Would a maddened elephant, roused to fury, ever pause for the waving staff or the shouts of Azhwarkkadiyan? Lifting its trunk high, it crashed through the shrubs and creepers that blocked its path, advancing ever closer. In the next instant, there could be no doubt what fate awaited Azhwarkkadiyan! The two soldiers who had come to his aid stood rooted to the spot, crying out, “Hai!” in alarm. Vandiyathevan, retrieving the spear that had slipped from his grasp and fallen to the ground, resolved to make one last desperate attempt.

At that very moment, Azhwarkkadiyan hurled his staff at the charging elephant. In the blink of an eye, Azhwarkkadiyan vanished from sight. His turban, caught by the wind, flew off and landed on a tree branch. Before Vandiyathevan could even wonder what had become of him, an even more momentous event occurred. The elephant, which had charged past the spot where Azhwarkkadiyan had disappeared, suddenly bent its forelegs and collapsed forward as if kneeling. A terrible, reverberating roar echoed through the forest. In the next moment, the massive form of the elephant was gone. It had rolled and tumbled into a deep chasm, sending up a cloud of dust and debris that billowed over the area.

It took Vandiyathevan a few moments to comprehend what had happened.

There had been a great pit behind Azhwarkkadiyan. When he threw his staff, the force of the motion made him lose his balance and fall backward into the pit. The maddened elephant, charging at him, had also set its forelegs into the chasm. Try as it might, it could not recover. The very weight of its mountainous body became its enemy, dragging it down into the abyss! In the same instant, both the crazed elephant and the man who had faced it—Azhwarkkadiyan—met the same fate, vanishing into the pit together!

As this realization struck Vandiyathevan, a shiver ran through his body. A deep sorrow welled up in his heart. All the suspicions he had once harbored against the Srivaishnavan had faded during their journey together, replaced by a sense of affection. Was this the end that awaited such a companion? The thought that he must now accomplish the task he had undertaken, without the help and guidance of Azhwarkkadiyan, filled him with anxiety.

Vandiyathevan approached the edge of the pit where both the Vaishnavan and the elephant had disappeared, and peered down into its depths. At first, there was nothing but a cloud of dust—nothing could be seen at all. As the dust slowly settled, the path the elephant had taken became clear: shrubs and creepers, rocks and stones, all lay crushed and scattered in its wake.

“What’s this, brother! Are you just going to stand there and watch the spectacle? Won’t you lend a hand?” The moment Vandiyathevan heard this voice, he was startled as if someone had given him a sudden jolt. Reeling with surprise, he turned toward the direction of the voice. Clinging to the exposed root of a tree