Those who have studied the history of ancient Tamil Nadu know that many women were in the forefront of social life in those days. Madarasis born in the royal family were highly honoured. Women of the Cola tribe and women of the Chola tribe had their own property. Each had villages, wet and dry lands, and cattle wealth according to rank. It is important to note how they used these possessions. Many people used the property to carry out various renovations in the temples in their name. Many royal ladies made donations for lighting the lamp, making garlands and offering Thiru amudhu to the devotees and devotees of Lord Shiva and had them engraved on silasasanam or copper plates.
While temple renovation by palace ladies was common in those days, Sundara Colar's beloved daughter Kundavai used her possessions for a different kind of charity. Perhaps it was out of sympathy for his ailing father that he became interested in establishing Dharma hospitals all over the country. We have already seen that a hospital had been established in Pazhaiyarai in the name of emperor Paranthaka. Similarly, Kundavai Devi had arranged for the construction of a hospital in Thanjavur in the name of her father. It was arranged to start the hospital on this Vijayadasami day and to write the inscriptions for it.
The inauguration ceremony of Sundara Chola Adurasalai took place in the Garuda Mandapam opposite the Perumal temple at Purambadi outside the Thanjavur fort. As Lord Vishnu is the protector deity and Garudaalwar is the one who brought nectar, Kundavai Pratti built a hospital in the Garuda Mandap adjacent to the Vishnu temple. For this ceremony, the people of Tanjore city and the neighboring villages had gathered in large numbers. Men, women and children thronged in fancy costumes and ornaments. The ministers of the Chola emperor's company, the big and petty officials, the stone carpenters who engraved the silasasanam, the copper sword writers and the palace servants had assembled in large numbers. The Velakara soldiers came with drums, drums and other instruments that made them tremble in all directions. The soldiers of the Thanjai fortress came with swords and spears, shouting 'Danar, Danar'. Both the Pazhuvertaraiyars came majestically on an elephant. Prince Mathuranthaka Thevar came on a white horse and did not know how to sit. Princess Kundavai, her friends and some old ladies of the palace came in a palanquin. From the other side came the ivory palanquin of Pazhuvur Ilayarani Nandhini.
Kundavai Devi, Pazhuvur Rani and other women came and sat in the blue silk canopy made for the ladies of the palace. Then, at the signal given by the elder Pazhuvertaraiyar, the ceremony began. Initially, two Oduvamoorthis sang the Thevaram pathigam "Mantra is Neeru". The people were mesmerized by the melodious song sung with the accompaniment of lute and drums. There was silence in the large crowd.
But where the ladies of the palace were sitting, there was the sound of two men talking in low voices. Pazhuvur Illayarani Nandhini sat close to Kundavai and said, "Devi! Didn't Sambanda Peruman sing this song and cure the Pandya king's illness by applying Thiruneeru? Why doesn't this song have that power now? Even if the song has no power, the Thiruneetru also has no power. Medicine, herbs, doctors, hospitals, all this is not possible these days?"
"Yes, Queen! Dharma prevailed in the world in those days. So the magic was so powerful. Sin is now rampant in the world. There are traitors in the country who plot against the king. Have we ever heard this before? That is why the power of the mantra has diminished and medicine has become necessary!" said the junior stateswoman and stared at Pazhuvur Ilaiyarani's face.
There was no change in Nandhini's face. "Really? Are there traitors on this day who plot against the King? Who are they?" she asked quietly.
"That's what I don't know. Some say one; Some say another. Ill try to stay here for a few more days to find out what is true. What do you see in the world if you are in Pazhaiyarai?" said Kundavai.
"You made a good decision. If you ask me, you had better stay here. Otherwise, the kingdom will become a wall. I will help you in any way I can. We have a guest in our house. He can help you too!"
"Whose guest is that?" asked Kundavai.
"Kanthamaran is the son of Kadampoor Sambuvaraiyar. Have you seen him? He is tall and stout like a coconut tree. He is constantly talking about 'spy' and 'traitor'. Didnt you just talk about treason? Can you tell me what is greater treason than treason?"
"I can tell you well. If a woman born as a woman to a husband who has taken her hand commits treason, it is worse than treason!"
இப்படிச் சொல்லிவிட்டுக் குந்தவை தேவி நந்தினியின் முகத்தை உற்றுப் பார்த்தாள். அவள் எதிர்பார்த்த மாறுதல் ஒன்றும் நிகழவில்லை. நந்தினியின் முகத்தில் முன்போலவே மோகனப் புன்னகை தவழ்ந்தது.
"தாங்கள் சொல்வது ரொம்ப சரி; ஆனால் கந்தன்மாறன் ஒப்புக் கொள்ளமாட்டான். 'எல்லாவற்றிலும் கொடிய துரோகம் சிநேகிதத் துரோகம்' என்று சொல்வான். அவனுடைய அருமை நண்பன் என்று கருதிய ஒருவன் ஒற்றனாக மாறிப் போனதுமல்லாமல் இவனுடைய முதுகில் குத்திப் போட்டு விட்டு ஓடிப்போய்விட்டானாம். அதுமுதல் கந்தன்மாறன் இவ்விதம் பிதற்றிக் கொண்டிருக்கிறான்!"
