Vandhiyathevan planted his foot in the dark tunnel and walked without falling. The stairs descended a short distance. Then it was level. Repeat steps. Flat again. He reached out with both hands and looked at the wall. Therefore, the tunnel must be spacious. When they had gone a little farther again, they went up the stairs. It seemed to be zigzagging. Oh my gosh! I don't know how far I have to stumble and walk in such darkness.
Aha! What is this! The darkness is diminishing a little! There is a very, very faint light! How and where does this dim light come from? The light of the moon coming from somewhere on the roof above? Or is it the light coming through the window in the walls? Is it the light that travels from a lamp kept in a hidden place?...
No no! What miracle is this? Is this scene before our eyes a real one? Or is it because our brains are agitated?
It was a spacious hall. A dungeon carved out of stone. That is why there is such a level deck that it looks like it will knock your head down. The dim moonlight in the dungeon is not from outside; Nor does it come through the roof or the window. The dungeon is crowded here and there and in some places it is widespread. Aa! What kind of things are those moonlit objects! Crowns of bells in a corner; Crowns studded with pearls and gems and diamonds; On the other side are harasses; Pearl cords; Jewelled garlands, what is that mouth over there? Good heavens! So many white pearls like buds! Plump Thick Pearls! There were gold coins in the pot shining yellow sunshine. Here are heaps of gold bars. Perhaps this is the treasure of the cellar of the Thanjai palace! Isn't it surprising that this dark palace and this treasure cellar are adjacent to the treasurer Pazhuvertaraiyar's palace? Mother! Have we arrived in this dungeon? Haven't Lakshmi and the Goddess of Fortune brought us here? What a strange and strange secret we have learned without any effort! How to use it? Let the use be; I don't feel like leaving! Looks like we can just hang around here. If you stay here, you won't feel hungry or thirsty! Sleep is not near! All the fruits of the victories of the Chola Nadu brave armies for hundreds of years are here. They say Navanidhi ; There's so much here! Here is a treasure trove that can defeat even Kubera's treasure, why should we leave it?
Vandhiyathevan went around the cellar. He touched the jewels lying in a corner. He picked up the gems lying on the other side, dropped them, and went to the other side and ran his hands to the pearls in the copper pot. He slipped his hand into another pot and poured out the gold coins. In a corner he saw something shining on the floor and went there. At first he didn't know what it was, then he looked down and stared. Alas! Lord! It was a skeleton! The skeleton of the human body that once consisted of flesh, blood, skin, hair, nose, face, eyes and ears!
Aa! This skeleton is moving! It comes to life! It sounds like gold coins! You seem to have got up to tell us something..... Every hair was protruding from Vallavarayan's body. He thought he had gone mad. Cheechee! The skeleton didn't wake up! A monster is running out of it! It falls on our feet and runs... Well yes; Now the skeleton is lying on the ground! But it is true that it sends us a message. "Run away! Don't delay here! I too was a human being with a body like you. I came here and got caught. I died here! Now I am a skeleton! Run away!" it warns us. We escaped from here at once, but we survived. If not, it's the same; That was the fate of that man.
Vandhiyathevan wanted to get out of the cellar. But there was no way out. I couldn't find the way I came. Everywhere I went along the side of the cellar, the specter of darkness was gaping at my mouth. Looking down, it looked like an abyss. The staircase must be somewhere. Vandhiyathevan tried more to find it. He searched and searched. As he wandered, he saw a heap of gold coins lying by the wall. It was as if a net had been woven over the heap. Looking closely, I saw that a spider had tied a web to the pile. The spider's web sparked his thinking.
The elders have compared the desire for earth, women, and gold to a spider's web. The spider spreads its web and waits. The fly flies out of nowhere and gets caught in it. Then, little by little, the spider pulls the fly and swallows it. So are the three kinds of desire. Man goes astray and falls into the traps of desire; Then there is no return! The desire for earth, the desire for women and the desire for gold have all been experienced in a single day. Nandhini alias Pazhuvur Ilayarani tried to trap us in her net. She also showed the earthy desire to attain the old kingdom of the Varnar tribe. Finally, here this horrible phantom of gold is trying to devour us completely. The first escaped both, and we must escape this third. Why do we need all this fuss? What is the kingdom for? What is wealth for? What is women's fellowship for? Our palace is the vast earth with the sky as a roof! The elders of ancient Tamil Nadu have said, "Listen to everyone, everyone is everywhere"! Every town is ours. All human beings are our relatives. You have to go from town to town; To see the rivers flowing with new floods, the trees with new leaves, the birds of many colours, the saints, the peacocks, the mountains, the peaks of the mountains, the sky, the clouds, the sea and the waves of the sea; Eat where food is available for hunger; You have to sleep where you sleep! Aha! Isn't this a happy life? Why should we abandon this easily available blissful life and lead a life of troubles, intrigues, desires, and dangers? It is enough to get out of this dungeon now; Then you have to leave this palace of darkness and the fortress of Thanjavur. Then, never to fall into such troubles.....
