Chapter 3

A PLEDGE OF FRIENDSHIP

Paranjyothi may have been conversing with Maamallar as they drove along the streets of Kanchi, but a good deal of his attention was occupied with watching the sprawling city’s beautifully kept roads, the lavishly decorated mansions that towered on either side as they flashed past, and the crowds of people moving to and from, buzzing around the roads like flies around a honey pot. He watched, and wondered anew, at the dimensions of the Vishnu and Shiva temples that loomed up among the houses, twinkling with lamps that had been lit to dispel the darkness, at madams that strove to establish in the minds of its many scholars, the intricacies and beauty of that classical language, Thamizh, the institutes and colleges that dealt with Sanskrit studies, and numerous structures and mandapams, filled to capacity with beautifully carved sculptures and other treasures.

The city was pulsing with an activity and energy that had been missing that fateful day, eight months ago. That day, he remembered, had seen the dawn of war—the first in years, in the Pallava Empire—and consequently, the city gates had been pulled shut, the streets had been scoured assiduously for spies by zealous security guards…that probably explained the gloom that had lain heavily over Kanchi, the evening he stepped inside its gates. After the initial shock that went with news of that sort, people had probably rallied together, and gone back to leading a normal life, full of trivial pursuits and occupations.

For how long…? He mused. Soon, this beautiful city, with it’s crowding throngs of people would lose its sparkle, splendour and radiance. It would stand alone, defenceless, ransacked and ruined beyond measure—mute witness to the ravages of war…

Such were the dark thoughts flitting through Commander Paranjyothi’s mind as he travelled with Maamallar in the royal chariot.

He was roused from his reverie as they neared the massive—but elegant and gracious structure, the famed Ekambareswarar Koil. Paranjyothi had guessed the identity of the temple, judging from it’s dimensions and its location, and he turned towards the Crown prince to verify that this was indeed so.

“Why, yes, commander. Do you mean to say that you’ve never visited this shrine before now?” was Maamallar’s surprised query.

“No, I haven’t. The first time I entered the city, my efforts to locate this famed shrine proved fruitless…I don’t think I even reached this locality. Could you please halt the chariot for a minute? I’d like to see the temple that’s the heart of Kanchi,” replied Paranjyothi.

Inside…the temple presented a breathtaking sight. Rows upon rows of brilliant, sparkling lamps lit up the spacious corridors. A huge *ther stood before the temple, and four well-spaced streets branched out in all directions. Shops—some offering dozens of varieties of flowers, collected in fragrant bunches in front, some providing fruits such as plantains, and mangoes, lined the streets.

Paranjyothi walked along the corridors, taking in the intricately carved columns and richly decorated Mandapams inside the temple complex, unfolding before his amazed eyes.

“Oh…!” he breathed ecstatically. “There’s some reason for Pulikesi’s love affair, after all…”

“I beg your pardon?” was Narasimhar’s startled response. “Pulikesi’s… what?”

“He’s fallen in love—with the city of Kanchi,” Paranjyothi smiled wryly. “At least, that’s how the warrior Vajrabahu phrased Pulikesi’s fanatical obsession with this beautiful lady. He said that whenever the name ‘Kanchi’ was mentioned, Pulikesi’s face underwent the transformation of a lover’s countenance at the mention of his beloved’s name…!”

“Commander, while I agree that Vajrabahu is a great warrior, famed for his prowess in martial arts, it was extremely foolhardy of him to visit Pulikesi in his own camp—courting disaster, so to speak,” began Maamallar. “Don’t you agree?”

Paranjyothi chose to ignore the question. “My lord, where’s Thiru Naavukkarasar’s madam hereabouts?”

“Over there; it’s the building that’s been closed up…”

“Oh Lord,” Paranjyothi sighed. “I’m supposed to have enrolled myself at this madam and get an education…and now I hear that the building has been closed up. No doubt a result of my fortune…”

Narasimhar grinned. “I doubt if you could’ve sustained the perils of a gruelling education in Thiru Naavukkarasar’s madam, when you’ve obviously been destined to achieve great laurels in the Pallava Forces…besides, the good Lord has obviously ordained that you get your education at my hands—how could you possibly escape your fate?”

