VEDIC VOWS - BOOK 1 THE MOHINI

Chapter - 4 THE ASTROLOGER

 124 BCE ,Jyaishtha  13th, Kudavayil, Chola Empire, South India

It was Amavashya* and the whole town was plunged in to darkness and immersed in silence; but a dim light could be seen on the edge of the agraharam** which housed the moderate size home of the astrologer, Thiribuvana Srinivasan acharyar. The gong had already struck in the  agragaram temple to denote its closure. 

 He was a famous astrologer and was often consulted by royalty, but this was different; though the request was from a royal family, he owed her a life debt. He could still see her in his mind; as she leapt from her parisal1, when he stood on the banks of the swiftly rising Cauvery, unable to move, his body still in grip of shock rooted to the spot and starring in mounting horror as his son was caught in a flood.

Why a princess was in a parisal he did not know, all he knew was that the girl was resplendent; not in attire but in her bearing. His son was not a child, he was almost a man just shy of seventeen and to save a person weighing more than one self was a great feat for a girl of twelve. For a man who excelled in the art of samuthrika latchana+, the then rajkumariᵻ of Raipur and now the queen of Audumbaras, was a strong woman and his gratitude did not shield his eyes to her ruthlessness or the streak of cruelty, thinly veiled in her eyes.

He simply could not stop pacing; revisiting the past did not ease his mind. The three Likithas he held in his hand lay heavily on his mind, in an unconscious act he fingered his gold chain given to him by the queen sunanda; the sins of the parents always visited their children. It had become true in the case of the queen’s daughters. His calculations never lied; it was a bad way to repay a life debt, but he did not control what was written on the stars. the path fate bestowed on a person. The queen had said he owed her nothing if he finished the charts, but his heart knew with such a reading it only increased tenfold. He vowed a personal oath to himself, that he will somehow make right with the princesses.  The only silver lining was that the daughters would bear sons destined for greatness.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he was brought back to the present, when he heard the long horn of the counch shell, the wakeup call from the paasari at  4th saamam of 1st  sirupozhudhu. He had paced away the whole night and to greet the dawn. The lamps cast a new shadow to his own he turned swiftly to see a woman leaning on the wooden beam.

 The woman was quiet tall and lithe with supple grace, she reminded him of the sleek siruthai, a very deadly jungle cat. She was scarred. The scar ran in curve from the tip of her left eye to the ear and then angled towards the corner of her mouth down her chin to her throat; she wore it with grace, the scar did not make her less appealing rather gave strength to her lush looks with deep  eyes.

 She simply lifted her open hands and the astrologer placed the likitas on her hand, with a rustle of her cloths the lady scaled the beam and simply melted in to surrounding pre dawn dark.

 Amavashya* - New moon day. Auspicious day in the hindu calander.

Agraharam**-Communal area where the Brahmins forward class lived exclusively.

Saamam and sirupozhudhu – Ancient time calculation of Tamils. 1 saamam = 1 hour while, 4 saamams made 1 sirupozhudhu.

Likithas – Letter usually written on silk in case of usage by royalty.

Parisal1 - A woven reed boat

Samuthrika Latchana – Art of knowing ones character based on their physical attributes.

Rajkumari - Princess

Paasarai – Garrison

Siruthai - Leopard