and taking him to the abysses the next second. The Prince swam steadily towards the ship when a huge wave aided him and threw him into the ship. Vandiya Devan ran towards him and lifted him up. The Prince held him tightly and said, “Hold onto me! Don’t let me go!” and they both jumped into the sea. The sailors from the boat put their oars down and were pulling the rope steadily. Prince and Vandiya Devan were soon near the boat and they climbed onto it with great difficulty.

“Ply the oars fast now!” shouted the Prince. The burning ship would soon sink into the sea and the Prince didn’t want to be near it when it happened. When a ship sank, the turbulence of the water would naturally increase and the displacement of water would in turn place the other boats in the vicinity in danger.

The ship soon began to sink and it was unbelievably terrible to watch the scene and yet their eyes were drawn towards it dark beauty! But just as the Prince anticipated huge waves rose again even as the sea ate up the Chola ship sinking it to its depths. With the burning ship gone, they were plunged into darkness yet again and Parthibendran’s ship was nowhere to be found. They could be lost in the sea with no sense of direction or worse they might be even collide with the ship and break their small boat.

Though the storm had passed them by the turbulence of the sea didn’t dissipate soon enough. The cyclone in the meanwhile travelled to Kodi Karai and other coastal cities and towns bringing destruction and loss in its wake.

After surviving the burning ship, the small boat that bore the Prince, Vandiya Devan and the two sailors was floating around. They didn’t ply the oars as they were clueless about their direction but soon they encountered another danger. A sail that was half burned from the drowned ship soon floated in their direction and due to the darkness, they didn’t spot the danger until it was very close to them.

“Ply the oars fast now!” shouted the Prince but before he could finish, the sail mast had hit the boat splitting it into half. The Prince immediately held Vandiya Devan saying, “My friend! Don’t be scared, this sail mast is more secure than this small boat. Hold onto it!”

Chapter 47: The Captain’s Death

Oomai Rani on horseback

It is easy to guess who the woman riding the horse’s bareback was. The Prince immediately went near the horse along with Poonguzhali. The others lingered back watching and wondering how a woman could tame and ride an Arab horse with such ease.

Oomai Rani got down from the horse and cast a worrying glance at the Commander, Vaishnavan and the soldiers behind then. She then proceeded to speak with Poonguzhali in sign language.

“My aunt has seen something strange in the forest. She wants us to accompany us,” said Poonguzhali.

The Prince immediately decided to leave with her and asked her whether he is allowed to bring the others. Oomai Rani thought for a moment and then nodded her assent and they journeyed towards South East direction through the thick forest. As they followed her deep into the forest, they had to hurry to keep up with her and the Prince’s eagerness increased with each step. He intuitively knew that something of importance has happened or else Oomai Rani wouldn’t take him on such a long journey through the dangerous woods. The reason for this was soon upon them.

In a small clearing through the woods, they noticed bodies of slain men, soldiers and sailors savagely cut with bleeding wounds and the rotting stink of dead men. The Commander and the Prince who has seen countless wars were astonished by the savagery of the enemy who had cut down the men mercilessly.

The Prince looked around immediately and shouted, “Quick! Quick! See if someone is alive,”

The commander and his soldiers immediately checked the bodies of the sailors for life. Oomai Rani led the Prince through the clearing and under a tree was a man resting his head on the bark of the tree. His body was fully covered with wounds and blood. He had been dealt with a deathly gash on his head from which blood had oozed all over his body. He opened his eyes with difficulty and looked at the Prince piteously. He tried to speak something and with difficulty opened his mouth.

The Prince went near him and carefully held him in his arms saying, “Someone get him water, now!”

“No. I don’t want water. This woman gave me some just a while ago. If she had not come here on time, I would have died. Ayya! I came here with the treasonous intent of arresting you and the Gods have punished me justly,”

The Prince who recognized him after hearing his voice, said, “Ah! Kalapathy! (Those days, the captains of ships were called Kalapathy, just as army commanders were called Dalapathy) What are you saying? How did this catastrophe happen? I cannot believe that you tried to betray me!”

“Ayya! I led two ships here on Pazhuvetarayar’s command to arrest you. Here is the royal decree with Chakravarthy’s seal,” said Kalapathy and took out an Oolai from his waistcloth.

The Prince glanced over the Oolai and said, “What treason did you do here? You followed the orders of Chakravarthy. When I learned that you are here, I hastened to meet you, to give myself up. Who attacked you? Tell me quickly!”

The Kalapathy then told everything that happened after he arrived in Elangai. He left for Elangai from Nagapattinam on two ships laden with sailors and soldiers. His heart was not in the task but he couldn’t say no to direct orders from the king. Pazhuvetarayar too had issued a few orders before he left. They asked him to anchor the ships at a safe secluded place and meet the Prince with Chakravarthy’s Oolai. They also cautioned him about Kodumbalur Periya Vellar and that he should not learn about his intentions to arrest the Prince under any circumstance. They asked him to find the Prince’s whereabouts first and then give him Chakravarthy’s message. They didn’t expect the Prince to revolt but if he did, the Kalapathy had orders to arrest him with force. Next Pazhuvetarayar provided him with a few of his own men to help the Kalapathy to fulfil his order.

