The maids rushed in to help when they saw the queen lose
consciousness. The sage stopped them and sprinkled some water from the prayer
water pot that he was carrying. Arulmozhi opened her eyes, looked up at the
sage, and asked in a feeble voice, ‘What happened to me?”.
The sage said, “You are fine Arulmozhi. I was telling you
about your son. I was expressing my hope that he will be safe and will return
soon”.
Arulmozhi paused in thought, and said, ‘No, you gave me some
distressing news’.
“I said your son met the emperor’s daughter. I thought you
would be happy to hear it”.
“Yes, it all comes back to me now. But why is it happy news? The
enemy of my country who killed my husband, and pushed me to my current
state….Did my son fall for such a man’s daughter? Is he even my real son?”
It was obvious that the sage, with all his wisdom, did not
anticipate such a reaction. He said in a hasty, perturbed voice, “Stop
Arulmozhi. You may curse your son in haste. He does not know that the girl is
Narasimha Varman’s daughter. They have not spoken, or even come close to each
other. They just saw each other at a distance. Don’t act as if they are engaged
to be married!”
“Your holiness, you have taken a load off my mind. I thought
this may be a conspiracy by Narasimha Varman. Let Vikraman stay at some faraway
place. Even if he suffers from hunger and thirst, I don’t want him to return
and be trapped by my enemy’s daughter”.
“Think carefully Arulmozhi. Do you really dislike the idea of
your son marrying the emperor’s daughter?”
“Your holiness, I don’t mind confiding in you. Sometimes I
have indulged in such crazy fantasies. But all that was before the battle of
Vennar. Once upon a time, I wished for such a match, thinking it would end the acrimony
between the Pallava and Chozha clans. But all that ended when my dear husband
fell in the battle. Now, I would rather hear that my son died than hear that he
married the Pallava princess”.
“Arulmozhi, you speak with such contempt! But that is only
because you have not met that child, Kundavi”.
“Have you met her, your holiness?”
“I have met her, and gotten to know her. She has respect and
devotion towards me. I am an ascetic. I should really stay detached from
everything except Lord Shiva. But I still have not managed to relinquish the affection
for that child. If you spent a day or two with her, you would get attached to
her too”.
“I have no wish to meet her. I am just looking forward to
the reunion with my departed husband”, said Arulmozhi calmly.
“Arulmozhi, once you asked a wish, and I fulfilled it by
saving your son’s life. I also kept the word I gave your husband at his final
breath. Am I right in these statements?”
“Of course, your holiness”.
“Now I am going to ask for a boon in return”.
Arulmozhi stood up in dismay, with her palms together. “Your
holiness, I don’t want to incur the burden of sacrilege. Can you ask for a boon
from a spiritual follower? I am at your command”.
“If so, I will ask for something. You will not decline”.
“I will never disobey your command”.
“If so, listen. Some day, Kundavi will come to you. She lost
her mother, and has been longing for love. That is the reason for my tender
feelings towards her. When she comes to you, don’t turn her away. Accept her as
your child. Such acceptance will heal your heart as well.”
The words and the gentle demeanor of the sage moved
Arulmozhi. “I will make an attempt, your holiness, but I am not confident I can
show love to an offspring of my enemy”.
“The father has erred, but you can’t harbor hatred towards
the child. Further, there is something I have not told you. Kundavi helped me save your
son. She tried hard to stop Vikraman from being punished at all. She had
never before disagreed with her father, yet she fought with him for Vikraman’s
sake”.
“In that case, I wish to see her too. But why would she seek
out this unfortunate soul?”
The sage countered, “You bore Vikraman as a son. No one will
agree that you are unfortunate. Kundavi should come to you. In fact, she will
seek you out soon”.
Next
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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