Chapter 8

 

Lord Sivan’s Blessing

 

 

 

 

Princess Chamundeswari was absolutely irritated by the time they entered the temple of Lord Brihadeeshwaran in Thanjavur, with Manu on a leash. When Velan, one of the soldiers, suggested that she place the tiger in his cage, the princess had almost bitten his head off.

“Manu can be placed in his cage only when I am not available to manage him, do you hear?”

Velan was too scared to lift his bowed head as he gave the princess a small nod. “As you wish, Your Highness! Please forgive me,” he said in a hoarse whisper, wondering who was wilder—the tiger or his mistress.

Anagha placed a hand on Chamundeswari’s arm, hoping to calm her down. The maid was only too aware of the princess’s anger and frustration at being unable to get in touch with Vishnurayan. If Anagha was not able to meet her husband by tomorrow afternoon, their whole trip would be a waste of time and effort.

Chamundeswari stepped into the sanctorum, her eyes drawn to the tall sivalingam, the depiction of Lord Sivan. The temple priest must have completed the abhishekam and other rituals. Just now the sivalingam was bedecked with flowers, with three lines of vibhuthi or the sacred ash spread horizontally across the upper half of the lingam, interspersed with a vertical vermilion tilakam representing Siva Perumaan’s third eye.

Bringing her hands together even as she shut her eyes in prayer, Chamundeswari prayed for Azhagapuri, her capital city, Kongunadu, her kingdom; for Vishnurayan and Anagha; and for all her people. She also prayed to the lord that her stepmother Naganandini and the chief minister Marthanda Bhupathi received the punishment they deserved, death if need be, and soon too. Oh yes! That’s how the princess was, fiery and bold. She could not see anything wrong in praying for the deaths of her enemies. After all, did not all the royalty do just that before going to war?

And Princess Chamundeswari was waging nothing less than a war. The only difference was that she was using her brain as her weapon and her capital city for a battlefield.

And win I will!

Chamundeswari swore to herself in front of Lord Brihadeeshwaran, the main deity of the Thanjavur temple.

She suddenly opened her eyes when her skin broke out in goose pimples even as she felt the presence of a stranger. Turning to her right, her eyes glowed fierily in the light of the lamps and torches that were lit in the sanctorum, when she looked directly into the deep brown eyes of a man, a complete stranger.

He wore a tunic and veshti, both in creamy white cotton, his head covered with a turban, also of cotton. His face was clean shaven except for the luxuriant moustache that bracketed the sides of his mouth. His nose was long, with a sharp tip, like that of an eagle, while his cheeks were slashed, ending in a square and strong chin, until one noticed the small cleft right in the middle of it.

His broad forehead ended in thick eyebrows above deeply set, intense dark eyes, sharp as daggers under heavy eyelids that were but half open, the eyelashes thick and tangled. His body posture was completely relaxed despite the presence of a sword wrapped in a leather sheath hanging at his side from a matching leather belt that snuggly fit his lean waist. Except for a silver bracelet on his right forearm, he wore no ornaments.

But one could not miss the heavy and bulging muscles of his shoulders and arms; nor could one miss his height. The princess assessed that he must be taller, at least by four inches, than Vishnurayan who was almost seven feet in height. She had never seen a more striking man before in her entire life.

That still did not give him a right to stand so close to her, stepping into her space. She glared at him, her lips quivering with temper and what else, she knew not. Except that it was some strong emotion stirring from deep within the pit of her stomach.

Prince Vijayendra Chozhan shut his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again, as if to ensure that the vision standing near him was for real. What a beautiful woman! For a moment, it seemed as if one of the striking sculptures on the many elaborately carved pillars had come alive and was standing in the sanctorum right next to him. That’s how perfect she was! It seemed as if the Creator must have been in a truly benevolent state of mind when he created this masterpiece.

Is she from a royal family? He asked himself with a small frown pleating his thick eyebrows. He quickly ran over the royal families that lived in and around Chozha Nadu in his mind. His eyes went wide as it hit him suddenly. Could this be Princess Chamundeswari from Kongunadu? The very woman he was here to meet? The one who, according to Vishnurayan, needed his protection?

Chamundeswari—by now Vijayendran had decided that she must be the princess of Kongunadu—was taller than most women he knew. And the Chozha prince did know a number of them. The top of her head reached up to the level of his chin. With long legs and a slender body, she was the epitome of an enchantress, no less. The wide set eyes—the colour of burnished gold—in her oval face were large and surrounded by long, curling eyelashes, a dark line of kohl outlining them, enhancing their shape, reminding him of the plump fish which swam in the waters of the Kaveri river. Her nose was slim and sharp while her rounded cheeks were as soft as silk, ending in a small chin.

But it was her luscious mouth that drew his gaze, the lips red and invitingly moist. He could not help wondering how she would taste. His gaze moved down to her slim neck and went wide when he noticed her shapely upper body that rose and fell as she took in deep and shuddering breaths. He smiled suddenly, realising that he was the cause for her breathlessness, his appreciative gaze taking in her tumultuous breasts encased in a silk blouse that matched the deep orange silk sari that she was draped in, the gold embroidered green border only adding to her lustre.

