After the prince and Poonguzhali mounted the elephant and departed, it is our duty, dear listeners, to recount what befell those who remained behind.

When the Commander-in-Chief shouted, “The elephant has gone mad!” the others at first believed him without question. They tried to spur their horses to follow the elephant at full speed. But that proved impossible. As soon as the elephant reached the riverbank, their journey was brought to an abrupt halt. As usual, Vandiyathevan’s horse was the first to leap down into the muddy shore, only to become stuck in the mire. With great difficulty, they managed to pull it free, but the horse was no longer fit for travel.

Commander-in-Chief Boothi Vikrama Kesari struck his forehead in frustration, not knowing what to do next. “Never in my life have I made such a blunder. Why are you all standing idle? What can we do? How can we save the prince? If anyone has an idea, speak up!” he cried.

At that moment, Azhwarkadiyan stepped forward and said, “Commander! I have a thought; may I speak?”

“Are you waiting for an auspicious moment to speak? Out with it, quickly!” snapped the Commander.

“The prince’s elephant has not truly gone mad…”

“What nonsense are you babbling? Then who has gone mad? You?”

“No one has gone mad. The prince has begun to suspect that you are deliberately delaying the journey. That is why he spurred the elephant to leave us behind and sped away. We all know that the prince is a master of every secret art of handling elephants!”

The Commander realized this might indeed be true, and his heart found some peace.

“Very well; let it be so. But we must still reach the mouth of the Thondaimaan River. We must find out what is happening there, mustn’t we?” “We must go. We should follow the edge of the seashore and, if we find a boat somewhere, cross over in it. Otherwise, we will have to wait until Parthibendran Pallavan’s ship arrives.”

“Vaishnavar! You are a cunning man. It seems you have told the prince something of this sort.”

“Commander! Since this journey began, I have not spoken a word to the prince.”

After this, they proceeded eastward along the edge of the lagoon. Readers may already have some idea of the nature of the northern part of the island of Lanka. In those days, the northern tip of Lanka was known as Nagadweepa. The sea, jutting in from both sides, separated that region from the rest of the island. The narrowest point where one could cross from one part to the other was called the ‘Yaanai Iravu’ ferry. Sometimes, the water at this crossing would be shallow, making it easy to wade across. At other times, crossing was not so simple; one had to use boats. (The name ‘Yaanai Iravu’—the Elephant Crossing—came from the herds of elephants that would descend into the water and cross at this spot. It is also said that, in ancient