Volume 4 Chapter 8: Vanamadevi
The residents of Kanchi were transforming the night prior to the army’s departure into day. None of Kanchi’s five lakh residents barring the infants slept. The street lamps across the city were shining brightly. The elephant force, cavalry, infantry and chariots harnessed with white horses assembled at Kanchi. They were being organized to report at the palace at dawn. As the Chakravarthy was leaving for war the following day, the womenfolk stayed awake all night decorating the streets and the entrance of their houses. Banana trees bearing ripe fruit, bunches of tender coconut leaves, festoons, fabric curtains and tender coconut shoots were used to decorate the city.
The women painted the outer walls of the houses and drew artistic kolams[i] at street corners. Most of those kolams depicted battle scenes. Warriors riding horses and elephants and foot soldiers wielding swords and spears featured in those kolams. One kolam depicted the Pandavas[ii] seated in five chariots wielding bows and arrows. Another kolam portrayed Rama and Lakshmana engaged in fierce battle with the ten-headed Ravana. Yet another kolam illustrated Abhimanyu single-handedly fighting the several warriors who had surrounded him. Ah! The Kanchi women were well-versed both with Bharata Kanda’s heroic epics and the art of drawing.
The Chakravarthy’s palace was also buzzing with activity that night. The palace entrance and moonlit courtyard were decorated with banana trees and festoons. Thondai creepers bearing crimson flowers were suspended everywhere. At the moonlight courtyard, the glow from the swords and spears that were smeared with ghee[iii] and then polished blinded one’s eyes. The ornaments meant for elephants and horses were gleaming.
While the thoroughfares and the palace entrance were agog with excitement, the anthapuram was pin drop silent. The ladies in waiting walked around noiselessly carrying out important tasks. When they had to speak, they whispered into each other’s ears. The reason was that the Chakravarthy had come to the anthapuram to bid adieu to his consort.
The Chakravarthy was seated on a feather soft mattress laid on an ivory bed that was decorated with blue silk fabric and strings of pearls. The Empress of the Pallava Kingdom and the Pandya princess, Vanamadevi, was standing deferentially in his presence. In the adjacent chamber, Prince Mahendran and Princess Kundavi were sound asleep on the silk mattress spread out on a golden bed.
Nine years ago, the Pandya princess, Vanamadevi, had wed Mamallar. Her beauty was reminiscent of the beauty of the Pandya women described in epics and poetry. Her skin tone resembled the pleasing hue of the red lotus. Her black eyes resembled the black beetles that buzzed around the lotus flowers. Didn’t Uma[iv] Devi, whose beautiful form had distracted Lord Shiva who was engaged in the most severe penance and had caused his heart to melt, choose to be born in the Madurai Pandya dynasty when she incarnated on earth? Hadn’t Lord Shiva, stopped dancing at the graveyard and discarded his repulsive accessories like the human skull and assumed a handsome form to marry Parvathi Devi who was then born in the Pandya dynasty? Words are inadequate to describe the beauty of Vanamadevi who was born in the same Pandya dynasty.
The Chakravarthy said, “Devi! It’s time for me to leave. Tomorrow, I too will leave for the battlefield at dawn!” Vanamadevi did not respond. A single tear that surfaced in her eye gleamed like a pearl in the glow of a lamp. “I don’t know how long it will take for me to return. I don’t even know whether I will return at all. Devi! I am giving you a major responsibility to shoulder. You must accord utmost attention in bringing up Mahendran and Kundavi. You must safeguard the Pallava Empire and hand it over to Mahendran when he comes of age!” When Mamallar said this Vanamadevi, who was standing till then, sat at his feet and cried.
“Devi! What is this? Are you, who are a descendant of the valorous Pandya dynasty, reluctant to bid adieu to your husband who is headed to the battlefield?” asked the Chakravarthy, who became slightly disconcerted. Vanamadevi looked up to him and said, “Prabhu! I don’t possess an iota of such reluctance. Neither will the situation necessitate me to oversee the kingdom and hand it over to Mahendran when he comes of age. There are several expert astrologers at my birthplace, Madurai. They have spoken at length about my marital life. There is no doubt that you will return victoriously after winning the Chalukyas and razing Vatapi to the ground!” “Then, why did you shed tears? Who caused you sorrow? You must speak frankly,” said Mamallar.
“Swami! The astrologer who spoke of my marital life also mentioned something else. He said that I will attain the lotus feet of Goddess Meenakshi[v] before you. I wept because I was concerned that this may happen before you return. I do not want to depart to heaven before seeing you return victoriously”. When Vanamadevi said this, her wide eyes were brimming with copious tears again. Mamallar lifted the beacon of the Pandya dynasty and made her sit next to him on the bed. He wiped away her tears with his angavastram.
