A dwarf fox has taken up residence in the temple grounds and howls through the night. Such a thing has never happened before. There are those who grieve over the ruin of the temple and the village. Among them is Chennattu Kunjunayar. Along with him, there were many others who shared this sorrow, such as Kallaaru Mooppan and Sunakkulathu Kittunayar. Chennadan believes that nothing told in the Puranas will ever prove false. This is the end of the Kali Yuga. Hereafter, the lower castes will rise. Dharma and justice will falter. In the village, there is no one with as much knowledge of the Puranas as Chennadan. If he begins to speak, drawing upon the changes that have come with the times and the dharma and justice described in the Puranas, Chennadan would become a great orator.

Chennadan could not reconcile himself to the new laws and regulations regarding land boundaries that came into force after the new land measurement system was introduced.

"Do you know how land was bought and sold in the days when dharma and justice prevailed?" This was the question he posed to Kallaaru Mooppan. Tossing a bit of betel into his mouth, Chennadan continued,

"A flower and a handful of earth would be placed together on the tip of a plantain leaf, with the oil lamp as witness. The seller would hand it over to the buyer. That agreement was as if it were carved in stone—the seller sold, the buyer bought, and it was done. In those days, propriety, dharma, and justice were full to the brim. Only later did the practice of writing on palm leaves come. Now, a deed must be drawn up, and it must be registered. Is that all? Now they say what was sold was not sold, what was bought was not bought. Where is this trend going to end?"

When everything is ruined, God will take the Kalki avatar for the great destruction. The sun will fly like a dry leaf caught in a storm;

Stars fall onto the highway and whirl around; planets collide with each other. Darkness, nothing but darkness. Then, a ghostly rain begins. That will be the beginning of the next era.”

Bhagavatham and all the other Puranas—Chennadan had read and gathered the knowledge from them all. “Now, who understands if you read the Puranas? In some houses, after the night meal, there is a reading. But who truly understands what they read?” That was Chennadan’s complaint. The old man of Kallaar, who had been listening, turned Chennadan’s talk towards village affairs. In Uppamparambu, Kunjhan Pillai was considering stepping down from the temple administration. He had discussed this with Krishnathirumeny of the Palathol house. Pressured by his younger brothers, he had agreed to it. For Krishnathirumeny’s sake, his younger brother, Ganapathi Namboothiri, took charge of verifying and taking responsibility for everything kept in the temple’s rooms—the stored items, the vessels for worship, the sacred ornaments, and all else, according to the accounts. This was