Vishnurayan’s Message
Pachamalai Forest 1027 CE
“Stop, Manu!” Chamundeswari called out to her pet tiger even as she reined in her horse by pressing her knees to Rahu’s flanks.
Manu, who was all of twelve years, and the princess’s pet from the time he had been a cub of but a few weeks, came to an abrupt halt the moment he heard his mistress’s command, his sharp nails digging into the still wet grass even as his tail swished away at the flies that flew around him. He sat down on his haunches, waiting for her next command, his posture relaxed even as he kept a wary eye on his surroundings.
Manu and Rahu were a team though the horse was much younger than Manu. But the tiger had chosen to tolerate the horse only because his mistress, Princess Chamundeswari, wished it so.
Rahu was a pure white stallion with a brown marking on his forehead in the shape of a star. He blew through his nostrils, turning his head this way and that as he searched for water. After all, they had been racing through the forest land near Azhagapuri, the capital to their kingdom, since before the sun rose up from behind the mountains.
Chamundeswari ran a hand down the horse’s neck soothingly. “Soon, Rahu. We will return home soon and you can have all the food and water that you desire.” Even while her hand smoothed over the horse’s gleaming white coat, the princess’s eyes searched the landscape in front of her. She was waiting for a messenger, one she was not keen to receive at the palace where she lived with her stepmother, Rani Naganandini, who had been ruling Kongunadu after the deaths of Chamundeswari’s parents, King Someshwara Thevar and Queen Srivalli.
The princess’s face darkened when she recalled the twin deaths of her parents in the fire that had razed Queen Srivalli’s palace to the ground. It was lucky—or that is what everyone said—that Princess Chamundeswari had been travelling, having left the fort for one whole day and night in the company of the loyal servant Vishnurayan and his wife Anagha.
Vishnurayan had taken little Chamundeswari hunting in this very same forest. It was her mother, Queen Srivalli, who had organised the picnic for her four-year-old daughter.
Chamundeswari was still not sure if her being away from the palace on that particular evening was a blessing or a curse. For she missed her parents, terribly. While her stepmother, Naganandini, was not a bad woman, she was not exactly an affectionate person.
And then there was Marthanda Bhupathi, her stepmother’s brother. Princess Chamundeswari believed that the man was pure evil, and was extremely careful not to make an enemy out of him. But being friendly with him was the toughest challenge the young princess had ever faced in her life.
Vishnurayan, though only a servant, had become a kind of foster father for Chamundeswari. He had taken the time and effort to train the princess in all kinds of martial arts as well as the usage of weapons; the training done in absolute secrecy.
The princess, who appeared completely docile to the present queen and her brother, was anything but that.
Chamundeswari lifted her gaze to the skies, wondering if her messenger could be something other than a man or a woman. Right on cue, a pigeon flew straight down to her and perched itself on her forearm.
“Hello!” Chamundeswari smiled at the bird as she greeted it. Rahu flicked his tail lazily even as he stood still.
Manu watched on, giving a wide yawn before stretching out on his stomach. After all, he had had a lot of time to know his fiery mistress and was never going to be surprised by anything she said or did.
The pigeon raised its right leg to the princess and that is when she noticed the tiny roll of parchment tied to it. Chamundeswari untied the roll that obviously contained the message she had been waiting for and tucked it within the folds of her silk kachai, the cloth she used to wrap around her luscious breasts. Removing some grains from a pouch at her waist, she held her left palm out to the pigeon. The bird feasted greedily on the grains before flapping its wings and taking flight. It obviously knew that it did not have to wait for a reply.
Removing the roll, the princess opened it to read the message from Vishnurayan who was travelling these days.
“Meet me at Brihadeeshwaran Koil three days from now. You will be performing a dance to propitiate the lord on Friday evening. Bring Anagha along with you.” He did not say that she was to take Manu along as it was taken for granted that the princess took Manu with her wherever she went.
The tiger, who appeared tame and was gentle most of the time, could tear a man to pieces in a few minutes if Chamundeswari commanded him to do so. That was also thanks to Vishnurayan who had helped her train her pet.
“Let us go home, Manu, Rahu.” She turned her horse around in the direction of the palace. Only too glad to hear the word ‘home’, Rahu galloped speedily in the direction of food and water.
As for Manu, he loped along gracefully, pausing now and again to explore a rabbit hole or a colourful butterfly, following his mistress at his own pace; confident of catching up with her by and by.
Princess Chamundeswari jumped off the horse once they reached the royal stables, handing the reins over to a stable hand, not noticing the boy staring at Manu in morbid fascination.