“Devi! I too will make an astrological prediction; heed me! I will return victoriously after decimating Pulikesi and razing Vatapi to the ground. When I lead the victory procession around Kanchi seated in a golden chariot drawn by white horses, you will be seated by my side. Mahendran will be seated on your lap, while Kundavi will be seated on mine…”
“Prabhu! I don’t harbour such desires. It would suffice if I saw you return victoriously from your expedition. If I continue to be alive even after you return, I will hand over this position and the joy of being by your side to whom it rightfully belongs and step aside. If you so desire, I will continue to occupy a small place in this palace. If you desire otherwise, I will return to my birthplace!” Mamallar was aghast when he heard these words.
“Devi! What is this? Why are you speaking in a manner you have not spoken in the last nine years? What did you hear? What is at the back of your mind when you speak thus?” asked an emotionally drained Mamallar. “Swami! Do you believe that I will be ignorant of something those in the palace, the residents of Kanchi and the entire Kingdom know about?” “I’m unable to fathom what you’re talking about. What is the mystery those in the palace and the entire country are aware of?”
“There is no mystery, Prabhu! It is about the reason for you invading Vatapi.” “Why am I leading this expedition? What did you hear?” asked Mamallar. “Do you want me to state the reason? You are going to free the sculptor Aayanar’s daughter…” “Ah! You too know about this. How long have you known? How did you come to know about this?”
“I have known this for a long time. Nine years ago when I entered this palace after marrying you, your mothers and the ladies in waiting used to look at me sympathetically. They used to sigh concernedly looking at me. Gradually, I surmised the truth from their conversation. Swami! Within a year of becoming your chief consort, I came to know that someone else occupied your heart…” “Despite knowing this, you did not broach that subject with me even once. Not even once in the last nine years did you point an accusing finger at me. Devi! I have heard of virtuous women in stories and epics. None of them match up to you,” said Mamallar proudly.
“Prabhu! Your words give me goose bumps. But I am not worthy of this honour!” said the Pandya princess. “No one but you are worthy of this honour. Despite knowing that your lawfully wedded husband had lost his heart to someone else, you did not question me about this even once. Neither did you accuse me. Can there be a woman who’s more virtuous than you?”
“Swami! Why should I accuse you? It is my father and my brother, who are guilty. Weren’t they obstinate that you marry me? Didn’t my brother, Jayanta Varman, become enraged at your refusal and invade the Pallava Kingdom? You defeated him at the banks of the Kollidam River and chased him away. None of us believed my brother who claimed to have defeated you when he returned to Madurai. We derived happiness by discussing how you had humbled his hubris. Even then, my brother did not spare you. He left no stone unturned to ensure that we are married so that he could substantiate what he had claimed…”
“Devi! Do you still believe that I married you on account of Jayanta Varman’s insistence?” When Narasimha Varmar posed this question, a smile appeared on his face. “No, Prabhu! You did not marry me on Jayanta Varman’s insistence. You married me for the welfare of the Pallava Kingdom. You married me because it was essential for you to befriend the kings in the South if you had to wage war against the demonic adversary in the North. It was not my brother’s duress that prompted you to marry me. You married me heeding your father’s advice. I came to know about all this within a few days of my coming to this palace…” “Still, you did not question me about this even once. Ah! How true it is when people say that the depths of a woman’s heart cannot be comprehended!” thought Mamallar when he observed his consort’s face closely. Her lotus-like face did not reveal an iota of rancour; immense faith, boundless love and tranquility were evident!
Vanamadevi said: “Swami! I have never ever dwelt on your reasons for marrying me. That’s because I was clear about why I married you. When news of your defeating Jayanta Varman at the banks of the Kollidam River reached Madurai, my heart sought you out. That moment I decided that I would marry only you and that if I were unable to marry you, I will remain unmarried all my life. My desire was fulfilled. I was fortunate to have wed you. For the last nine years, I have resided joyously in your palace. Prabhu! I do not expect this happiness to last forever. Others should have an opportunity to live happily too. The day you return to Kanchi bringing back Aayanar’s daughter, I am prepared to relinquish my rights to the golden throne of the ancient Pallava dynasty and my role as your wife in this palace,” said Vanamadevi in a choked voice. She then looked at Mamallar with tear-filled eyes. Mamallar understood that every emotion-laden word uttered came from an untainted heart that bore no ill-will.
Kolam – Designs drawn on the floor using rice powder.
Pandavas – Five brothers who are key characters of Mahabharata
Ghee – Clarified butter
Uma – Another name for Goddess Parvathi
Meenakshi – An incarnation of Goddess Parvathi, who is the presiding deity of Madurai – the capital of the Pandya Kingdom