The Kalapathy took the ships onto the sea with a heavy heart. His men had no inkling as to why they were going to Elangai and this made his mission all the more difficult. He knew that he would have to reveal the true nature of their mission to his crew when they neared their destination but he hesitated fearing the consequences. When they reached Thondaimaan river, he left for Gangasenan Sea Port to learn about the Prince’s whereabouts. He learnt that the Prince was near Anuradhapuram at the Port and then hurried back to his ship.

When he returned to the ship, he learned that Pazhuvetarayar’s men had revealed the true reason of their voyage. Kalapathy’s sailors swarmed around him asking him to confirm whether they would arrest the Prince. Kalapathy tried to pacify them saying, “We have sworn our service and sword to the King’s service and the King has ordered us to imprison his son and bring him back to Thanjavur. We cannot defy his orders,”

“We cannot do that. These are not Chakravarthy’s orders. These are Pazhuvetarayar’s orders!”

“What will you do then? Will you defy the Chakravarthy’s orders?”

“We will go to Maanthodham and surrender our service to the Prince,”

“But the Prince is not in Maanthodham,”

“If that is so, then we will surrender to Kodumbalur Periya Vellar,”

Kalapathy tried to convince them to give up this mutiny but they refused and a handful of Pazhuvetarayar’s men agreed to stay with him. With just ten men supporting him, it was impossible to sway the minds of over 200 men.

“If you are resolved to do this folly then leave now. I will not shirk my duties to my King and defy his orders,”

The mutinous sailors then took charge of one of the ships. At first they wanted to take the ship to Maanthodham but the others rejected the idea. Later, they decided to go there through land and in their hurry to leave, they failed to anchor the ship properly. The ship moved towards the land and ran aground.

After the sailors left, Kalapathy didn’t want to linger around their ship. So he moved his ship to a secluded cove and anchored it. He had heard a disturbing rumour about an Arab ship that sank near the Gangasena port. He had learned that fierce pirates from that ship were roaming around the region.

Kalapathy then decided to travel by land to meet the Prince and he wanted the remaining men to guard the ship safely until his return. The sailors were disheartened by the turn of events and Kalapathy was trying to pacify their concerns when they were attacked.

Just as he feared, the Arab pirates surrounded them and attacked them fiercely. The Kalapathy and his men who were not prepared for this attack and were unarmed. The pirates slaughtered them mercilessly and captured their ship.

“My prince! I alone escaped their deadly attack with grievous wounds. I wanted to tell someone about what happened to us. Thankfully through God’s grace I met you. I got my just rewards for my treasonous acts. Ponniyin Selva! Please forgive me!”

“Kalapathy! You did your duty even during the most perilous times. Why do you ask my forgiveness? If there is a heaven for brave souls, you have earned a seat of respect there,” Said the Prince and touched the forehead of the wounded captain. Overcome with gratitude and pain, Kalapathy clutched the hands of the Prince and gave up his life.

Chapter 55 – Nandini’s Lover

“I was twelve years old, when I met Nandini for the first time. We were in Pazhaiarai then and I was playing with my sister and brother near the lake. We heard our Periya Patti Sembiyanmadevi calling us. We went to the kodi veedu and told her about how we went boating on the lake. She was not alone. There were three other people along with her and one of them was a girl who was about my age. Other two people were her parents. When we entered, they stopped talking and looked at us. I still remember her beautiful eyes, widened in surprise when she looked at us,”

Saying thus, Karikalan looked up the sky. A few clouds dotted the midnight blue stars but his thoughts were somewhere in the past. Did he perchance see the face of the twelve-year-old Nandini out there? We do not know

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Chapter 53 – Malaimaan’s Wrath

Parthibendran Pallava

When Karikalan heard Malaimaan’s words, he did not faint away in shock but he was shaken. Even Parthibendran fell silent and shocked. Silence reigned over the small mandapam for a while.

Karikalan looked at his grandfather and said, “Thatha! Even I heard the rumours but I thought they were baseless. Are you sure about this? Do you have proof? Does he have a claim at all? Is it possible?”

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Chapter 52 – Old Man’s Marriage

Malayaman, Aditya Karikalan and Parthibendran

On the beach, there are numerous stones dotting the landscape as the waves weaved in and out and the ancient sculptors had converted all the big stones into small mandapams.

The men alighted from the chariot and headed towards one of these small mandapams. Malaimaan and Karikalan sat on two stone benches near the mandapam, while Parthibendran stood next to them. The waves sometimes came near the mandapam and wet their feet. At a distance, a ship was seen waiting, while some soldiers were loading something in a small boat to carry to the ship.

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Chapter 39 - Swirling World!

Periya Pazhuvetarayar and Nandini

Pazhuvetarayar knew very well that many people had criticized and commented about his getting married to a young woman, at the age of sixty. He was also aware that Princess Kundavai was one of them.

