Barack! Barack! Here come the poets! Poet Shikhamanigal! Those who have seen the shores of the Tamil Ocean! The descendants of Agastya! Those who drank Tolkappiyam and other Sangam books! Those who have read Silappathikaaram and other five epics upside down! Those who have seen the divine Tamil mystic Thirukkural with one hand! Those who know the grammar of literature! Those who know literature for grammar! They can sing their own songs. If the manuscripts of the poems written by each of them are food for millions of termites to survive for many years!
All the poets came in a crowd to Sundara Chola emperor's presence.
"Live! Live! Long live Sundara Chola Maha Emperor, who rules the seven worlds under one umbrella! Long live the Lord who killed Pandiyan! Long live the Lord of Poets! Long live the compassionate poets! Long live the great grandson of Pandita Vatsala, emperor Paranthaka!"
Sundara Cholar did not like these slogans and shouting very much. However, he did not show it, forgot his illness and tried to get up to greet the visitors. Immediately, the younger Pazhuvertaraiyar came forward and said, "Lord, the poets have come to worship you and pay their respects, but not to give you trouble. So please don't trouble yourself!"
"Yes, yes! King of kings! Lord Emperor! We have not come to give you the slightest trouble!" said Nallan Sathanar, the leader of the poets.
"I'm so glad to see you all after a long time. Everyone should be seated. I have to recite a few songs and go!" said Chakravarthy, a Tamilian.
Everyone sat down on a carpet spread on the floor. Our warrior Vallavaraiyan also sat down with the group of poets thinking that it was the time. He did not want to go without telling the emperor all that he wanted to say. He sat down, thinking that he would tell him if he had the chance.
The younger Pazhuvertaraiyar noticed this. His moustache twitched. At first, he thought of sending him out. Then he decided that it would be better for him to be there under his supervision. So, when he saw him, he pretended not to see him. After these poets had gone, he took him out and wanted to know better what message he had conveyed to the Maharaja. "Danger! Danger!" his voice still ringing in his ears.
"Poets! It has been a long time since I heard Tamil songs. My ears are hungry for Tamil songs. Have any of you come up with a new song?" asked Emperor Sundara Cholar.
Immediately, a poet Shikhamani stood up and said, "Prabhu! I came from Sundara Chola Perumpalli in Ulagapuram. The Buddhists all over Tamilnadu appreciate the donations made by you, Sivanesa Selvar, who donated money to the Buddhist monastery. Ever since they came to know that they were ill, the bhikkhus were very anxious and had been praying for their health. Please grant me permission to recite that prayer song here!"
"I must say so; I am waiting to hear it," said the emperor.
The poet also sang the following song with music.
"The Holy Shadow of Bodhiyan! Standing Spread
(In those days Pazhaiyarai town was also known as Nandipuri. Some time ago, when Cholamandalam was under the Pallava rule, the name Nandipuri was popular.
On hearing the song, all the poets said, "Good! Good!" and expressed their appreciation.
"It is surprising, surprising, that the Buddhas should be so grateful!" said a Veera Saiva poet.
"Yes; It was an amazing thing. My service to the Ulagapuram Buddhist monastery was meagre. Does it deserve so much praise?" asked the King.
"Who can not be forever grateful to the emperor who has experienced his virtue? Indra, Sun and even Lord Shiva have reaped the benefits of their vanity," said another poet Shiromani.
Sundara Cholar smiled and asked, "What is that? Indra, Sun and Shiva too? Why should they be grateful to me?"
"Permit me to recite a song!" said the poet.
"So be it!" said the King.
The poet opened the letter he had brought in his hand and read it.
"Indra gave charcoal.
When the poet finished reading the poem, all the other poets in the assembly chanted 'Aahakaram' and chanted, "Good! Good!" and they expressed their joy.
Sundara Cholar smiled and asked, "Can anyone explain the meaning of this song?"
Several people stood up at the same time. Then everyone else sat down except Nallan Sathanar. Nallan Sathanar explained the meaning of the song.
"Once there was a war between Devendran and Vriththaswaran. Indra's Iravatham died in it. Indra was looking to see where he could find another elephant equal to it. Finally, he came to emperor Sundara Chola who lived in Pazhaiyarai town and begged for an elephant equal to Iravatham. "I don't have an elephant equal to Iravatham. There are better elephants than that!" and taking Indra to his elephant shed. Devendran looked at the thousands of elephants standing there like hills and stood stunned, not knowing what to ask. Seeing his bewilderment, Sundara Cholar himself picked up an elephant and offered it to Indra. 'How are we going to control that elephant? Even our thunderbolt can't do it!' Seeing that Indra was terrified, he gave him an ankusa that was stronger than the thunderbolt..."