“Manu! You come along with me.” She walked into the main palace where her quarters lay, the tiger following her lazily. Entering her chambers, the princess looked around searchingly before her eyes fell on Anagha. At Vishnurayan’s suggestion, the princess had employed his wife as her chief maid soon after her parents' deaths.
“Anagha, get my bath ready first. Then, get the other maids to pack my trunk. You and I are going to Thanjavur.”
“Yes, Your Highness! I will do that,” said Anagha, bowing her head. Quickly checking to her left and right, she lifted a questioning eyebrow at the princess.
Chamundeswari turned to the others and ordered, “Leave us alone.”
The maids all bowed before following the princess’s command. Anagha went behind them and shut the tall and beautifully carved wooden doors to Chamundeswari’s chambers.
“Anagha, listen. Vishnurayan sent me a message. We are to meet him at the Thanjavur temple in three days. And I am to give a dance performance on Friday night." The princess was jumping up and down in her excitement. "Let us leave today itself.”
Anagha’s face grew bright as she listened to her husband’s message; glad to know that he was safe. Moreover, she would get to meet him soon. Vishnurayan was travelling through the neighbouring countries, trying to locate someone trustworthy to aid the princess in her endeavours. Soon to be seventeen summers old, the princess was to be crowned the Queen of Kongunadu. But they knew for a fact that neither Naganandini nor Marthanda Bhupathi was going to allow that to happen.
Naganandini, who had been ruling Kongunadu for the past thirteen years after her husband and the royal queen died in the palace fire, would never want to give up her power so easily.
According to Vishnurayan, Chamundeswari needed the support of a powerful king or prince from a neighbouring kingdom, someone strong enough to defeat the evil queen and her brother who had set the palace on fire all those years ago to do away with Chamundeswari’s parents. Yes, he was sure of it. After all, he had heard the two of them plotting the same in Naganandini’s palace. Which was the reason why Queen Srivalli had sent her daughter away from the palace along with the loyal servant and his wife. Only, at that time, the servant had believed that it was only Princess Chamundeswari’s life that was in danger. He had never expected both the king and queen to be killed.
Just now, Anagha shook her head slowly. “No, Your Highness! We will go first thing tomorrow morning. If we leave now, we will not be able to reach a resting house before night fall. And I do not think it is safe for us to camp out in the open; not with the enemy’s men roaming around.” She did not want to take either Naganandini or Marthanda Bhupathi’s name.
Chamundeswari’s sigh was long and loud. She was a woman of action and wanted to do things immediately. The waiting period from now till morning was going to be a terrible constraint on the princess. But then, she could not argue with the maid—who was almost like a mother to her—and her logic. After all, she would not be alive today if not for the loyal Vishnuvarayan and his wife. Childless themselves, the couple had made it their life’s purpose to keep Princess Chamundeswari safe.
“Alright, tomorrow morning it is. It will be just the two of us on our horses and two more horses for the carriage. And of course, we will take Manu along.”
Anagha nodded, a fond smile on her face as she bent down to stroke Manu’s velvety head. The little cub they had rescued from next to its dead mother in the forest all those years ago, had made for a loyal pet and bodyguard for the princess. She had seen how Manu, who was friendly enough to be a cuddly kitten, could transform into a predator in the matter of seconds if the need arose.
“But, of course. Let me go get your bath ready, Your Highness!”
“Thank you, Anagha,” said Chamundeswari, stepping forward to give the older woman a loving hug. “You can practise your music along the way as you will have to sing in the name of Lord Brihadeeshwaran when I dance to it.”
Anagha nodded once again. “I will pack your anklets, Vishnu’s mridangam and my tambura.” She counted on the fingers of one hand.
“Take along a kanjira too. We may find someone to play it if possible.”
“I will do that, Your Highness.” The two women were pretty excited to have a plan of action in place after all the waiting they had been doing over the past few weeks after Vishnurayan had left on his quest.
Time moved at a snail’s pace and the restless Chamundeswari decided to have lunch with her stepmother instead of getting in Anagha’s way while she packed their trunks carefully. After all, they could take only as much as one cart driven by two horses could carry.
“You do not to worry about anything, My Lady!” assured the loyal maid. “You see what excuse you can give the queen for leaving the palace at such a short notice.” What she did not say was that the queen was bound to ask questions regarding their trip, especially the reason why the two women were keen to travel on their own instead of taking at least a couple of strong men along with them.
What Queen Naganandini was unaware was that the princess was a one-woman army by herself while Anagha was no less.