But no one had dared to tell him what exactly Kundavai had said. When he heard it from Nandini, he began to burn with anger. His eyes turned red and his voice hoarse. "My beloved, did that heartless beast say that? She called me an old buffalo, did she? Wait and see what I do to her. This buffalo is going to stamp her like a worm..." spat Pazhuvetarayar, unable to speak further.

Nandini tried to calm him. She took his hand in hers and entwined her fingers in his.

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Chapter 37 - Clash of Lions

The people of Thanjavur held the Pazhuvur brothers in special regard. It was thanks to them that their old city had become the capital of the kingdom and had gained importance.

It was but natural for people to throng to the streets whenever there was a procession but whenever Periya Pazhuvetarayar left the town or was returning home, people would gather in the streets to watch the spectacle because it was customary for his brother Chinna Pazhuvetarayar to go up to the fort entrance to welcome him.

And when they meet, both the brothers would embrace each other lovingly and then their procession would proceed towards the royal palace. The Thanjavur crowd loved to watch this spectacle. Many compared the brothers and their love for each other to that of Rama and Bharatha, or of Bhima and Arjuna.

But that day when Periya Pazhuvetarayar came back to the fort, his brother did not come to greet him, nor did people throng the street to watch the procession. Sensing something wrong, Periya Pazhuvetarayar went to his brother's palace. He intuitively felt that his younger brother was involved in some important work, which was why he couldn't come to the entrance to welcome him.

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Chapter 17 - The Laughing Horse

Princess Kundavai and her friends

Kundavai had decided that Vanathi was the right life partner for her brother, Prince Arulmozhi. But there was only one problem with Vanathi. She was frightened of everything. And Kundavai was not ready to marry her brother to a cowardly girl. So to make Vanathi brave, she had arranged for the crocodile game. But Vanathi passed the test successfully.

After they came to the boat, they rowed around for a while and then came near the bank, where Kundavai's companions had tied the dead crocodile. They all got down from the boat and played in the water for some time. Suddenly one of the girls screamed, "Crocodile! Crocodile! Somebody help."

Immediately the other girls started screaming. But Vanathi did not get scared, instead she said, "The crocodile is strong only when it is in the water and not when it is lying on the shore. So don't be scared."

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Chapter 18

Chapter 16 - Prince Arulmozhivarmar

Mark of Kingship

About 980 years ago, when King Sundara Chola was ruling Chola Kingdom there was no other royal power in South to challenge him. The power of the Cholas was steadily rising as they expanded their territories and improved economy and trade. Prior to Sundara Chola's reign, his uncle Gandarathidathevar (Prince Madhuranthakan's father) ruled the Chola kingdom. He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and was not interested in waging wars. Taking advantage of the situation, the Pandya king who was in hiding tried to win back his kingdom, with the help of the Sri Lankan king. Sundara Chola rallied the Chola troops and crushed their revolution and sent the Pandya king back into hiding.

After restoring order in the Pandya kingdom, the generals and commanders wanted to teach a lesson to the Elangai king, Mahindan, whose support had enabled the Pandya King to rise again and again. Sundara Chola decided to send Kodumbalur Illaya Vellar (Vanathi's father) as a commander of the troops to Sri Lanka.

Unfortunately for Kodumbalur Illaya Vellar, the Chola army arrived in batches and he had to lead a small batch towards the capital. Due to the lesser number of soldiers and limited resources, the the Chola army was defeated and Kodumbalur Illaya Vellar died bravely of grave wounds.

Learning about the defeat of the Chola army in Sri Lanka, the Pandya King who was in hiding, came out in open and started rallying an army again. But this time, he paid a terrible price for rising against the Cholas. It was Sundara Chola's eldest son Aditya Karikalan who led the army, and he won the war by beheading the Pandya king, thus earning the title - The slayer of Veera Pandiyan.

Despite these victories, the Elangai king still supported the Pandya dynasty and continued to be hostile towards the Cholas . Sundara Chola decided to send his army again, to teach him a lesson. There arose a big argument among the prominent commanders and generals in the Chola kingdom, as to who should lead the army against Eezham.

Prince Aditya Karikalan was at war with the Rashtrakutas in the border therefore Sundara Chola's youngest son Prince Arulmozhivarmar, came forward and expressed his wish to lead the army to Eelangai.

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Chapter 15 - Vanathi's Schemes

Kodumbalur Vanathi

What did the other women in the boat do after Princess Kundavai and Vanathi left for Kudandhai Jodhidar’s house? Let us see that now.

“Tharakai, see how lucky this Vanathi is – Kundavai Devi seems to have some special love for her.”

“Nothing of that sort, Varani. Vanathi has been acting strange for the past few months - and she faints for no reason at all. That’s why Kundavai Devi has taken her to the Jodhidar. In case a ghost or a spirit has possessed her, we need to exorcise it. Kundavai Devi is worried because Vanathi’s parents are dead, and her uncle has appointed ‘her’ as a guardian.”

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Chapter 16