Shouldn't we tell how Vandhiyathevan, whom we left in a boat on the banks of Kollidam, reached the house of the Kudanthai astrologer at that time?
Saiva Periyar objected to Azhvarkadiyan getting into the boat and when the boat started moving, he looked at Vandhiyathevan and said, "Brother! I let him go for you. But as long as he is in the boat, he must never say that eightletter name. If I do, I will tell him to throw him away in this Kollam. The runners are my men!"
"Believe me! Did it fall on your ears?" asked Vandhiyathevan.
"If he hadn't mentioned the five-letter name, I wouldn't have said the eight-letter Thirunamam either!" said Azhvarkadiyan.
"Shashat who is this man to prevent him from chanting the Panchachara Thirumanthram of Lord Shiva? Cannot! Cannot!
Throw it into the sea
Saiva Periyar roared majestically.
"I sought, I sought, I found
Azhvarkadiyan began to sing in a loud voice.
"Shiva Shiva Shiva!" said Saiva and put his finger in both his ears.
When Azhvarkadiyan stopped singing, Saivar removed his fingers from his ear.
Azhvarkadiyan looked at Vandhiyathevan and said, "Brother! You ask that brave Saiva a little. Is he taking so much trouble to hear the name of Thirumal? This Kollidam river comes down after washing the lotus feet of Perumal who has a school in Srirangam. Isn't the theertham touched by Perumal's feet a holy theertham that Lord Shiva is doing penance by bathing in that water in Tiruvanaikkaval?" The two men shook hands on the side of the boat and the boat was about to capsize. The boatmen and Vandhiyathevan intervened and pushed them away.
"O devotees! It seems that both of you want to fall into this Kollidam flood and go straight to Moksha. But I still have things left to do in this world!" said Vandhiyathevan.
One of the boatmen said, "I don't know if I will go to Moksha if I fall into Kollidam! But you can definitely get into the belly of the crocodile! Look at that!" he said.
Where he was pointing, a crocodile was seen with its mouth wide open.
"I am not at all afraid of the crocodile; Where has Narayanamoorthy, the primordial source who saved Gajendran, gone?" said Azhvarkadiyan.
"Where has he gone? He may be hiding under the saree of the Gopika women of Vrindavan!" said Saiva.
"Or maybe Shiva faced another dilemma, like when he gave a boon to Padmasura and ran away screaming; Thirumal may have gone to save Sivan from that dilemma," said Nambi.
"It seems that this Vaishnava does not remember the pride that Tirumal suffered during the Tripura Samharam!" said Saiva Periyar.
"Swamigal! I don't know why you are quarrelling. Isn't it to worship the deity to whom one has devotion?" said Vandhiyathevan.
Why did Saiva Periyar and Azhvarkadiyan fight like that? It would be worth mentioning to the reader at this juncture why a similar battle of arguments took place at Veeranarayanapuram.
Buddhism and Jainism were influential in ancient Tamil Nadu for about six hundred years. Tamil Nadu benefited from this influence. Sculpture, painting, poetry and poetry flourished. Later, Alwars and Nayanmars appeared. They poured out hymns to the gods. They made Vaishnavism and Saivism flourish. Their method of propaganda was very powerful. Along with sculpture, music was also used for religious propaganda. Many began to sing the hymns of the Alwars and the three Thevarams to the tune of the Devaganam. These musical compositions enraptured the hearts of the listeners and instilled in devotional fervour. The Vishnu sthalams sung by the Alwars and the Siva sthalams sung by the three took on a new glory and sanctity. The earlier temples which had been built of brick and wood were renovated and rebuilt as stones. From the time of Vijayalaya Cholan, the Chola kings and members of the royal family were doing this work on a large scale.
At the same time, a special incident took place in Kerala. A saint was born at Kalady. He renounced the world at a young age and became a sannyasi. He studied all the scriptures in Sanskrit. He planted the flag of Advaita Vedanta on the basis of Vedic Upanishad, Bhagavad Gita and Brahma Sutra. With the help of his Sanskrit scholarship, he travelled all over India and established eight Advaita monasteries. Advaita ascetics who supported his doctrine spread all over the country.
Thus, at the time of our story in Tamil Nadu, about 980 years ago (written in 1950), there was a great religious upheaval. Out of this turmoil arose some harmful features. Veera Vaishnavas and Veerashaivas sprang up here and there. They fought everywhere they looked. The Advaitas also took part in these battles of words. Religious wars sometimes evolved into fights.
