Those going from Kudanthai to Thanjavur would go either on the banks of Arisalaru or Cauvery and reach Tiruvaiyaru. From there they will turn south and go to Thanjavur. There were convenient ports to cross the Kudamurutti, Vettar, Vennar and Vadavaru rivers on the way.
Vallavaraiyan started from Kudanthai and went first towards the banks of Arisilaru. What he saw on the way amazed him even more than he had heard about Chola Nadu. When you see a pleasant sight for the first time, doesn't it become sweeter? Green fields, ginger and turmeric fields, sugarcane and banana plantations, coconut and arecanut groves, tanks, streams, tanks and canals came up alternately. Lilies and vases were in full bloom in the streams. The red lotus, the white lotus, the blue lotus and the red water in the tanks were a spectacular sight. White cranes flew in flocks. The red-legged storks stood on one leg and did penance. Water gushed through the sluices. The peasants ploughed deeper into the mud of the stubble, which had been soaked with manure and manure. Women planted in cultivated fields. As they planted, they sang sweet folk songs. Sugarcane mills were set up near the sugarcane fields. Last year's mature blackberries were cut and given to the sugarcane mills to extract the juice. The smell of sugarcane juice and jaggery mingled and made my nose tingle.
In the midst of the coconut groves were thatched huts and thatched houses. In the villages, the doors of the houses were swept clean and the floor was made of glass. Paddy had been dried at the doors of some houses. The hens came and ate the paddy and went back shouting, "Kokkarako!" The girls who were guarding the paddy did not chase away the chickens. "How much paddy will the hen eat like that?" asked the children indifferently as they danced with cowries and pallankuzhi. Stove smoke was rising from the roofs of the huts. The smoke of the stove was mixed with the smell of rice worm, rye frying and meat frying. In those days soldiers were mostly carnivores. So is Vallavarayan; So the smells watered his tongue.
There were blacksmith furnaces by the roadside. The furnaces glittered with embers of fire. 'Danar, Danar' was heard in the iron workshop. In the furnaces there were crowds of ploughs, spades, crowbars, knives, shields, spears, spears, etc., for the peasants. Peasants and soldiers vied with each other to get them.
Small temples were also seen in small villages. Inside the temple, there was the sound of the drumming, the sound of the Nagara, the chanting of mantras and the singing of Thevaram. Mariamman and other village deities were seated on the couch and the priests danced and beat their udukas and offered paddy offerings. The children drove the cattle with bells around their necks to graze. Some of them played the flute!
The peasants, tired of working in the fields, sat under the tree and rested. Then they let the sheep into a fight and had fun. The female peacocks sat on the rooftops of the houses and the male peacocks could not lift the feathers and flew away and sat next to the female peacocks. The pigeons wandered about, waving their beautiful necks. Sin! Caged parrots and mynahs sang sad songs. Vandhiyathevan rode his horse slowly, enjoying all these sights.
His eyes had a lot of work to do. The mind was also enjoying these various scenes. Yet in his heart he saw a womans face, as if slightly shrouded in snow. Aha! Couldn't the woman have opened her lips and said a few words to herself? What would she have lost if she had spoken? Who could that woman be? Doesn't anyone want some respect? Do I look so indifferent? The old astrologer had deceived her by not telling her who she was. He's smart; Impossibly clever. How does he look deep into the minds of others? With how much worldly experience does he speak? He didn't say anything important. In diplomatic conversations he was very careful not to say anything. Or he managed to say what everyone knew. But didn't he say a good word that his lucky planets had peaked? Good luck to the astrologer...
Thinking like this, Vandhiyathevan went. From time to time he was drawn from the world of thought to the world of thought. At last he reached the banks of the Arisilaru. When they had gone a short distance along the riverbank, they heard the shuffling of women's bracelets and the sound of laughter. The trees on the banks of the Arisilaru concealed their whereabouts. Vandhiyathevan kept staring at the riverbank to find out where the women's voices were coming from.
Suddenly, "Alas! Alas! Crocodile! Crocodile! I am afraid!" he heard a voice of alarm. He spurred his horse in the direction of the voice. Through the gap between the two trees he could see where the women were. Panic was on the faces of many of them. Wonder! Wonder! Two of them had left the astrologer's house as soon as Vandhiyathevan entered. Vandhiyathevan saw all this in an instant. Did he just see it? Under a large shady tree, rooted and half on the ground and half in the water, a terrifying crocodile was gaping its mouth. Only recently Vandhiyathevan had seen a ferocious crocodile coming out of its mouth in the Kollidam river. He had also heard what a terrible creature the crocodile was. So when he saw this crocodile, his heart was disturbed and his body trembled. For the crocodile was very close to the women who had just been laughing. It had a terrifying shape, its mouth parted, its ghastly teeth bared. The crocodile had one more leap to go. Such will be the fate of those women! The women were too thick to escape because of the trees behind them.
No matter how confused Vandhiyathevan's heart was, his determination did not diminish even an iota. He did not think for more than a moment what he should do. He looked at the spear in his hand and threw it at once. The spear pierced the crocodile's hard back and went a little inside and stood vertically. Immediately our soldier drew his sword and came running, determined to finish off the crocodile once and for all.
As before, at this moment the sound of the women laughing was heard. It was disgusting to Vandhiyathevan's ears. Why are they laughing at such a dangerous time? The runner was stunned for a moment. He looked at the women's faces. He saw no fear or panic in their faces. Instead, he saw signs of a mocking laugh.
It was unbelievable that they were the ones who had just shouted, "Aiyo, aiyo!"
One of them... The woman he saw in the astrologer's house – in a majestic sweet voice – said, "Girls! Be quiet, what are you laughing at?" he said in a reproachful voice, as if in a dream.
The man who leapt at the crocodile hesitated with his sword drawn. He stared at the crocodile; He took another look at the womens faces. A doubt arose that ashamed his mind, which made his body weaken. By this time the woman had come forward, leaving the others. She stood on the opposite side of the crocodile as if rescuing it.
"Sir! Thank you very much, don't trouble yourself in vain!"