Part 1-A New Floods Chapter 22 The Velakkara Battalion || "Ponniyin Selvan" of Kalki Krishnamurthy Tamil Historic Novel about the Great King Raja Raja Cholan
CHAPTER 22 The VelakkaraBattalion
First the cloth curtain, the outer one with the insignia on it, opened. Then the inner silk curtain also began to move.
Vandiyathevan saw the golden-hued hand he had seen earlier. Thinking it was not right to sit on the horse any longer,Vandiyathevan jumped down. He ran to the palanquin, looked up and said, “Raja, Raja, the bearers...” He closed his eyes, opened them and looked again. His eyes were dazzled. His speechslurred and and his throatgrew dry. “No!No! You are the Pazhuvoor Ilaya Rani...the Pazhuvoor Ilaya Rani. The palanquin belonging to your men dashed against my horse,” he stutteredincoherently.
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All this happenedwithin a split second. The armed soldiersat the front and rear of the palanquin surrounded Vandiyathevan.
Vandiyathevan’s hand reached automatically for his sheathed sword. His eyes however, could not tear themselves awayfrom the facehe saw between the curtains, beautiful as the moon.
Yes! Contrary to his expectations, the form he now saw in the palanquin was really a woman's. And what a woman! Never had Vandiyathevan imagined that beauty like this, which could drive the beholdercrazy, could exist.
Fortunately for him, a nervein his brain clicked at that moment. A fantastic idea came to him and he decidedto put it into action.
With agreat effort, he cleared his throat and willed himselfto be strong enough to articulate. “Forgiveme. Aren’t you the Pazhuvoor Rani? I’ve come all this way just to see you.”
A gentle smile playedover the Rani'syouthful face. Her lotus- like lips opened a little, showing pearly teeth. The magnetism of her smile disconcerted our young warrior.
The soldiers seemed to be waiting for orders from their mistress. She made a sign with her hands and they moved away. Two of them took charge of his horse.
The woman in the palanquin looked at Vandiyathevan. Two spear-points pierced his chest.
“Yes! I am the Pazhuvoor Ilaya Rani,” she said. What intoxicating drug lined her throat? Why did his head spin at the sound of her voice?
“Whatdid you say just now? You complained about something, the palanquin bearers?”
Could the softnessof Kasi silk, the intoxication of liquor, the sweetness of wild honey and the blinding brillianceof monsoon lightningmingle in a girl's voice?They had, just now.
“Did you say they ran the palanquin into your horse?”
The mischief in her smile told him she appreciated the joke. Vandiyathevan grew a little daring.
“Yes, Maharani! They did. My horse was frightened!” he replied.
“You look shaken too. Ask the priest from the Durga temple to sweep you with neem branches.Your fear will vanish.”
But Vandiyathevan’s fear had evaporated completely by now. He was about to laugh.
The Pazhuvoor Rani'sexpression suddenly changed.Blazing anger replacedher Smile.
“Youcan joke later.Tell me the truth. Why did you run your horseinto the palanquin?”
Vandiyathevan had to find a suitablereply. Fortunately, an answer was ready in his mind. In a voice so low that none could hear, he whispered, “Devil Nandini Devil Azhwarkadiyan, that is Thirumalayappan, asked me to meet you. That’s why I resortedto this trick. Please forgive me.”
He looked at her intentlyas he spoke, waiting eagerlyto see the effect of his words.
It was like throwing a stone at a fruit tree. Would the fruit fall? Or the stone? Or would some unexpected disaster strike him?
The Pazhuvoor Rani raised her dark eyebrows. Surprise and doubt appearedin her eyes. She arrivedat a decision at once.
“Right!It's not properto stand and talk on the highway.Come to our palace tomorrow. You can tell me everything there.” Vandiyathevan's heart swelled with joy. It seemed as though he would succeed in his mission. But it was no use crossing threefourths of the well, he had to cover the remaining one- fourthtoo.
“Devi!Devi! I’ll not be allowedinto the fort, nor into the palace.What shall I do?” he asked agitatedly.
The Pazhuvoor Rani opened a silk purse lying beside her and took out an ivoryring.
“If you show this, you’ll be allowed into the fort as well as into our palace,” she said, givinghim the ring.Vandiyathevan took it eagerly. He looked for a moment at the palmyra insignia engraved on it. When he raised his head again to thank the Rani, the curtains were being closed.
Aha! The planet Rahu swallows the full moon bit by bit. But these curtainshad swallowed theface of thateloquent moon in seconds!
“At least from now on don’t follow me. It’s dangerous. Stay here awhile and proceed with care,” said a silken voice from behind the curtain.
The palanquin moved on, with soldiers at its front and rear.
Vandiyathevan stood by the roadside, holding his horse. He noticed thatone of the men, the one who had questioned him turned back twice or thrice. This sent signals to his subconscious.
Yes. His conscious mind however, kept revolving around the beauty of the Pazhuvoor Rani. Was everything he'd just seenand heard real or an enchanting, illusorydream? Could such a beautiful form exist in this world?