There is a wonderful story that explains the Saiva-Vaishnava war of that time.
A Vaishnava from Srirangam was walking along the outer wall of the Tiruvanaikaval temple. Suddenly a stone fell on his head. He was wounded and bleeding. The Vaishnava looked up. He knew that the stone of the old tower must have collapsed because a crow was sitting on the tower. Instantly he forgot the wound and the pain and was elated. "O Veera Vaishnava crow of Srirangam! Tear down the Tiruvanaikaval Sivan temple thoroughly!"
In those days, this Saiva-Vaishnava distinction was very widespread. Knowing this will be of great benefit to continue reading this story later.
When the boat reached the other side, Saiva Periyar looked at Azhvarkadiyan and cursed him saying, "You will be damned!" and went on his way.
The Kadampoor soldier who came with Vandhiyathevan went to nearby Tirupanandal and said that he was earning a horse. Azhvarkadiyan and Vandhiyathevan sat under the pipal tree on the river bank. Hundreds of birds were dancing sweetly in the broad and dense branches of the tree.
Vandhiyathevan and Nambi wanted to grab each other's mouths and grab something. At first, they talked around for a while.
"Why, brother! Didn't you leave me without taking me to Kadampoor palace?"
"It has become very difficult for me to go, Nambis!"
"Really? Then how did you go? Maybe you didn't go?"
"I've gone, I've gone, I'm going to back off if I have something to do. The gatekeepers prevented him. I gave the horse a pat and let it in. All those who resisted rolled to the ground. Then before they could get up and surround me, my friend Kanthamaran came running and took me away."
"I thought it would be so. You are very brave. Well, what happened then? Who, who was there?"
"There were so many dignitaries there. I don't know their names. Pazhuvertaraiyar had come. His young wife was also present. Oh my gosh! What do you call that girl's beauty?..."
"Did you see it?"
"Yes, don't you see? My friend Kanthamaran took me to the anthapuram. I saw it there. Of all the women, Pazhuvertaraiyar's younger queen was the most beautiful! The queen's face shone like the full moon in the midst of the other dark women. Aramba, Urvasi, Tilottamai, Indrani and Chandrani are all behind her!"
"Oh my God! Are you describing it all at once? What happened then? Did there be a hoot?"
"It happened, it was very good. Then I thought of you."
"They didn't give it to me. What else happened?"
"There was a lot of work. Thevaralan and Devaratti came on stage and danced furiously."
"Has Sannatham come? Did you promise anything?"
"Aha! The thought will be accomplished; It will rain; The land will yield; The saint said all that..."
"Is that all?"
"He said something more diplomatic. I didn't notice it at all."
"Oh no! Is that all? You should have noticed, brother! You are a young child; You seem to be of good valour. If anyone talks about diplomatic matters anywhere, you have to listen to them."
"What you say is true. That's how I felt this morning."
"Why do you appear in the morning?"
"In the morning Kanthamaran and I came up to Kollidakarai talking. After I slept at night, the guests who had come to Kadampoor palace held a meeting and talked about some diplomatic matter."
"What did they say?"
"I don't know. Kanthamaran said it bluntly, but he didn't say it clearly, something is going to happen soon. Ill tell you then. His speech was mysterious. Why, Swamigal! You know what?"
"About what?"
"Are the whole country and city talking about something? A comet is seen in the sky; There is some danger to the state; There will be a change in the Chola throne; And so, and so forth. The talk has reached as far as the throat. There are still some big hands who are gathering together frequently and wondering who will be the next successor. What do you think? "Who's going to be next in line?"
"I don't know about that, brother! What have I to do with diplomacy? I am a Vaishnava; The devotee of the Azhwars; He wanders from place to place, singing hymns I know!"
Saying this, Azhvarkadiyan began to sing, "Thirukkanden ponmeni kandein," when Vandhiyathevan interrupted and said, "For your sake, stop!"
"Oh no! Are you asking me to stop the divine Tamil hymn?"
"Azhvarkadiyan Nambis! I have a doubt, shall I tell you?"
"Tell me well!"
"Won't you come with a stick and beat you?"
"You? Can I hit you?"
"I suspect that your Vaishnavism, Bhakti, Urthava Pundaram and hymn singing are all just a disguise."
"Oh my God! What is this talk? Shame! Shame!"
"There is no sacrilege, no hospitality. You are disguising yourself like this to hide your feminine desire. I have seen others like you. Those who are mad at women. I don't know what you see in women. I hate any woman."
