Roughly at the same time
Ponnan and Valli arrived at the Uraiyur fort, Queen Arulmozhi was entering the
royal gardens. She had received a report on the exchange the king had with the
Pallava messengers. The queen wanted to entertain herself until the king was
able to join her. She found a corner with a dense growth of Champaka trees
and sat down on the marble bench. She could see the sunset through the trees.
The western sky was glowing as if of pure gold. As she was watching, the glow
faded. The sun set in a while, and the sky turned crimson red. This reminded
Arulmozhi of the battlefield and bloodshed. She shuddered and closed her eyes.
When she opened her
eyes, moonlight was peeking through the trees. Memories came flooding back. It
had been twelve years since she entered this palace as Parthiban’s new bride.
The two of them had walked hand in hand in the garden many nights. They had sat
on the very same bench and had lost track of time. Occasionally, Parthiban would play his flute. Arulmozhi used to lose herself in that music. It would seem
to her that Parthiban was Krishna reborn. For a while, life had an idyllic
quality. Vikraman’s birth seemed to get them to the height of happiness. She
recalled whispering endearments to the child on the same bench.
Why could those days not
go on? But how could they, when Parthiban was quietly suffering a secret
conflict? It turned out that it was unrealistic to expect blissful married life
when a secret sorrow was gnawing at his heart. Arulmozhi learnt of his conflict
only later in their married life, and shared his suffering ever since. And it
saddened her further to learn that she was the reason for his sorrow.
Arulmozhi was born to a
minor king of the Chera clan. Those days, she was known for her peerless
beauty. When arrangements were in full swing to get her married to Parthiban,
the Chera king received a message from Mahendra Pallava. The emperor had
expressed a desire to get her married to prince Narasimha Varma. Her relatives
were thrilled at the proposal. Arulmozhi declined, saying she had taken
Parthiban as her husband in her mind, and would not dream of marrying another
man.
Mahendra Pallava was
magnanimous enough not to press the issue further. He found a suitable match
for his son in the Pandya princess. Parthiban did not learn of these
developments until after they were married. Occasionally, he would say,
“Arulmozhi, you were born to be an empress, but somehow ended up on the throne
of this tiny kingdom”. Arulmozhi initially thought this was banter. In due course.
She realized that Parthiban was indeed torturing himself with this line of
thinking. She tried hard to assure Parthiban he was what she wanted, but her
assurances did not seem to help. It got even worse after Vikraman was born.
Parthiban would tell her, “Your son could have been the heir to a mighty empire.
Instead, he was born to a vassal who is beholden to another empire”. Another
time, he said, “I can’t reward your son with an independent crown, but I will
give him the pride of being the son of a brave warrior”.
It was now time to
redeem that pledge. It would have been better if she was able to follow the
brave queens of the olden days who gave up their lives at the deaths of their warrior
husbands. Prathiban forbade such thoughts. He wanted her to bring Vikraman up as
a brave warrior.
She broke out in sobs
with these thoughts.
She heard a stern voice
say, “Arulmozhi, I thought you were a courageous queen! Are you so feeble?!”.
She turned to see King Partibhan behind her. Her tears dried up instantly.
Parthiban said, “This is
not the time for your tears and my consolation. Let’s head to the palace”. They
quietly walked, hand-in-hand to the palace.
They were just in time
for the lamps in the prayer hall. There was a Shivalinga accompanied by
an exquisite statue of Goddess Parvati. The Goddess was flanked by Ganesha
and Muruga. On another side, Vishnu appeared, accompanied by
Goddesses Bhoodevi and Sridevi. All idols were decorated by panneer,
night-jasmine and champak flowers. Prince Vikraman was watching the
prayers with his palms together. The priest finished the prayers, distributed
the offering food to the royal family and took his leave.
Vikraman looked at
Parthiban and asked, “Father, did you not say we can go to the painting
gallery?”.
“Yes, you should go
ahead. I will be right there”.
After the prince left,
the king pointed to a long wooden chest kept at the feet of the Vishnu deity
and addressed the queen, “My dear, you have asked me what is in that box
several times, and I have promised to tell you at the right time. Now is the
time. The box contains the timeless and priceless treasure of the Chozha clan.
Let me show you”.
He opened the box, which
contained a handsome sword and a bundle of palm scrolls. The sword had a
brilliant golden handle, with embedded gems. The blade was gleaming, indicating
it had been sharpened and well oiled. The blade challenged the brilliance of its handle.
By contrast, the palm scrolls looked really old.
Parthiban said, ‘My
queen, this sword dates back all the way to the famous ancient Chozhas. Emperors Karikalan and Nedumudi Killi
wore this sword with pride and ruled this country. The scroll contains Thirukkural, the gift
from the divine poet of this land. These two are
the priceless treasures of our clan. You have to protect them until Vikraman comes of age and hand them over to him. Arulmozhi, my father wore this sword, but
I did not. Being a minor vassal, I could not bring myself to carry the sword
that came all the way from the times of Karikalan and Nedumudi Killi.
I want you to impress this upon Vikraman. Tell him that he earns this sword only
when he is an independent king of at least a small country. When he becomes an
independent king, he should wear this sword and run the country by the wisdom
of The Thirukkural. I am giving you this responsibility. You need to
bring Vikraman up to be brave and worthy of these treasures. Will you promise me
at the altar of God that you will fulfill this responsibility?”
Arulmozhi, in a breaking
voice, said, “I swear my lord!”.
The king said, “May God
give you the necessary courage to fulfill that vow” and wiped her tears with his
upper robe.
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Parthban Kanavu: The Tamil version of the novel is in the public domain. Copyright for the translation is reserved by the translator..
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