"யார் அவன்? அவ்வளவு நீசத்தனமாகக் காரியத்தைச் செய்தவன்?"
"யாரோ வந்தியத்தேவனாம்! தொண்டை நாட்டில் திருவல்லம் என்னும் ஊரில் முன்னம் அரசு புரிந்த வாணர் குலத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவனாம்! தாங்கள் கேள்விப்பட்டதுண்டோ?"
குந்தவை தன் முத்துப் போன்ற பற்களினால் பவழச் செவ்விதழ்களைக் கடித்துக் கொண்டாள்.
"எப்போதோ கேட்ட மாதிரி இருக்கிறது… பிற்பாடு என்ன நடந்தது?"
"பிற்பாடு என்ன? கந்தன்மாறனை முதுகில் குத்திப் போட்டு அவனுடைய சிநேகிதன் ஓடிவிட்டான். அந்த ஒற்றனைப் பிடித்து வருவதற்கு என் மைத்துனர் ஆள்கள் அனுப்பியிருப்பதாகக் கேள்வி!"
"அவன் ஒற்றன் என்பது எப்படி நிச்சயமாய்த் தெரியும்?"
"அவன் ஒற்றனோ இல்லையோ, எனக்கு என்ன தெரியும்? சம்புவரையர் மகன் சொல்லுவதைத்தான் சொல்கிறேன். தாங்கள் வேண்டுமானால் நேரில் அவனிடமே கேட்டு எல்லா விவரமும் தெரிந்து கொள்ளலாம்."
"ஆமாம்; சம்புவரையர் மகனை நானும் பார்க்க வேண்டியதுதான். அவன் பிழைத்ததே புனர்ஜன்மம் என்று கேள்விப்பட்டேன். அப்போது முதல் பழுவூர் அரண்மனையிலே தான் அவன் இருக்கிறானா?"
"ஆம்; காயம்பட்ட மறுநாள் காலையில் நம் அரண்மனையில் கொண்டு வந்து போட்டார்கள். காயத்துக்கு வைத்திய சிகிச்சை செய்ய வேண்டிய பொறுப்பும் என் தலையில் விழுந்தது. மெதுவாக உயிர் பிழைத்துக் கொண்டான்; காயம் இன்னும் முழுவதும் ஆறியபாடில்லை!"
"It's amazing that you've been cared for from the side and haven't fully recovered yet. So be it, Queen! Ill come and see him. Did the Sambuvaraiyar tribe come into existence the day before yesterday? Isn't it a tribe that has attained heroic fame since the time of emperor Parantak?...?"
"That's why I told you. Won't you come to our poor palace at least on the occasion of seeing Kanthamaran?" said Nandhini.
By this time the Thevaram hymn had ended and the tanasasana had begun. First the face of Sundara Chola emperor was read. In that letter, the emperor had declared, "Since the junior stateswoman is willing to donate all the income of Nallurmangalam village that we had given to our Thirumagalar Kundavai Pratti as a whole donation, we have converted all the wet lands of that place into 'iraiyili' land." After Thirumanthiram Nayakar read it, the treasurer gave it to the elder Pazhuvertaraiyar, who took it with both hands, stuck it in his eyes and asked him to record it in the account.
Then Kundavai's Dana Sila Sasanam was read. It was carved in granite that the peasants of the village should enjoy the land of the above village with all rights and send two hundred kalams of paddy per year to the doctor of the Thanjavur Sundara Chola Adurasalai and fifty measures of cow's milk, five measures of goat's milk and a hundred tender coconuts daily for the patient treated at Adurasalai.
After reading the Silasasanam it was handed over to the village headmen of Nallur Mangalam who had come there for this ceremony. The village leaders reverently accepted the Sasana stone and hoisted it on a nearby elephant. At that time the sound of thousands of voices chanting "Long live Maduraikonda Gorajakesari Sundara Chola emperor!" spread in all the eight directions. Competing with the sound of that voice, the roar of a hundred drums rose and swept the sky. Then the sequence of "Long live junior stateswoman Kundavai Devi!" "Long live Veera Pandyan's headed heroic warrior Athitha Karikalar!" "Long live Eezhamkonda prince Arulmozhivarmar!" "Long live Mathuranthaka Thevar, the ascetic son of Sivagnana Kandarathithar!" At last, "Long live the treasurer, the grain treasurer, the leader of the grain treasurer, the divine god, the great Pazhuvertaraiyar!" When the chants of "Long live the Thanjai fortress leader Chinna Pazhuvertaraiyar Kalanthakantar!" the volume of noise decreased considerably. Only the Pazhuvur soldiers raised these slogans but not many of the people who had gathered joined them. At that time, Kundavai tried to see Pazhuvur Ilayarani's face but in vain. There is no doubt that even the iron-hearted junior stateswoman would have been terrified if she had seen Nandhini's face especially when Athitha Karikalar was being greeted.