Will the religious elephant stand in fear of Azhvarkadiyan's stick and his scolding? Lifting its trunk vigorously, it was coming upwards, shattering the vegetation along the way. There is no doubt that the next moment Azhvarkadiyan's fate will be the same! The two soldiers stood where they were standing and shouted 'Hi'. Vandhiyathevan picked up the work that had slipped from his hand and fell to the ground and wanted to give it one last try. At the same time Azhvarkadiyan swung the stick from his hand and threw it at the religious elephant.
The next moment Azhvarkadiyan was gone. His turban flew in the air and landed on a branch of a tree. Before I could think about what Azhvarkadiyan would have become, something even more important had happened. The elephant that went near the place where he hid suddenly fell on its knees and leaned forward with its front legs folded. A terrifying crackling sound echoed throughout the forest. The next moment the mountain-like figure of the religious elephant disappeared completely. As the elephant rolled into the abyss, a cloud of dust from the fallen rocks rose up and spread. It took Vandhiyathevan some time to think about what had happened.
There was a huge hole behind Azhvarkadiyan and he threw his stick and fell backwards. The mad elephant went towards him and put both the front legs in the ditch. Then I tried to manage, but I couldn't. The very weight of its hilly body had become its enemy and dragged it into the abyss! The same kind of death has happened to the mad elephant and the mad elephant Azhvarkadiyan at the same time!
When Vandhiyathevan's heart realized this, his body shivered. There was great anguish in his heart. Vandhiyathevan's initial doubts about that Sri Vaishnavan disappeared and a kind of desire had developed for him during the journey. What should happen to such a man? He was also worried that he would have to do on his own without his help and guidance. Vandhiyathevan came near the place where the Vaishnavan and the elephant had disappeared into the pit and stood and looked down.
At first it was a cloud of dust, but nothing was visible. Gradually, the dust subsided and the path of the elephant was seen to be covered with vegetation and rocks.
"What, brother! You are just having fun! Can't you give me a hand?" Hearing the voice, Vandhiyathevan was taken aback.
Instead of staggering in surprise, he looked at the place from which the voice had come. Azhvarkadiyan was hanging from the root of a tree on the edge of a steep cliff along the path of the elephant. Do you want to listen to Vandhiyathevan's joy? Then came the joke.
"Oooh! O Vaishnava! You have given moksha only to Gajendra and stayed in Trisanku heaven," he said and clapped his hands to the soldiers.
He untied the roll of cloth around his waist and held one end tightly to both soldiers. When he dropped the other end, Azhvarkadiyan let go of the root of the tree and grabbed the roll of cloth. The three of them dragged the Vaishnava slowly up.
For a while, Azhvarkadiyan lay there sighing deeply, as if unconscious. The others gathered around him and comforted him.
Suddenly he sat up and said, "Leave! We must reach the royal road before it gets dark. Where's my headscarf? Where's the stick?"
"There's no hurry, just relax a little longer. Then we can leave," said Vandhiyathevan.
Then I heard a fox howling. On the other side another fox began his melodious song. A hundred or two hundred foxes sang a chorus. There were bustling journeys from the highland forest to the valley below. There was no need to attribute the commotion to leopards hiding in the bushes. Eagles and hawks began to circle up in the crater.
"The death of an elephant is not a simple matter. Carnivorous animals and birds would come from far and wide to devour Gajendran's body. We too will become a slave to them. Leave immediately!" said Azhvarkadiyan.
Vandhiyathevan did not contradict what he said now. The four of them went through the forest as fast as they could. They reached the royal road at sunset.
The royal road was bustling with people coming and going, carts and vehicles. Vandhiyathevan was amazed to see people riding on elephants so casually. 'Is this the only animal that has caused so much panic on the forest path?' he wondered.
"Where does this royal song go from? Where have we come from? Where are we going?"
"We have arrived on the royal road from Anuradhapura to Simmakiri. Dambulla is still a long way off. We can reach there by night," said Azhvarkadiyan.