“That probably explains the behaviour of that crazy elephant the evening I entered Kanchi—that incident was the beginning of everything…” Paranjyothi’s voice trailed away. Quite suddenly, he remembered something. “By the way, my Lord…are Aayanar and the Lady Sivakami well?”

The change that swept over Narasimhar’s countenance as soon as the word ‘Sivakami’ was mentioned, did not escape Paranjyothi’s notice. Good grief, he thought, I don’t need to go far to verify Vajrabahu’s theory about lovers and their beloved’s names…Maamallar is a living example of that claim!

When Narasimhar spoke, his voice itself seemed to have undergone a subtle transformation. “I’ve received news that they’re safe and sound, commander. But it’s many months since I last saw them…I believe they’re still at Aayanar’s forest dwelling. You see, as soon as Aayanar finished relaying the Emperor’s instructions to the sculptors under him, about the work to be undertaken at the harbour city, Maamallapuram, he dispatched them to build ‘Bharatha Mandapams’ all over the country…and with that, his work was done. He returned to his home in the forests outside Kanchi almost at once,” the Crown Prince’s voice held a strange tremor, as he finished.

He pulled Paranjyothi’s slender wrists into a strong clasp once again, and spoke in a voice husky with emotion. “Commander…you’ve achieved much on the battlefield in the past eight months, and you’ll bring more glory to the Pallava Empire in the future too—but your greatest exhibition of valour was in throwing the spear at a crazy elephant, to save Aayanar and Sivakami from the gravest danger. Wouldn’t you like to know how much I appreciate your selfless act? Wouldn’t you? Look! Look at this, and you shall know…” So saying, Narasimhar pulled out the spear Paranjyothi had thrown, eight months ago, at the crazy elephant.

Paranjyothi’s heart melted at Maamallar’s emotional speech. He reached out and clasped the spear held by the Crown prince, unable to say a word.

Narasimha Varmar spoke, his hand retaining its grip on the spear: “Commander, I’ve lost count of the number of times I stood in this Sannithi*, yearning for a friend to share my life; I believe that you were sent for that express purpose—as an answer to my prayers. You and I, my friend, will make a pledge this day, in front of God, in this sacred precinct—we’ll swear to make a pact of friendship with this very spear that saved Aayanar and Sivakami from grave danger!”

Deeparaathanai* was being performed within the sanctum at that moment, and the huge bells in Lord Ekaambareswarar’s temple tolled in response to that auspicious sign. “Om…Om…Om…”

*****************

Kannabiraan started the conversation that night.

“My dearest…I’m desolated at the thought of what I did today. I actually took your sister Sivakami’s competition—the one and only person who could possibly come between her and the Crown Prince—on board the royal chariot. You can’t imagine how the thought galls me,” he spoke in a sorrowful voice.

“What on earth are you babbling about? If you’re telling the truth—who is she? Tell me this instant, and I’ll poison her at once!” Kamali spat the words out, filled with wrath.

“It’s not a she, it’s a he,” came back the gleeful answer. “D’you remember the boy who saved your friend’s life from a crazy elephant, eight month ago? Well, that boy has returned from the battlefield, a hero—and guess what? He’s now a commander, and he’s in charge of the security of Kanchi. You ought to have seen our Crown Prince gadding about with him—he’d forget Sivakami soon enough, I think.”

“Oh, you—what would you know? Shall I tell you the reason—the real reason—for our Crown Prince ‘gadding’ about with that boy, as you call it? That’s because he saved Sivakami’s life, dear Kanna! If you had the least sense, you’d understand our Prince’s real frame of mind, and how set he is, in his purpose.”

“My darling, your intelligence dazzles me! You ought to have married a minister who holds the reins of a kingdom in his capable hands, instead of an ordinary charioteer like me,” replied Kannan.

Kamali shot him a mischievous glance. “Why, my dear husband, where do you think the saying ‘Love is blind,’ came from?”

Glossary:

*Ther: Chariot

*Sannithi: Sanctum sanctorum

*Deeparathanai: An auspicious moment when the deity is worshipped by circling it with Deepam, ie. Light. It’s the most important aspect of Hindu worship.