After hearing what his grandfather had to say, Aditya Karikalan stood rooted to the spot. He could not think straight. Parthibendran also stood staring into nowhere. The waves seemed to suddenly become silent.
On the shore, there was a bund of loosely piled granite rocks to keep back the sea. The famed sculptors of Maamallapuram had not left out any of these rocks behind. Each rock had sculptures on them. Aditya Karikalan and Malayamaan walked to two flat rocks, which almost looked like thrones. Parthibendran stood a little afar. Waves crashed on the rocks and sprayed sea water on them.
We wish to take the reader to Maamallapuram. This port town was built by Mahendra Pallavan and Maamalla Narasimhar. Three hundred years later, the town was not the model city that the founders had planned it to be. The market places and the streets were empty.
The next morning, the sun was shining bright, warming up the front verandah of the Princess’s palace. An elephant with a howdah came and stood near the entrance. Kundavai and Vaanathi climbed up a flight of stairs and got into the howdah.
Kundavai read through the palm leaf with intense concentration. When she finished reading the message, her tense face relaxed into a wide smile. “Now that you have delivered your message, what do you intend to do?”
“Devi, my job is done. I guess I have to turn back home now.”
After meeting with the Princess, Alwarkadiyaan decided to go to his cousin, Eesana Shiva Bhattar’s house. It was a short walk away. Nambi noticed that the festivities of Shree Jayanthi had died down considerably. He passed through the army quarters where the wives of the soldiers were whispering among themselves. There was discontent writ on their faces. It was night by the time he reached his cousin’s house, which was right next to the Shiva temple.
The earlier Chozha kings had built embankments along the River Kaveri. For a long while, the embankments had been maintained well, and restricted the flow of the river. During the dark times, when there was a brief period of anarchy in the southern states, the maintenance suffered and the river had taken advantage. The river flooded in many places, got back its free spirit, and meandered down the Kaveri delta.
A master temple architect from Maamallapuram stepped up next and exhibited the miniature model of a temple. He explained how this was a new and unique temple construction. He expressed his desire to utilize this design for each of the 276 paadal-petra-sthalam temples, where the three main Shaivite saints had sung the Devarams.
Mandapam in ruins near Patteeswaram temple. (img src: gcmouli.com)
Before we get to Vandiyathevan’s entry into Pazhayarai, the reader is invited to get a brief glimpse of this beautiful city. It was one of the finest cities in the Chozha land filled with grand temples like Thirusakthimutram and Patteeswaram. It was a planned city with segregated areas for soldiers, traders, merchants, and royalty. Palaces were grand and the streets were wide.
Vandiyathevan wanted to take care of the guard first. He lunged towards him and slit his throat. He then focused on his friend. Kandanmaran was laying limp half inside the chamber, half outside. He gave Kandanmaran a push, and slipped out of the chamber. He noticed that the wall closed behind him automatically.
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