That evening, Nandini sat upon the Hamsathoolika couch in the Latha Mandapam, composing a letter. She had written only a few lines. As she wrote, her body trembled at times, like a tender creeper shivering in the swirling wind. She let out deep sighs often. Though her attendant stood nearby, fanning her with a peacock-feather fan in that cool hour, beads of sweat gathered like pearls upon her crystal-smooth brow. The letter she wrote was as follows:

“Prince! With much hesitation and fear, I have dared to write this letter. Many kinds of news about the state of the kingdom have reached my ears. You seem to pay no heed to any of it. Though your father, weakened by illness, has sent for you many times, you have not come to Thanjavur. The thought that I might be the cause of this torments me. If I could meet you just once, I could dispel all doubts. Will your noble heart grant me this? If you do not wish to come to Thanjavur, we may meet at the Kadambur Sambuvarayar palace. I now occupy the place of your grandmother. What objection could there be to our meeting and speaking? The brave young man who brings you this letter, the son of Sambuvarayar, is someone you may trust completely and to whom you may send any message. Thus writes, with misfortune as her companion since birth, the hapless Nandini.”

Indeed, after much hesitation and deep thought, Nandini finished writing the above letter. Then, turning to the attendant fanning her, she said, “Go! Bring the young prince of Kadambur here at once!”

The attendant went and brought Kandanmaran, then stepped aside and stood at a distance.

Kandanmaran’s eyes were shy to meet Nandini’s gaze. He stood looking somewhere off into the garden.

“Sir! Please be seated,” said Nandini. The tremor in her voice made Kandanmaran look directly at her face.

Nandini continued, “It is no wonder that the eyes which beheld Kundavai Devi cannot bear to look at me!” She smiled as she spoke.

Those words tore through Kandanmaran’s heart. Her smile made his head spin. Stumbling and faltering, he exclaimed, “A thousand Kundavais would not equal one Nandini Devi!”

“Yet, if the Young Princess so much as lifts her finger, you would ascend to the heavens and bring back Indra’s very throne. But if I plead with you in sorrow, you would not even deign to sit down!”

At once, Kandanmaran seated himself on the dais opposite and declared, “If you command it, I will ascend to Brahmaloka and bring back Brahma’s very head!”

Nandini trembled at her core. Without looking at Kandanmaran, she turned her gaze elsewhere and said, “Even after what Parameshvara did, Brahma still has four heads left. Even if you bring back one more, Brahma will survive!”

“Devi! Ask me for anything else you desire. But do not praise Kundavai Devi in my presence. When I think of how she spoke kindly to that traitor-friend Vandiyathevan, my blood