Veerapandian Magal

The Broken Hearts

Nandini landed in a humble house in an islet of the Vaigai river in Pandiyanadu and felt like fish out of water without her Aditha. She cried her eyes out every night and during the days, dreamt of Aditha walking majestically towards her, lifting her with love and gleefully carrying her to his horse. But he did not come seeking her. You are certainly my Rama, Aditha! You love me very much but I am still banished. Days rolled into months and months into years in what seemed like eons to her. Her hope slowly gave way to despair and despair turned to anger.

One day Nandini was singing and gathering flowers in the front-yard of her house. She saw four men on walking horses nearby and when they were about to pass her she dropped the flower basket in astonishment as she saw Aditha mounted on his horse. He too turned towards her and looked flabbergasted. He ordered his men to stay behind and approached Nandini. "After all these years! Nandini! How are you? Why did you leave me?" he asked as if it was by her choice. "Royal orders, Komagane! I am quite well. Why are you here?" she blurted out. She saw a flash of anger in his eyes. "Nandini! I am sorry. I will atone for this. I am here on a war mission. I will have to go now. But i will see you again" he said and slowly disappeared out of her sight. Of course, you have come here for your war. He did come back to see her the following day but seemed preoccupied. Nandini was well aware of the ongoing Chola Pandiya rivalry. It was obvious that the burden of war was weighing him down. Or had a crack formed in the ground between them?

Lying down in his war tent, Karikalan was elated that he found his Nandini again. He and his men were acquainting themselves with the layout of the areas around the Vaigai river and that was when he found her. She is like an Apsara who has descended from the heaven just to intoxicate me. She looks more regal than all the noble ladies i have seen. She was quite aloof, having been scared out of her wits due to the ouster from Pazhayarai. I will kill Veerapandiyan as I promised my father and ask Nandini as my reward for the achievement . He cannot refuse my request after i have terminated his bitterest enemy. Aditha made his mental plan.

Veerapandiyan was a cunning king. In the decades of rivalry between the Cholas and Pandyas spanning many battles, he fought ruthlessly and killed or grievously injured some of Karikalan's ancestors and ran away from the battlefield at his convenience to hide in mountains and deserts to avoid getting killed. He also had an alliance with the Srilankan king who sent his troops to strengthen Veerapandiyan to counter the Cholas.

Aditha was a brilliant warrior who performed unimaginable deeds of valour in the battlefield since he was twelve. He had defeated Veerapandiyan before but the wily king ejected himself out of the battle and went into hiding. He resurfaced at an opportune moment when Karikalan was on a different war pursuit and captured his city again. But this time around, Aditha was determined to put an end to Veerapandian's deceitful tactics.

Karikalan fought relentlessly in the battlefield, penetrated the inner circle of warriors guarding Veerapandiyan from all sides, slashed him with his sword and dismounted him from his horse. But to his horror, he heard Veerapandiyan screaming at his soldiers to carry him off, the fear of death writ large on his face. And within a moment, a wall of men surrounded him and he was escorted out of sight. Aditha and his men chased him but to no avail. Aditha immediately deployed his strategy of scouring all the adjacent areas in groups until they found Veerapandiyan. If you run away from the battlefield, i will bring the battle to your hideout, you fox.

Veerapandian's bodyguards carried the profusely bleeding king into Nandini's house as advised by the king. Nandini had the house to herself as her foster parents had gone to a nearby village to attend to their pregnant daughter's needs. She assisted the vaidyar who came along with the king's Aapathuthavigal to treat his wounds. The prognosis of the king was pretty bad according to the vaidyar but "Kotravai's will shall prevail" he said and fine-tuned his care.

A little while later, Veerapandian signalled his men to stay outside the house and started speaking to Nandini in a struggling and pathetic voice "Forgive me, my daughter, and take care of my son Amara as if he were yours. Make him the next Pandiya king and forget your love for that chola lover of yours. Bring forth his ruin like a true Kshatriya woman and make your father proud. Promise me and i will depart in peace." Nandini felt tears forming in her widened eyes as she touched his extended palm with hers and fainted.

On that same day at dusk, when the bodyguards had let their guard down a bit and Nandini was helping Veerapandian drink some water, she heard the front door of her house being pushed open with a thud and saw Karikalan entering like Kaalan with a raised sword. His eyes reddened in rage as he took in the scene before him. Nandini ran towards Karikalan, fell at his feet and begged, "Please spare him for my sake. He is dear to me. He is all i have." Karikalan did not need another prompt from Nandini. He kicked her aside and with one one sharp wave of his sword severed Veerapandian's head and gave a betrayed look at Nandini. She glared back at him feeling betrayed and he left.

About a year ago, Nandini was part of the Koodalazhagar temple group of vaishnavites that visited the Pandiya palace with prasadams, vedic hymns and devotional music to invite Veerapandian to the Kumbabishekam of the renowned temple. The king was in Nandini's house the next evening enquiring her parents about her birth, boring his eyes into Nandini while doing so. He summoned Nandini to the palace the next day and scanning her again with his eyes asked, "Do you know your mother, young lady?" Nandini squirmed under his gaze and uttered feebly, "No, Sir. Do you?". The king just said "I might drop into your house or summon you here any time. Be prepared." And the king dismissed her. Nandini was shocked to think that the Pandiya king could know something about her birth. But he was not forthcoming with anything more. And she never heard from him until he was rushed into her house by his bodyguards today.

Karikalan could not get involved in the celebrations in his camp that night. He perfunctorily acknowledged the praises and congratulated his warriors but his mind was disturbed by Veerapandian's killing. He was sorry that he did not heed when Nandini beseeched him. But Aditha was mad with jealousy when she said Veerapandian was dear to her. More than me, Nandini? How could you beg for that beast when you should have handed him to me yourself, knowing my goal? The crack in the ground between them had widened and deepened into a chasm. But he felt that he could not proceed to Cholanadu without meeting her and saying sorry. So he sneaked out of the tent in the wee hours when everyone was tired after the day's exertion and late night partying and were deep asleep.

But to his consternation, Nandini's house along with many other houses in the neighbourhood had been burnt down. He ran around, calling out her name and searching for her frantically, but no trace of humans was seen in the islet.

Footnote:

After returning to Pazhayarai from the Rashtrakuta war after two years and not finding Nandini there, Aditha enquired Thirumalai about her whereabouts. Thirumalai, to prevent discord in the royal family, told Aditha that his parents had moved back to Pandiyanadu to marry off their elder daughter to a relative there. And that he hoped to bring them back after his education was over and he was on a firm financial footing. Aditha had to first fulfil his life's mission of eliminating the Pandiya king before he could seek Nandini in Pandiyanadu. He was ready to wait two lifetimes for her. He returned to his current calling in the north. And Nandini told her parents that it was Aditha or none for her.