The lotus pond was located west of Uriayur, at a stone’s throw from the river Kaveri. The petals of the lotus flowers that adorned the pond were closed, as the day was drawing to a close. The sun was setting, resembling a rotating golden plate, lending its golden hue to the western sky. The Emperor and his daughter were camping at the pillared pavilion adjacent to the pond. Armed soldiers stood at a respectful distance, guarding them. The royal elephant and horses stood nearby.
The emperor was looking
expectantly westwards at the riverside road. Kundavi climbed
down the steps, admiring the lotus leaves and closed flowers. She
enjoyed watching how the water beads on the leaves were rolling around with the
breeze.
She was distracted by
her own reflection on the water. The reflection seemed to make her long arms
and tender feet look even prettier. She stood transfixed at her reflection. The
figure in the water resembled the masterpiece of a great sculptor, adorned in
fine clothing and jewelry. The figure suddenly seemed to come alive and heave a
sigh. She had been complimented on her beauty by her maids, women at the palace
and artists. She had not been conscious of her appearance in the past. Of late
though, she had become more aware of her beauty. She had come to realize that
all the compliments she had received were not just flattery.
She also started
wondering about the point of such beauty. ‘Was that prince not from Uraiyur?
How would it be if he had been nearby?’. This thought was strangely disturbing.
She reverted to wondering about the purpose of her beauty and the point of
adorning herself with fine jewelry. Just as she was contemplating removing her
jewelry, she heard her father call, “Kundavi, come here, fast!”. Shaken out of
her reverie, she turned around.
“Look Kundavi, my friend
is in that palanquin! The General of the Pallava army, who routed the mighty
Chalukya army, is coming. It is fortunate that we happened to be visiting
Uraiyur at this time!”.
Kundavi had never seen
her father this excited before. He resembled a toddler who displays unrestrained
pleasure at meeting visiting family members.
The palanquin approached
the lotus pond. The carriers saw that the emperor was standing in the pavilion
and laid the palanquin down on the ground. An older man with shaved head, wearing
prayer beads and holy ash emerged from the palanquin. A woman came out with
him.
The man said, “My
king!”, and hurried towards the pavilion. The emperor climbed down the stairs
with a greeting of “General!”. They stood with their palms together in
greeting, looking at each other with moist eyes. They rushed ahead and
embraced. Tears started flowing.
Kundavi approached the
older woman, and tried to touch her feet. The woman stopped her and embraced
her. She blessed Kundavi, saying, “My child, may the Lord of the crescent moon
bless you with good fortune! May you live a long life with a man of your
choice!”. Kundavi felt a few flutters at these words.
The emperor and his old
general broke the embrace and stepped back to look at each other. The emperor
said, “The timing of my Uraiyur visit was pure luck. I would not have had the
chance to meet you otherwise. You don’t visit Kanchi these days. You seem to
have forgotten me altogether”.
“My emperor, how can I
ever forget you? In my pilgrimage, I thought of you at every holy shrine. I
have missed you at every leg of the pilgrimage. I thought of you while I was
praying the Lord at Pazhani. It appears that He granted my wish. I got to meet
you here.”
“My general..”, the
emperor began speaking.
“Please don’t address me
with that title!”
“Paranjothi!”
“That is the name from
my earlier life. I don’t like hearing it either”.
“Shaivite guru!”
“There are many people
who are worthy of being addressed that way. I render minor services in support
of their spiritual work – Siruthondan!”
The Emperor said, “Dear
Siruthondar! I still have a few outstanding responsibilities. After I
fulfill these, I am ready to renounce my earthly attachments and join you in
your pilgrimage. However, I won’t shave my head like you have. I will sport
long matted hair and a beard, and make people wonder if I am sage Vishwamitra
or Agastya reborn”.
He chuckled. Siruthondar
Laughed. Their laughter blended with the calls of the birds who were returning
to their nests.
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..
Art by Sujatha, unless otherwise credited.
No comments:
Post a Comment