The Puranas spoke of Ramba, Urvasi and Menaka whose beauty, he had heard,could disturb the penance of sages and renunciates. But in this world... perhaps the rumours thatPeriya Pazhuvettarayar lay enslaved at this Mohini's feet were true. It would not surprise him if they were. The hideous Pazhuvettarayar with his grey hair, and battle scarred body;the contrast betweenhim and this gorgeous young woman!
What wouldn’t the old man do to snatch a smile from her?
Standing still for a long time, immersed in these thoughts, Vandiyathevan mountedhis horse and rode in the direction of the Thanjavurfort.
The sun was setting as he reached the main gate. The city limits were well before the fort. There were rows of streets around the fort, filled with shops selling various articles and with people practising all kinds of professions. Buyers, sellers, horse-drawn chariots andbullock carts crowdedthe streets.
Vandiyathevan was eager to enter thestreets and watchthe lifestyle of the inhabitants of the new Chozha capital, but he felt he had no time for it now. He had to first accomplish his mission. He could watch the fun later.
Vandiyathevan approached the main entrance to the city with this thought in mind. The massive gates of the fort were closed. The gatekeepers were pushing the crowds to both sides of the road. Instead of going about their business, people also stood aside and seemed to be waitingas though
they were expecting an approaching procession. Men, women,children, Old people:everyone looked expectant.
The space in front of the gates was empty except for the gatekeepers. Though he was eager to know what the matterwas, Vandiyathevan had no desire to confront the gatekeepers all aloneand provoke an argument or a fight.For the moment,the task he had to do was more important than any display of valour. This was not the time to get into a scuffle.
So Vandiyathevan stood in a corner from where he could see the gates of the fort. He turned at the sudden fragrance of flowers and saw a young Saivite who bore the marks of his faith. Vandiyathevan took in the vibhuthi, the rudraksha mala and the basketsof flowers the young man carried.
“Thambi, why are all these people standing aside? Is a procession or something like that expected?” he asked the youngster.
“Ayya,you’re not from these parts?”“No, I belong to Thondaimandalam.”
“That’swhy you ask that question!It will be better if you get down from your horse.”
Vandiyathevan dismounted, so thathe could talkto the youngman easily.
“Why did you ask me to get down, thambi”
“The Velakkara battalion will be leaving the fort now after their darshan of the Emperor. That's why the crowd is waiting here.”
“Isn’tit to watch the fun?”“Yes.”
“Then why can’t I watch seated on my horse?”
“You can. But it will be dangerous if the Velakkara battalionsees you.”
“What will happen?Will they takethe horse away?”
“They’ll take both horse and rider away. They’re wicked people.”
“Will people let them get away with that?”
“What else can theydo? The word of the Velakkara battalion is law in this city. There’s no one to questionthem. Even the Pazhuvettarayars don’t interfere where the Velakkara battalion is concerned.”
At that juncture,a commotion was heard inside the fort. The sound of trumpets, drums and pipesmingled with hundredsof voices hailingand cheering.
Vandiyathevan knew all about the Velakkarabattalion. It was an important institution in old Tamilnadu, especially in the Chozha kingdom. The Velakkarars were bodyguards to the reigning kings, but with an important difference. They had taken an oath that they would give their lives to ensure that no harm came to the king. If, because of their carelessness or because of circumstances beyondtheir control, the king's lifewas endangered, they had sworn to cut off their heads and offer them to Durga. Naturally,warriors who had taken such a grim oath enjoyed privileges to which others were not entitled.
The gates clangedopen.
Two horsemen led, holding a flag high in their right hands.
It was an unusual flag, with a tiger paintedon the top and below it, a crown. Below the crown was a sacrificial altar, a severed head and a big sword. It was quite a frightening design.
Behindthe horses came a bullock,with drums tied on both its sides,and a man beating each drum.
Aboutfifty men followed, beating small and big drumsand another fifty blowing curvedhorns.
Arounda thousand soldierscame next, many of whom were shoutingpraises in thunderous voices.
“Long live Paranthaka SundaraChozhar, the Emperorof the world!”
“May he live long!”
“Longlive King SundaraChozhar!” “May he live long!”
“Long live the King of Thanjavur!”
“May he live long!”
“Long live the Perumal who defeated Veerapandyan!” “May he live long!”
“Long live the conqueror of Madurai, Eezhamand Thondaimandalam!”
“May he live long!”
“Long live the clan of Karikal Valavan!”
“Victory to Durga, Mahakali,Parathpari, Parasakthis” “Victory! Victory!”
“May the victorious tiger flag fly all over the world!”
“Victory! Victory!”
“Hail, our spears, the heroic vel! Veeravel!” “Hail, our spears,the victorious vel! Vetrivel”
As hundreds of throats roared these slogans, the sound that echoed from the walls made one’shair stand on end. Many of those on the roadside joined the chorus. The uproar all around when the Velakkara (Readers may be aware that another name for the Tamil god Murugan is Velakkaran. The explanation given is that Murugan has vowed to protect His devotees.) battalion started to stream out of the fort lasted until they had gone down the street and were finally out of sight.
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