Aditha's Queen

The Mysterious Mystic

Aditha, Nandini and their baby boy headed to Thanjai with Parthiva and Nandini's parents. The rest of the royal family had left Kanchi a few days after their baby was born to begin preparations for Arulmozhi's wedding. The royal household had also arranged for a naming ceremony for Aditha's baby prior to the wedding. Vigilance, scrutiny and security were upped for the royal journeys.

Aditha and Nandini visited Pazhayarai Krishnar temple with their baby boy on the next day of their arrival in Thanjai. After offering prayers to the Lord and as they were sitting in a kalmandapam near the sanctum, Aditha asked Nandini, "What do you want to name our little boy, Nandini?"

Nandini replied with a question. "Would you like to guess, Aditha?"

"I don't know what your choice is but my pick is Kannan after the Lord of this temple", Aditha said, winking his eyes.

Nandini grinned gleefully at Aditha who was cuddling their sleepy little boy.

Sundara Chozhar was cognizant of Nandini's deep devotion to Lord Krishna. Although he was a big devotee of Lord Shiva, he did take part in the Krishna temple rituals at Ponmaligai on many occasions when he was there. He never failed to visit the Vadivazhagiya Nambi temple in Anbil with his dear friend Aniruddhar to pray to the Lord before important events like battles. The king had contributed immensely to the construction and upkeep of the Anbil Perumal temple. He was highly regarded even by the buddhists and jains for his generous grants and broad religious outlook.

When Aditha expressed his desire to add Kannan to the ancestral name for his son, Sundara Chozhar came up with 'Karikala Kannan' for his grandson after the great Karikalan, their ancient chola forefather, whom Aditha himself was named after.

A grand naming ceremony was held for the crown prince's one-month-old son in Thanjai palace the following day. The beautiful baby boy began to be lovingly called Kanna by one and all.

The huge royal household then travelled to Kodumabalur for Arulmozhi's wedding with Vanathi. The long wait ended for Vanathi and Arulmozhi when they tied the knot in a spectacular wedding ceremony attended by nobles and knights. The charming couple looked every bit a match made in heaven. The newlyweds were given a monumental reception in Thanjai after which they left for Pazhayarai to start their new life together as man and wife. Kundavai was extremely delighted to realise her long-cherished dream of welcoming her best buddy Vanathi into the household as her sister-in-law.

Periya Pazhuvettarayar's rage seemed to have somewhat cooled down. Madhurantakan did not budge an inch from his stance to not claim the throne. The king and queen leaving Thanjai and staying in Kanchi for a long stretch of time, the display of strong family unity, Arulmozhi's return from Ilangai and his marriage alliance with the Kodumbalur family were all effective in unnerving PP.

A month after Arulmozhi's wedding, Sundara Chozhar and Vanavan Maadevi returned to Kanchi with Aditha & Co. The king had said to Arulmozhi, "There are, indeed, advantages to the ruler and his co-ruler working together from one place. And as a new grandparent i wish to revel in the company of my grandchild." Arulmozhi and Kundavai were more than happy to let their parents go to Kanchi as their father's poor health had miraculously turned around for the better since he went there. The kind king had insisted that Nandini's parents too should accompany them to Kanchi.

Dharini, who had given birth to a baby boy about a week after Nandini, soon returned to the Pallava Palace in Kanchi with her newborn son Mahendravarman and her parents.

Kannan was the central focus of his parents and enchanted everyone around him. But Nandini had a nagging worry about the old man's divination in Mallai. 

"Dharini! The seer in Mallai was accurate in his predictions. We both have sons now. And Kanna's sangu chakra birthmarks are unfailing markings of a king, apparently! Many in the family have said so and i heard a few others mention it during his naming ceremony. I believe them to be stamps of Perumal's blessing on my boy. But my stomach churns every time i think of the old man's prediction about the father's dire outcome. I am afraid that something bad will befall Aditha", Nandini said to Dharini, her lovely eyes filling with tears.

"Nandini! Don't worry, my dear. Krishna will not let you down. Why don't we make a trip to Mallai again to see if the seer is still there and ask him to advise remedies to avoid the danger?", suggested Dharini.

"That's a great idea, Dharini! Don't they say that gods help people in the form of humans? I suspected that he was a spy or a conman at first. But it turns out he is a mystic and he must be able to help", said Nandini.

Nandini and Dharini didn't have to try hard to get their husbands to take them out on a day trip to Mallai. They left the baby boys with their grandparents at Ponmaligai under the expert care of Niraimadhi and Poongodhai.

It was not a fun trip like their first one together as Nandini was now extremely concerned but had to pretend to be euphoric. Dharini was somewhat relieved to think that the prophecy might not affect Parthiva after all. But she was very worried about Aditha, Nandini and Kanna.

They reached Mallai after what seemed an eternity.  After a game of dice and lunch at the same beach spot, Nandini and Dharini managed to chase their husbands away for a swim in the sea waters. The girls, both on tenterhooks, then walked towards the cave where they first saw the seer.

But to their utter dismay, not only was the old man not there but there was no man-sized cavity at that spot on the cave now! Nandini and Dharini stared at each other in disbelief.

They went around and inside the cave a few times to look for the seer but the hollow or the man was simply not there.

Again, they held each other for support as they slowly walked back to the beach. They slumped on the sands and waited for their husbands to return ashore.