Ponnan was intrigued on seeing the sage. One person entered the sculpture house and another emerged. Were they really two different people?
Ponnan’s face reflected his thoughts, but he did not get a chance to verbalize them. Before he could speak, the sage said, “Ponna, you came at just the right time. I was leaving for Uraiyur. If you arrived few minutes later, you would have missed me!”. He seemed excited. After they sat down in front of the house, he added, “Tell me the news from your side. Something important has come up. I will tell you more about it. But first, do you have news of the queen?”
“Indeed, I do, your holiness!”, said Ponnan. He told the sage about his trip to the Kolli Hills, his climb along the waterfall, encountering the one handed man and the dwarf, and waiting for them at the base of the hills. He held back the news on Vikraman, intending to discover the sage’s identity first.
The sage asked for a detailed description of the one-handed man. Ponnan obliged, and then asked, “Your holiness, do you know who that man is?”
“Ponna, now I have no doubt that Parthiba Chozha’s queen is somewhere in the Kolli Hill region. Many things make sense now. Do you want to know who that man is? He is the man polluting this holy land that begot many great spiritual leaders. He is Kapala Bhairavan, who promotes the terrible practice of human sacrifice. I have tried really hard to meet him in person, but have not succeeded yet. I have a theory as to why he has been evading me. The two of us can confirm that theory soon! Before that I have an important job to do. I am going to give you some surprising news. The Chozha prince has returned”, said the sage and looked intensely at Ponnan’s face.
Ponnan looked a little surprised, but had not been elated as the sage had expected. “Ponna, do you not believe what I said?”.
Ponnan grew a little cautious. “I will never doubt your words, your holiness. I am only concerned that the prince returned, despite the risk involved.”
“Your concern is valid. The prince seems to have met with some sort of danger. Whatever happened, must have happened when he was on his way to Uraiyur. We need to find him first, before we start looking for the queen”.
Ponnan was genuinely surprised. “Your holiness, how did you know this? Did you see him? How did you conclude that the prince met with danger?”, he asked.
“Ponna, something seems to have changed in you. You are asking for the reasoning behind my statements. Very well! I saw the prince. Talked to him. I sent him to Uraiyur.”
“Why did you send him to Uraiyur. Your holiness?”
“Why? Because I wanted him to see his birthplace. Do you know when a man fully appreciates his motherland? It is when he returns to his motherland after a trip abroad. If a man returns after a couple of years, he will think it is heaven, even if it happens to be desert land. Imagine a man's feelings on return to the fertile Chozha country! I wanted Vikraman not to want to leave the Chozha country again. I did that to fulfil the promise I made his father on the battlefield. But I did not anticipate this danger. How am I going to explain what happened to his mother?!”
“Your holiness, what sort of danger befell the prince? And how did you learn of it?”, asked Ponnan.
“Even more questions! I don’t know what danger, But I do know that Vikraman is in danger. If only God had made this horse capable of speech! Your prince rode this horse. He left for Uraiyur from here. Two days later, the horse returned on its own. We need to find out what happened to the prince. I’m leaving now. Do you want to come along? You can ride a horse, can’t you?”
“I can your holiness. But I want to learn a few things before I can accompany you!”
“What sort of things?”, asked the sage, with a note of incredulity in his voice.
“A few things. To start with, who are you?”
The sage had a bright smile on his face. “Oh, that’s what it is!”
“I saw you ride to this house. You wore a different guise then. You entered the house and emerged in a different form. I have reasons to think neither is your true form. I have had this suspicion for a while. But now I really need to get it clarified. If you reveal your identity….”
“If I reveal my identity?”
“I can tell you something that you very much desire to learn. If you don’t, I will go on my own way.”
The sage noted the determination in Ponnan’s eyes. “In that case, I will tell you who I am. I need you to make a promise though. Do you swear to keep it a secret?”
“I swear, your holiness!”
“Do you swear on the soul of King Parthiban?”
“I do, your holiness!”
“Here you go then!”, said the sage, and removed his beard and wig, just as he had done on the battlefield.
“My Lord, is that you?”, asked Ponnan and touched his feet.
Donning his guise again, the sage asked, “Did Valli not tell you?”
“Valli is sneaky! She deliberately misled me on your identity. I suspected it was you. When I asked her though, she told me that the sage was King Parthiban! But now, I know something valuable. I’m not sharing it with her!”
Ponnan told the sage his story in detail, starting from him saving the prince from the wild river, all the way until princess Kundavi taking him along in her palanquin.
The sage, who had looked unruffled until this point, displayed a great deal of surprise through this story. He said, “Ponna, we don’t need to worry about your prince anymore. He is in good hands. Our next order of business is to find the queen!”.
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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