"Once upon a time, a great war broke out between the Sun God who spreads the red rays and gives light to the whole world and the demon Rahu. Rahu couldn't swallow Dinakaran! Dinakaran's light thus burned Rahu. But the seven horses yoked to the chariot of Sun were struck by the poison of Rahu's Kalakoti and died. When Sun was wondering how to start his journey, Sundara Cholar, seeing his helplessness, approached the Sun God with seven new horses and requested him to tie these horses to the chariot and save the world. The Sun also appreciated the help rendered by a Chola emperor of his tribe at this time."
"Then Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married at Kailayangiri. The bride's family had come with wedding dresses. But they failed to bring the palanquin. There was no other vehicle for the procession except bullocks and bullocks, they said anxiously. Knowing this, Sundara Chola emperor immediately asked him to bring his pearl palanquin from Pazhaiyarai palace. With reverence, Lord Shiva offered the palanquin as his offering for the wedding. Who else is there in this vast and undulating world who can tell the parable of such a Sundara Chola emperor?..."
Emperor Sundara Chola who was listening to all this laughed 'Kaleer'. The emperor's laughter, which had not laughed for a long time due to the agony of his illness, gave some encouragement to his beloved wife Malaiamman's daughter Vanavanmadevi, the nurses and even the palace physician.
The younger Pazhuvertaraiyar, the fortress commander who had been standing all this time, bowed to the emperor with folded hands and said, "Prabhu! I made a big mistake; Forgive me for the error!"
"Ah! Is the commander speaking? What mistake have you committed? Apologies for what? Perhaps you have taken back the white elephant I gave to Indra and the horses I gave to the sun? Have you snatched the palanquin from Lord Shiva? You are the one who can do it!" said Sundara Cholar and laughed again and the poets laughed along with the emperor. Vandhiyathevan laughed more than anyone else. The younger Pazhuvertaraiyar noticed this and gave him a stern look. Turning to the emperor, he said:
"King! This is the mistake I made. All this time I had prevented poets like them from coming to you. I obeyed the palace doctor. But now I realize it's an error. Your faces beamed at the arrival of these poets. Their faces lit up at their words. You burst out laughing at their words. Hearing the sound of that merry laughter, the faces of the Udai stateswoman (the custom of those days used to refer to the crown queen as 'Udaya stateswoman') and the faces of the nurses beamed. I was also delighted. Isn't it my grave mistake that I have prevented those who can give you so much pleasure from coming to your presence for so long?... Said.
"Well said, Captain! You feel it now, don't you? 'Don't listen to the doctor; Don't you know why I have often told you, 'Don't stop the poets from coming'?" said the emperor.
The palace physician got up, folded his hands, buried his mouth, and began to say something. Without ignoring it, Sundara Cholar looked at the poets and said, "Do any of you know who the poet who sang this beautiful song? If you know, tell me!"
Nallan Sathanar said, "King of kings! I don't know! We are also trying to figure it out. We are ready to find out and crown the great poet as 'Kavi Chakravarthi' and carry him on a palanquin. So far, our efforts have not worked."
"That's not surprising. The great poet who can suppress such big lies in a four-line poem would not want to come forward with his name revealed, would he?" No one had a fly in his face. They didn't know what to say.
At this juncture our Vandhiyathevan stood up boldly and said, "Prabhu! It should not be dismissed as a lie at one stroke. If ordinary people say something that does not exist, it is a lie; If those involved in the diplomatic administration say so, it is diplomatic chanakya; If the poets say so, it is imagination, ornamentation, metaphor in the object..." He said.
All the poets looked at him and said, "Good! Good!" they shouted enthusiastically.
The emperor also looked at Vandhiyathevan and said, "Oh! Aren't you the one who brought the letter from Kanji? Clever boy! You have me well!" Then he looked at the assembly and said, "Poets! Though the song is excellent, there is no need to trace its composer and give him the title of Kavi Chakravarthi. I know the poet who sang this. Already on his head sits the crown of the Chola empire of unbearable weight. That poet is also carrying titles like 'Earth Chakravarthi', 'Tribhuvana Chakravarthi' and 'Ezhuloka Chakravarthi' without being able to carry them!" said Sundara Cholar.
If it is said that all the poets who heard this were immersed in the sea of astonishment, the readers should not dismiss it as a lie! The author's imagination, rhetoric, hallucinatory simile, and so on have to be accepted by some kind of grammar!