In Emperor Mahendra Pallava’s days, several roadside pavilions were built in thinly populated regions for the convenience of the travelers. Such pavilions were named after him - they were called Mahendra Mantaps. This was one such pavilion. It was fully dark when Vikraman and Ponnan entered the pavilion.
Ponnan seated Vikraman on the porch in front of the pavilion and
fetched him dry clothes. Vikraman changed into those clothes. They decided to
stay there for the night, as it was impossible to resume the journey in the
dark, rainy night.
Ponnan narrated the following strange incident involving Queen
Arulmozhi.
Queen Arulmozhi found life hard after Vikraman was deported. She
lived in the hope that she would see her son again. Despite that hope, she
could not bear to live in the palace where she had lived happily with her
husband and son. She was in such a frame of mind when General Paranjothi, also
known as Siruthondar, and his wife came to Uraiyur as a part of their
pilgrimage. They visited the spring palace to counsel her. Arulmozhi wanted to
accompany them on the pilgrimage and joined them on their journey.
They spent the next two years visiting all holy sites of the Tamil
region, except Kanchi. Roughly a year before the episode of the last chapter,
they had reached Thiruchengattangudi, General Paranjothi’s birthplace on
the new moon day of the month of Thai. That year, the new moon day of Thai
had an extra significance. It was going to be a total solar eclipse. On the
auspicious day, people had gathered at Kaveri river’s estuary to take a holy dip.
Ponnan and Valli had also traveled all the way from Uraiyur to bathe at river Kaveri’s
outflow. The reason for their travel was twofold. They wanted a break from the
life at Uraiyur, which they had found less enjoyable. Secondly, they had also
been hoping to meet Queen Arulmozhi on the day of the solar eclipse. They were
actually able to meet the queen earlier than they had hoped, at the town of Thirchengattangudi.
On the auspicious day, all of them – Paranjothi, his wife, the
queen, Valli and Ponnan – set off to bathe at the outflow of the river. When
they reached the destination, they found that it was extremely crowded. It was
as if the entire mankind decided to be in one place on that day. The sea of
humanity also appeared to surge with joy on seeing the waves on the sea.
After the ocean submerged the historic town of Kaviripoompattinam,
the landscape at the outflow of river Kaveri had changed. The river started
depositing sand where it met the sea. As a result, the sea had become
so shallow that people were able to walk a long way into the water.
On that day, people were able to take the holy dip, while enjoying the pleasure
of the waves hitting them.
Queen Arulmozhi, with others, entered the shallow sea waters in
such a crowded environment. The solar eclipse had started and had been
progressing rapidly. The tides were becoming more powerful and noisier. The
light had started dimming as well.
Most people felt a nameless fear when they witnessed darkness in
the middle of a cloudless, clear day. The faithful blissfully saw the scene as
a marvel engineered by the force that created the universe. Paranjothi had
attained such a state of bliss. Queen Arulmozhi had also closed her eyes, and
was in a meditative state, facing east.
Valli had never seen the ocean. She was fearful of the waves.
Ponnan was holding onto her hand reassuringly. Valli had been proposing that
they get back ashore. Ponnan was chiding her, saying, “Is this the extent of
your courage?”.
The strange, tragic incident happened at that moment. Arulmozhi
opened her eyes and shouted, “Vikrama, my child, here I come!”. Her voice was
so loud that Ponnan and Valli could hear her over the noise of the sea. She
jumped into the sea. A large wave submerged her.
Ponnan and Valli screamed. Paranjothi opened his eyes and asked
what the matter was. Ponnan cried, “The tide has swept the queen away!”
Paranjothi directed his wife and Valli to get ashore. At that
moment the eclipse was complete. They could see stars in the sky. There was a
mixture of noises. Some people panicked and called out to people around them.
Others were chanting the name of God.
Ponnan and Pranajothi battled the waves in total darkness,
searching for Queen Arulmozhi.
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.
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