The jewellery she wore enhanced her beauty; each piece etched similar to the ones worn by the dancing sculptures. The top of her head was covered by heavy gold thalai saamaan set with cob rubies and diamonds and edged with pearls—a netthi chutti that hung over her neat forehead right above the red vermillion pottu that she wore between her dark and shapely eyebrows. A Chandra pirai—shaped like a three-quarter moon—and a Surya pirai—shaped like the sun with rays shooting from it—were fixed to either side of her hair parting on the top of her head while a raakodi, a circular disc of gold, rubies and diamonds, was fitted high up above the single plait that hung all the way down to her luscious backside. Fresh flowers consisting of the fragrant jasmine, aromatic leaves of maru and the orange-coloured kanakambaram—the tropical fire-cracker flowers—were strung together to surround the raakodi and wrapped around her long plait. The white, green and orange colours added an extra zest to her attraction.

The kaasu maalai, a number of gold coins strung together on a fine gold wire, which graced her slender neck and fell all the way down to her navel complemented the ruby and diamond necklace that hung close to her throat. The heavy diamond earrings along with the kudai jimikis which hung from them were balanced by the golden maattal which was attached to the earrings on one end with the other end hooked to her hair. His gaze moved down to her slender waist which was decorated with an odiyaanam of pure gold; the belt with the design of Goddess Mahalakshmi sitting on a lotus right at the front.

The vanki on her arms made them appear slimmer than they already were; while the slender gold bangles along with intricately woven kankanams again set with rubies and diamonds, graced her wrists.

Such ethereal beauty made Vijayendran feel extremely breathless!   

Her whole body sang in tune with the movement of his gaze as he ran his eyes over her body, from head to toe. That he found her attractive, he made it plain with his very glance. But was it not an invasion of her privacy? Never having been even a little conscious of any man she had come across in her whole life, Chamundeswari was more than shocked with her reaction to the stranger’s proximity.

“How dare you?” Her voice was a hoarse snarl, her golden eyes flashing at him in temper. Chamundeswari was not even sure why she was angry. But somehow, the man’s presence made her feel as if she was losing control over both her body and her mind.

Despite her harsh tone and words, her voice still managed to raise the hair all over Vijayendran’s body. It was with an effort that he managed to control the shiver that ran down his spine. And now it was his turn to draw in a really deep breath to control his reaction to the gorgeous woman standing near him.

And… oh my good lord! What was he doing, standing in the sanctorum of the temple and longing for a woman? Vijayendran mentally smote his forehead before turning his attention to the deity in the inner sanctorum and spoke to the lord within his mind, ‘Siva Siva! My apologies, My Lord! Please forgive me. But then, it is not entirely my fault, is it? This beautiful woman, maybe a princess, is she not your creation? And is it not my duty also to appreciate your creation, My Lord?’ He opened a mischievous eye to gaze at the sivalingam and smiled. And for a moment, he felt as if there was an answering smile from the lord himself.

“Here! Listen to me!” Princess Chamundeswari snapped her fingers in front of the man standing next to her. She thought he had shut his eyes in prayer. But the man not only had a wide and mischievous smile on his face, but he had been winking. It had to be at her, right? After all, there were only the two of them standing next to one another. The rest of the others, Anagha and the soldiers who had accompanied them, all stood some feet away. As for the priest, he was chanting mantras standing right next to the sivalingam. She was confident that the stranger must have been winking at her only. “You forget that we are in the presence of Lord Brihadeeshwaran,” she said, a challenging tilt to her chin.

Vijayendran lowered his head in her direction, the only sign that he heard her words. “My Lady!” he responded in a rough voice that made the blood race through her veins, stiffening her spine, “are you speaking to me?” He bit his lip to stop himself from laughing at the tempestuous light in her golden eyes. He had never come across that colour in any person he had met in his life, which was saying a lot.

Chamundeswari’s eyes flashed even as she rolled her eyes to the top of the high temple ceiling and back to him. “Can you see anyone else standing close to me?” she asked, her voice extremely sarcastic.

How I wish I could get closer to you?! Vijayendran had to curb his thoughts before replying, “Are you suggesting that I am forgetting that I am in the presence of Lord Brihadeeshwaran?” he asked, an eyebrow rising up in query to almost touch the edge of his turban.

Chamundeswari gritted her teeth until her jaws ached. “I am not suggesting it as you call it. I am saying that you are forgetting that you are in the lord’s presence.”

His eyes went wide as he pretended to be surprised at her words. “Really! And how would you know what I am thinking or feeling?”

Hot colour rushed up Chamundeswari’s cheeks even as she fisted her hands tightly to stop herself from slapping him. How much ever he denied it, she knew for a fact that he had been distracted. After all, had she not felt his hot gaze all over her body? Just the thought made her tremble from head to foot, becoming conscious of every inch of her skin, both the exposed as well as the covered areas of her body.

She snapped her head to look straight ahead, refusing to answer him as she stared at the deity as if her whole life depended on it, showing him her profile…

…which Prince Vijayendra Chozhan found even more fascinating.

Just then the priest came out of the inner sanctorum, carrying a pair of heavy anklets on a tray which he handed over to Chamundeswari, placing his hand on her head in blessing.

Vijayendran’s eyes widened in comprehension when he realised that she had had her anklets blessed by Lord Brihadeeshwaran, seeking the deity’s blessings before beginning her Bharatanatyam programme.

Yes! He had the proof now. This had to be Princess Chamundeswari! Unless she was receiving the anklets on behalf of her princess. Well, he will know for sure once the dance performance began.

And if this was the princess, which he was almost sure she was, then he could not help feeling thrilled that he was going to spend a lot of time with this woman while he did his best to protect her. 

And safeguard her I will, Vijayendran took an oath in front of the lord, with my whole body, mind and soul!