The signet ring engraved with the palmyra emblem possessed a magical power, like the enchanted rings of legend. In the morning hours, milk and curd sellers, flower vendors, vegetable merchants, fruit sellers, and people of many other trades, along with accountants and officials, all thronged together, trying to enter the fort. At the fort’s main gate, the guards displayed their pompous authority by opening the wicket gate and letting them in one by one. But when our young hero showed the ring bearing the palmyra emblem, that alone caused a delay—then, with great respect, the guards opened one of the main gates for him; Vandiyathevan entered the fort.

Ah! Who could have guessed what hour it was when he set foot inside the fort of Thanjai? How many significant events followed from that moment! Was it not a turning point in the very history of the Chola Empire?

For a while after entering the fort, Vandiyathevan was lost in wonder. Kanchi had been the capital of the ancient Pallava dynasty. It had endured many enemy assaults. The palaces, halls, and other buildings there had grown old and dilapidated, with wild mushrooms blooming in the cracks. The buildings were adorned with beautiful sculptures, yet many parts lay in ruins and decay. Only a few palaces, rebuilt and restored after Aditya Karikalan’s arrival, shone here and there like flowers blossoming on a dry tree, accentuating the city’s desolate appearance.

But the sight of Thanjai was the very opposite. All the palaces were new; the halls were new. Amidst the whitewashed mansions, a few buildings constructed of red bricks baked in red earth gleamed like gems set among diamonds and pearls. Here and there, the palace gardens flourished with trees that drew nourishment from the rich red soil, standing tall and luxuriant. The thick foliage of punna, coconut, ashoka, arasu, banyan, jackfruit, and neem trees, with their many shades of emerald green, delighted the eye and filled the heart with joy. This was a city newly built by the wondrously powerful magician, Mayan. Entering this new city, a fresh exhilaration was born; the heart brimmed with pride, filled with a mysterious sense of elation. Vandiyathevan, who had observed the fort’s sentries and the restrictions on entering the fortress, had expected the inside to be rather deserted, with little movement of people. But, on the contrary, every street was crowded with throngs shouting “Jey! Jey!” Horses and horse-drawn chariots thundered past, making the ground tremble with their noise. The sound of bells from elephants, moving with a slow and majestic gait like black mountains in motion, echoed on all sides. The cries of vendors selling flowers, vegetables, fruits, milk, and curds assaulted the ears. Now and then, the sound of the town’s official time-telling bells mingled with the booming of drums. Sweet melodies from musical instruments blended with the honeyed songs sung by women. Everything was a grand festival, a tumult of celebration.

If this is not a city, what is? Surely, the capital