"Brother! There are some people who are mad at women. But don't put me among them, I'm not a hypocrite. You are very wrong to doubt that."
"Then why did you ask me to give the letter to the woman who came in the palanquin? Can another man concentrate his mind on a woman he has married? Didn't you say that you should come to Kadampoor palace to see her? Don't say no!"
"I'm not saying no. But your reason for that is wrong. There is another good reason. It's a long story."
"The horse hasn't come yet. Tell me that story! Let's ask!"
"A story is not a fictional story; A true story. Amazing history! You will be stunned to hear! Do you need to tell me?"
"Tell me if you like!"
"Yes, I will tell you. I must hurry, but Ill tell you. Again, I would have to ask you for some help. Then you will do it without knocking, will you?"
"If it's fair, I'll do it. Don't say anything if you don't want to."
"No, I don't! I must tell you. That Raniyasuran Pazhuvertaraiyar's young wife is Nandhini, I asked him to take the letter. You will be surprised to hear her story. You will wonder if there is any such wickedness in the world!" With this preface Azhvarkadiyan began the story about Nandhini.
Azhvarkadiyan was born in a village on the banks of river Vaigai in Pandya Nadu. His family were Vaishnavas who were staunch devotees. One day his father went to a garden by the river. There he saw a girl child lying orphaned. He took the child and came home. The children were weedy and beautiful, and were lovingly cherished by the family. As she was trapped in the garden, they named her Nandhini. Azhvarkadiyan considered her as his sister and praised her.
As Nandhini grew in age, her devotion to Perumal was also growing. The people in the neighbourhood believed that she was going to become another 'Andal' and win over all the devotees. This confidence was too much for Azhvarkadiyan. After the death of his father, he took upon himself the responsibility of bringing up the girl. Both of them went from place to place and spread Vaishnavism by singing the hymns of the Alwars. Those who heard Nandhini wearing Tulsi garland singing hymns with devotional fervour were mesmerized.
Once Azhvarkadiyan went on a pilgrimage to Tiruvengadam. It was too late to return. At that time, a tragedy happened to Nandhini.
The final major war between the Pandyas and the Cholas took place near Madurai. The Pandyan army was completely destroyed. Veera Pandiyan had fallen on the battlefield with injuries all over his body. Some of his private servants found him and tried to save his life. Overnight, they brought him to Nandhini's house. Seeing Pandiyan's condition, Nandhini took pity on him and served him. But soon the Chola soldiers found out. They surrounded Nandhini's house and killed Veera Pandyan. Pazhuvertaraiyar was enamoured of Nandhini's beauty and took her captive.
That was three years ago. Then Azhvarkadiyan could not see Nandhini. Since then, Azhvarkadiyan has been trying to meet Nandhini privately at least once and to release her if she wishes. So far, it has not succeeded...
Hearing this history, Vandhiyathevan's heart melted. He thought for a moment whether he should tell Azhvarkadiyan that it was not Nandhini who was in the palanquin in Kadampoor palace but Prince Mathuranthakan. Then, something interrupted his mind. Perhaps the whole story was Azhvarkadiyan's imagination. So he did not tell the secret he had learnt in Kadampoor palace.
At that time, a Kadampoor warrior was coming with a horse at a distance.
"Brother! Will you help me?" asked Azhvarkadiyan.
"What can I do to help? Pazhuvertaraiyar has the power to rule this Chola empire. I am an uninfluential man. What can I do?" said Vandhiyathevan cautiously. Then, "O believers! You mean you don't know anything about diplomacy? If something happens to Sundara Chola Maharaja, can't you tell me who will be the next heir?"
After hearing this, Vandhiyathevan looked curiously to see if there was any change in the servant's expression, but there was no change in the slightest.
"What do I know, brother! If you ask Kudanthai astrologer, he will probably tell you!" said Nambi.
"Oho! Is the Kudanthai astrologer really that clever?"
"Incredibly clever! He will also look at astrology; He knows the mind and speaks; He will know the affairs of the world and make predictions accordingly!"
"Then we should go see him!" Vandhiyathevan decided in his mind.
Since time immemorial, mankind has had a love for future events. Kings have that love; Andys have too; There are also sages who have renounced it completely; There are also people in the household; Even the best of intellectuals have; There are fools too. Is it not surprising that our young soldier, who had crossed the country, crossed the cities, risked many dangers, and was traveling to fulfill the confidential work of the government?