"You could have come safely through the royal road. Why did we come through the forest?"
"If we had come along the royal road, they would have stopped us at a hundred places and searched us. They would have stopped altogether in Anuradhapura. I came to know that the person we were looking for had gone to Simmakiri. That's why I came to the crossroads. Were we still going to find him, or not? You should not go somewhere else!" said Azhvarkadiyan.
On both sides of the royal road were numerous houses, villages, bazaars, blacksmiths and carpenters workshops. Most of the people who lived and worked in them appeared to be Sinhalese. Soldiers from Tamil Nadu were crisscrossing the royal road. But the Sinhalese on both sides carried on their business without any hindrance.
"In whose possession is all this area now?" asked Vandhiyathevan.
"The Chola army has captured up to Dambulla. Beyond that, the Simmakiri hill and the fort are in Mahinthan's possession."
"The people who live on these sides?"
"Mostly Sinhalese. ' After 'Ponniyin Selvar' came here, the course of the war changed. The fight is between the Chola soldiers and Mahinthan's soldiers. That is, when encountered on the battlefield. Otherwise, the inhabitants can live in fear. Buddhist priests have the same celebration. Our prince has ordered all the ruined Buddhist viharas in Anuradhapura to be rebuilt! Did you hear the story? Why don't Buddhist priests rejoice? When I meet the prince, I am going to say, 'I don't like what you are doing at all!'
"Who is this prince to do something you don't like? Has he grown a horn?" said Vallavarayan.
"He didn't have horns. Younger brother! That's true! But there is some power in him. No matter what anyone complained about him, they fainted when they saw him in front of him. No one has the power to speak against the prince. Only one person has such power—the power to make the prince do as he pleases..."
"Yes, yes! Who does not know the miraculous power of Veera Vaishnava Azhvarkadiar? What is a prince to the one who conquered such a terrible mad elephant with a stick!"
"You didn't quite understand what I said, brother! Where is Ponniyin Selvar? Where is this poor Vaishnava? I will resist the religious elephant with a stick; I will oppose the tiger, the bear and the lion with empty hands. But when I stand face to face with Ponniyin Selvar, all my courage goes somewhere. The chest is touched. The throat gets choked. It is a gigantic effort to get a word out of your mouth..."
"Then who did you say that he has the power to rule?"
"The world knows; Don't you know? I am talking about the junior stateswoman. Kundavai Devi's word is his word of the Vedas!"
"Oho! Are you talking about the junior stateswoman of Pazhaiyarai? I saw if you were talking about your sister Pazhuvur Ilaiyarani!"
"Nandhini also has rare powers. But her power is different."
"How? What's the difference?"
"If a person is going to fall into hell, Kundavai Devi will stop him and take him to heaven; It's a kind of power. Do you know what Nandhini will do? Her power is a step further. She will make you believe in hell and make you jump happily into hell!"
Vandhiyathevan shivered. How accurately this brave Vaishnava has measured Nandhini's character and her terrible power of lust! Is it true to say that Nandhini is his sister? Vandhiyathevan was so absorbed in this thought that he did not ask any more. They walked a short distance in silence.
The silence was broken by the tramp of some horses hoofs. The alarm came from the opposite side. In a few minutes four horses came galloping on all fours. The horses, stirring up dust like a whirlwind, flew past our cattle in a flash of lightning. However, even in that brief moment Vandhiyathevan was able to see the face of one of the men on those horses! Aha! Isn't he Parthipenthira Varman? Isn't he a personal friend of Prince Aditya in Kanji? He doesn't like us that much, does he? Where has he come and where is he going? Why did he come to Ilankai? When did he come?...
