Once he recovered from the shock, he moved closer to Vikraman,
touched his shoulder and whispered, “My king…!”
Vikraman asked, “Why are you shivering Ponna?”
Ponnan closed his mouth with the palm and whispered, “Speak
quietly. We are in danger. Be ready!”
Vikraman’s hand went to his waistband. He said, “Alas, the sword
was washed away by the river”.
The two men took shelter in the outer veranda. Their voices were
partially audible.
Vikraman recognized one of the voices and was about to get up.
Ponnan gently pulled him down to his seat.
“My lord, please tell me what Mother Kali commands me to do next”,
said Marappan.
The voice that responded was eerie, resembling the voice of the
ghosts. “The divine mother has great plans for you. She expects a lot from you
as well. She is thirsty. She wants the blood of the royal family!”
“I tried to sacrifice a prince of lineage that is a thousand years
old. It did not work out”, said Marappan.
“It was your fault. I came for the prince myself. You intervened
and ruined it all!”
“Excuse me my Lord! But how did you know of the prince’s arrival?”
“The same question again! Mother Kali told me, through queen
Arulmozhi’s words. ‘He is approaching, the ship is arriving’, she had said. I was
on my way, and you intervened!”.
“Forgive me, my Lord!”
“The divine mother has forgiven you. But she is complaining of
thirst. We must quench her thirst. We missed doing it on the new moon day.
We should do that on the turn of the month, at the latest. You should bring him
to me without fail.”
“What happens when I fetch him?”
“Your wildest dreams will come true. Did you not get the
commander’s position as soon as you placed yourself at the divine mother’s
mercy? There is more… “
“There is more?”
“You will get much bigger positions”.
“Bigger positions?”
“The Chozha throne is waiting for you. The divine mother has the
crown ready for you!”
“Is that all?”
“In due course, the Pallava throne will be yours too!”
“Ah!”, exclaimed Marappan, and was silent for a while.
“But all that won’t come easy. You need to bring her suitable
offerings.”
“What does the divine mother expect?”
“Find Parthiban’s son first!”
“I will do so. Then?”
“You should come to the altar of mother Kali on the first of the Thula
month and behead yourself!”.
""Gosh", Marappan exclaimed with shock.
“You will be an Emperor in the next birth. There is also another
option”.
“What is it, my Lord?”
“There is a substitute for self-sacrifice. If you offer that
sacrifice, you can be the Emperor in this birth!”
“What should I do?”
“You should fetch me that sage wearing holy ash and prayer beads!”
“My Lord, why would the divine mother want the blood of a mere
ascetic when she can have royal blood?”
“There are limits to your knowledge. Do you know who that sage
is?”
“Who?”, asked Marappan, sounding intrigued.
“It is a secret that even the wind can’t hear. Come closer!”
Ponnan and Vikraman were listening in with a morbid fascination.
They listened hard for the response. They could not hear it.
Marappan laughed out loud.
“Bhupathi, do you suspect the divine mother’s words?”
“Of course not my Lord! I was ordered by another person to capture
that sage. Do you know who?”
“Who was it?”
“The daughter of the great Emperor Narsimha Varman. Princess
Kundavi!”
“That is good! Mother Kali seems to have found multiple ways of
getting what she wants!”
At this point, they could hear hoof-beats.
Ponnan peeked out again. About six horsemen were approaching with torches.
Ponnan’s heartbeat quickened. He was convinced he and Vikraman were going to be
caught.
Marappan said, “My Lord, I have to go. My men are looking for me”
“I need to go on my way too. Remember Mother Kali’s command!”
“Where do we meet next?”
“The usual place. Chitraguptan will be waiting for you.”
It was all silent for a while. Then, there were a few chants of
“Hail the Chozha commander Marappa Bhupathi!”. Ponnan and Vikraman peeked out.
They saw men riding towards Uraiyur, with torches in their hands.
Ponnan heaved a sigh of relief. “My King, we had a narrow escape!”
Vikraman responded, “The horse, my bags and gems were washed away
by the river. Not just that. Unfortunately, I lost my sword too!”.
“My king?”
“Yes, Ponna!”
“I just remembered something. The queen entrusted me with a box. I
was asked to keep it safe for you.”
“Go on! What was in that box?”
“It had a sword that was your clan’s heirloom. It had gems
embedded in the handle”.
“Really?! I came here mainly for the sword. My father showed me
the box before he went to the battlefield. He told me that the sword and palm
scrolls with Thirukkural were the items of inheritance that he was
leaving me. My ancestor, Karikalan who ruled many parts of India and some regions
overseas used that sword! Ponna, you have kept it safe, haven’t you?”
“I have, my king!”
“Where is it?"
“I have buried it in the spring palace island”.
“Why there?”
“Where else could I have kept it, my king?”
“Let us go to the island and get the sword. My father told me this
nine years ago, and I remember it as if it was yesterday! He had said, ‘This is
Karikal Valavan’s sword. You should not touch it as long as you are a vassal.
That is the reason I never wore it in my lifetime! When you rule at least a
tiny land as an independent king, you can use this sword’. I am now the
independent king of Senbaga Island, and I have earned the right.”
“You are the Chozha king too, not just of Senbaga Island!”
“That is not true yet, but it will come true soon. Ponna, we have
two things to do. We need to get the sword. And we need to free the queen from
this barbaric gang. We have to decide in what sequence we do these.”
Upon further thought, they decided to go to Uraiyur, find the sage
to seek his help, and then go to free the queen. They were both tired. They
decided to sleep for a while and leave for Uraiyur early in the morning. What
they did not know was that Vikraman was already running a fever, and that he
would be too sick to walk in the morning.
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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