Book 01 - Chapter 03: The Pallava Messengers

The audiobook version is available here: https://youtu.be/fIchSbpp_A8

Ponnan and Valli locked their hut up and set off towards Uraiyur.  Uraiyur was about a kadam (approximately 16 km) west of where they lived. It was about 1370 years ago - well before steam engines and automobiles were invented. Noblemen traveled on horseback, elephants or chariots. Common people rode bullock carts or walked. Wide, well-engineered roads had been laid to facilitate all this traffic. The Chozha kingdom was known for its picturesque roads, with tree cover on either side for the travelers’ comfort. Of those roads, the royal highway tracking the southern shore of Kaveri was the best known.

Ponnan and Valli took that road to Uraiyur. At the time of our story, the Chozha kingdom had lost its eminence. The kingdom was squeezed by Pandyas in the south and newly emerging  Pallavas from the north; and was living in the shadows of these two bigger powers. But these two kingdoms could not take away the fertility of the Chozha country. They could not steal the river Kaveri, which was the main cause of the fertility. The richness of the land was in view on either side of the royal highway. On one side, you could see Kaveri with its torrential flow, and the tall, dense growth of coconut trees. The other side was also green as far as you could see. The transplantation of paddy was complete for the season. The paddy fields were transforming from light green to a rich, dark shade  indicative of maturing crops. Water was gushing through the culverts. White cranes, standing on one leg in the fields, were highlighting the greenery. You could see banana and coconut plantations interwoven with paddy fields. Such serenity was going to be disrupted by the war. Ponnan and Valli were able to sense people’s anxiety during the trip to Uraiyur. The peasants dropped what they were doing and rushed to meet Ponnan and Valli when they saw them, and had several questions.

“Ponna, what is the latest news?” “Are we really going to be at war?” “What’s the latest on the Pallava messengers?”.

Ponnan gave whimsically inconsistent answers. To some, he said, “There is no chance that our king will pay tribute to the Pallavas. So, be ready, and keep your weapons sharpened!”.  In some cases, he feigned ignorance and said “I know only what you know”.  Some people protested, “how could you not know? You are the real prime minister of the country. How could they keep secrets from you?”. Valli brimmed with pride on hearing these comments.

Some others asked “Ponna, will you go to war with the king?”. These questions irked Valli. Ponnan responded to the effect that it would depend on the king’s wishes.

After the peasants left, Ponnan said , “See? I can’t avoid going to war. People will laugh at me”.

Valli responded “Who said you can’t go? By all means go if the king lets you go. All I ask is to take me along”.

With such interruptions, dusk had set in by the time they reached the gates of Uraiyur. Just as they were approaching, the gates of the fort opened. Soldiers bearing flags with the lion symbol were coming out of the fort. Ponnan recognized them as the messengers from the Pallava emperor. The couple stood out of the way, as the horses galloped away after crossing the gates. Ponnan and Valli watched them disappear until the dust settled, and entered the city.

The city streets were full of clusters of people talking. Ponnan and Valli joined one of those clusters. A man was describing the scenes from the royal court when the messengers delivered the message: “I can’t possibly do justice to the scene at the court today. The king was seated at the throne. The prince, the commander of the army and the ministers had taken their respective seats. You could hear a pin drop. The king asked the messengers to be brought in. His voice was stern. The messengers came in and paid their respects to the king. The king asked, ‘Emissaries, do you have a message for me?’.  The messenger seemed to lose his nerve hearing our king's voice”.

“He could barely speak. He started saying, ‘we are the emissaries of the great emperor Narasimha Varma, the ruler of the three realms …’. The court jester intervened, “which three realms – solar, lunar and the stars, or did you mean the purgatory, the abyss and the hell?’. The courtiers laughed and the messenger seemed to lose his nerve even more. He stammered, composed himself and said, ‘your majesty has not paid the tribute as per the practice since your grandfather’s days. You are overdue for six years. My emperor sent me to ascertain the reason’“.

“You should have all seen our revered king at that time. He said ‘Tell your emperor he will get his reason on the battlefield”. I had goosebumps!!”.

The man paused and the crowd prompted him for more – “What happened then?”

“The messenger seemed taken aback. He paused and said ‘If that is the case, my emperor asked you to be ready for the war. The Pallava army would have left Kanchi by now. My emperor asked you to pick the time as well’. Our king responded, ‘We will meet at the banks of Vennar on the full moon day of the month Purattasi.’. The courtiers cheered and chanted “victory to the king!”.

The crowd chanted “Victory to the King!” as well. Ponnan chanted with the crowds and left the place along with Valli.

It was dark now. The moonlight was obscured by white clouds. The street corners had large lamps that were being lit one after another. They started burning, with some smoke.

There was a booming noise from a tall tower somewhere. It made the noise of “boom, boom” with thunderous echoes of ‘aboom, aboom’. The towers, walls and ramparts of Uraiyur amplified the echoes. Ponnan tensed. The veins in his arms stood out.

Valli seemed terrified. “What is this noise? I have never heard anything like this!”.

“These are the drums of war, Valli”

“And what happened to you? You don’t look well”.

Ponnan said, ‘I’m fine, Valli”. After a pause he added, “I really have to go to this war”.

Prev: Book 01: Chapter 02 - The Royal Family

Next: Book 01: Chapter 04 - Grandfather and the Grandaughter

Click here for the audiobook version
Parthban Kanavu: The Tamil version of the novel is in the public domain. Copyright for the translation is reserved by the translator..