Aha! The sound of the door opening and closing... Footsteps again... There seems to be no end to the wonders of this night! There is no limit to miracles! There is no limit to the horrors! This time the footsteps were heard from far away. It seemed to come from both sides. Vandhiyathevan listened attentively. He peered through the darkness that surrounded the treasure cellar on all four sides. After a while, as he had expected, he saw a strange sight.
What Vandhiyathevan saw at that time was like what a person sitting far away from the stage would have seen on the stage. It happened at a place higher than where he was at that moment, at what seemed far away. A torch came from one side of the stage. On the other side, removing the curtain, another torch appeared. The two torches were getting closer and closer. In the light of a torch two tall dark figures appeared. In the light of another torch were seen two more figures. Among them was a tall and majestic figure; The other is a slightly shorter slender shape. The figures on both sides were approaching each other. Vandhiyathevan stared further into his eyes and somehow knew who those figures were. Two figures from the left were Kanthamaran and the guard who took Mathuranthaka Thevar; The figures from the right were the elder Pazhuvertaraiyar and his Ilayarani Nandhini Devi.
What happens when these two groups meet? Will something terrible happen? Or will they give way to each other and go away leisurely?... Vandhiyathevan stopped breathing in that excitement and watched so carefully.
The two groups met. From their stumbling hesitation, it seemed evident that the meeting must have come as a surprise and astonishment to both sides. But nothing untoward happened. Pazhuvertaraiyar looked at Kanthamaran and asked something. Kanthamaran gave some answer. Vandhiyathevan did not hear the question and the answer. Then, Pazhuvertaraiyar made a gesture with his hand and pointed to the steps of the tunnel. Kanthamaran bowed to him humbly. He bowed and went down the stairs. Pazhuvertaraiyar made a gesture to the guard who came behind him with a torch in his hand. He covered his mouth with one hand and bowed without replying. Then he followed Kanthamaran down the stairs. Pazhuvertaraiyar and Ilayarani went to the left.
All the above incidents, which resembled shadowing and puppetry, happened in a matter of seconds. Vandhiyathevan noticed that all this happened near the stairs leading down to the tunnel. Aha! How good it was that we didn't stop anywhere along the way, just whirled around in this cellar! What would have happened to us if we had been caught between the two groups? We survived that far. What is the way to escape? There is no doubt that Kanthamaran is going back to the tunnel that brought Mathuranthaka Thevar. We should have turned a little off that path and come to this treasure cellar. Now, if we follow Kanthamaran's route, we will find the exit anyway. Then you can escape by some trick. If that is necessary, we can ask Kanthamaran for help. If not, you can take a look at him and the guard and escape. So, let's follow Kanthamaran now.
At first, it was as if the torch light was approaching the cellar. Vandhiyathevan held his breath. Then the light seemed to fade away. Meanwhile Vandhiyathevan looked around. He knew which staircase had entered the cellar. He climbed down through it and climbed up again. He walked slowly, not letting go of the light of the torch, coming too close, and not hearing footsteps. How impossible it would be for us to find our way in the darkness through that tunnel that twisted and turned, whirled and turned, ascended and descended! Long live Kanthamaran! When are we going to repay him for the help he now unwittingly renders to us...
Vandhiyathevan did not think that there would be an opportunity for that so soon...
The end of the tunnel has arrived. A great wall was visible. No one can assume that there will be a door or a door in it. Yet there must be! The tunnel must have a secret entrance, right?
The guard transfers the torch from his right hand to his left. He puts his hand on the wall with his right hand and does something. He twists the screw as if he were screwing it. A slit appears as a thin line in the wall. The gulf is widening. It becomes a rift where a person can enter. The guard points to it with one hand. Kanthamaran says something to him and puts a foot in the crack in the wall. One foot is still in the tunnel. Now his whole back is visible!
Aha! What is this? What does this guard do? Is he picking up a small sharp curved knife that has been inserted into his waist? Good heavens! He stabbed Kanthamaran in the back! Wretch! A Chandala stabbing a man in the back from behind...
Vandhiyathevan came out of the place where he was standing aside. He leapt at once! Hearing the noise, the guard turned! The light of the torch fell on Vandhiyathevan's angry face.