Book 03 - Chapter 32: The Uraiyur Prison

Vikraman was locked up in a solitary cell in the Uraiyur prison. He smiled wryly at the irony of fate, which put him in the prison of the city where he should rightfully be on the throne. He remembered the days of his father’s rule. He recalled the day that his father left for war. He remembered each painting that his father showed him, and the dreams that the paintings represented.  ‘Will all those dreams remain unfulfilled?’, he asked himself. He had held on to hopes that he could somehow redeem the pledge that he had made to his father. It appeared that those hopes were lost altogether.

‘How long should I lie in prison waiting for the Emperor’s orders? And what orders would they be? A death sentence would be the most likely one. And Marappan will love to carry it out. No one will know of my fate. King Parthiban’s name will live on at least for a while. No one is going to remember me. Why did I bother returning from Senbaga Island? It was a small country, but an independent one. I was happy ruling those subjects. What possessed me to set off on this misadventure?’, he thought.

His thoughts went to the reasons for his return, and how justified they were. When he was in Senbaga Island, he longed to see his beloved Kaveri and Chozha land. Paradoxically, he would also get frustrated that the Chozha people had lost their spirit of independence and had accepted the Pallava rule. The frustration had now boiled over and transformed into disgust. ‘These people don’t even realize that King Parthiban’s son is now locked up in the local prison’, he thought ruefully as he pursued his chain of thoughts. ‘My wish to see my mother will remain unfulfilled’.

And Kundavi! He had tried to put her off his mind, but it was impossible. Thinking of her made him realize something. He was making up various reasons for his return home. The genuine reason, which  had remained buried in his subconscious mind rushed to the surface now. ‘It was Kundavi’, he realized. Steel is strong as a substance. However, it loses its power as a magnet draws it. Kundavi’s beauty… no, her true love had melted his steely heart. Her magnetic love had drawn him all the way from Senbaga Island.

He had held on to misgivings as to her motives for a long time. Even after he realized that she had nursed him back to health, he had been angry at her. He suspected that she would try to melt his resolve for independence. She had proven him wrong. She had won him over when she said, ‘I won’t ask my father to pardon him. Instead, I’ll ask that we be married before the sentence is carried out’. He thought, ‘To win the hand of such a girl, it is not just worth coming from Senbaga Island, but might be worth coming down from heaven. If Marappan had not gotten in the way, we might be leaving to Senbaga Island on the new moon day.’

Vikraman got increasingly agitated as the new moon day neared. The ship would dock on the new moon day. It might wait for him for two days. He had to somehow escape to get to the ship. Each moment of wait was agony for him. Finally, Marappan arrived on the evening before the new moon day.

‘Hey gem trader, I have the orders from Kanchi’, he said.

Vikraman was rattled. He assumed the worst.  He was not afraid of dying, but he abhorred the idea of dying by the sword of the executioner.

Marappan continued, “I have orders to send you to Kanchi safely. We leave three hours after sunset. Be prepared”.

Vikraman was encouraged. He thought he might get an opportunity to escape, or at least die a brave death in a fight to escape. If neither was possible, he might be able to proclaim on the Emperor's court that he would rather die than accept life as a vassal. What could be better than making this statement in Kundavi’s presence?

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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.