பிரயாணிகளைத் தாண்டிச் சென்ற குதிரைகள் சற்றுத் தூரம் போனதும் கம்பீரமான ஒரு குரலில் "நில்லுங்கள்!" என்று கட்டளை பிறந்தது. குதிரைகள் நின்றன; பிறகு, இந்தப் பக்கமாகத் திரும்பின. அவர்களில் தலைவனாகக் காணப்பட்டவன் குதிரையைச் செலுத்திக்கொண்டு முன்னால் வந்தான். மற்றவர்கள் பின் தொடர்ந்து வந்தார்கள். முன்னால் வந்தவன், வல்லவரையன் எண்ணியது போலவே, நாம் முன்னம் மாமல்லபுரத்தில் பார்த்திருக்கும் பார்த்திரபேந்திர பல்லவன்தான்.
வந்தியத்தேவனை அவன் உற்றுப் பார்த்துவிட்டு, "இது என்ன அப்பா இது? நீ எப்படி இங்கே வந்து சேர்ந்தாய்? தஞ்சாவூரில் நீ திடீரென்று மாயமாய் மறைந்துவிட்டாய் என்று சொன்னார்களே? உன்னைப் பழுவேட்டரையர்கள் தீர்த்திருப்பார்கள் என்றல்லவா நினைத்தேன்!" என்றான்.
"பழுவேட்டரையர்களால் என்னை அவ்வளவு எளிதில் தீர்த்துக்கட்ட முடியுமா? நான் பழைய வாணர் குலத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவன் அல்லவா?"
"Yes, yes! There is no one equal to you in saving your life and surviving at any cost..."
"Sir! I will save my life when it is necessary to save it. I know how to give my life when it is due. If I were to die like that, I would die fighting an old Pallava clan like you, but at the hands of the wretched Pazhuvertaraiyars," said Vandhiyathevan as he drew his sword from its sheath.
"Achcha! Are you asking me to fight you? And that too in this far land! No, brother, don't! I have urgent work! What happened to what the prince entrusted to you?"
"I have done it, sir! I handed over the letter to the emperor which I had ordered to be given to the emperor. I gave him the letter I asked him to give to the junior stateswoman!"
"Why did you come here?"
"I have been wanting to see Sri Lanka for a long time. That is why I came with this Vaishnava..."
"Aha! I think I've seen this guy somewhere!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, you have seen it. I came to Prince Aditya to inquire if he knew anything about my sister. You were by his side then...."
"Who is your sister?"
"Nandhini Devi who is now the youngest queen of Pazhuvur!"
"Aha! If you think of all the harm done to the country by that poisonous snake... You should be impaled to be her brother!"
"Maharaja! I have vowed that one day I will die on the stake. If you yourself come that day and do it with your own hands..."
"Can I hang you on the stake? It takes a hundred people. Let it be; Did you hear anything about the prince on your way? Do you know if he has come to Anuradhapura?" asked Parthipenthiran.
"What do we know about that, Your Highness? We came through the woods! A mad elephant chased me in the forest! See then..."
"Enough of your story! Who saw it? Even if one day I hang you myself and fulfill your wish, I will fulfill it!" said Parthipenthiran and turned his horse.
Azhvarkadiyan was talking to Parthipenthiran and looking at all the people with him.
After everyone had turned their horses around, Azhvarkadiyan said to Vandhiyathevan, "Brother! Did you see the other three? Did you know any of them before?" he asked eagerly.
"No, I haven't seen it!" said Vandhiyathevan.
"Yes, you couldn't have seen it. I have seen two of them. I saw Thirupurampayam in the middle of the night! Father! What a terrible vow they took!"
"What terrible vow did they take?"
"They vowed to destroy the Chola tribe from this world!"
"Oh my gosh!"
"I don't know how they got here before us! Clever! Somehow they managed to catch this rude Pallavan, see!" said Azhvarkadiyan and fell silent.
Vandhiyathevan remembered something he had learned in Kodikarai. Hadn't he heard that just the day before his arrival in Kodikarai, two men had gone to Ilankai in a hurry and that Poongkuzhali's brother had taken them in a boat? Will there be those two of them? In that case, what connection could they have with Parthipenthiran?
The four of them were approaching Dambulla, a Buddhist holy place.