When Kundavai set out to release Vandiyathevan from captivity and send him once more on his journey, Vanathi came to meet her. She stood before the young princess, bowing in respect.

“My dear! I left you behind. There is still some important business left. I will finish it and return. Stay in the garden for a while! But do not go near the stream,” said Kundavai.

“Akka! I will not trouble you any longer. I wish to return to Kodumbalur. Please grant me permission!” said Vanathi.

“What is this, are you too striking a blow upon my head? Why are you angry with me? What sudden affection has blossomed for your ancestral home?”

“If I were angry with you, there would be no one more ungrateful than I. Nor has any new affection for my birthplace arisen in me. What is my ancestral home to me, who have neither mother nor father? Once, my mother prayed that she might offer worship at the Kali temple near our village. Before she could fulfill that vow, she closed her eyes forever. You know how I am often seized by fainting spells? Perhaps it is because that vow was left unfulfilled.”

“For that, you need not travel so far; I will send word and have that vow fulfilled myself.”

“That is not all, Akka! My elder uncle is returning from Lanka. He will not come past Thanjai to Pazhaiyarai. When he arrives, I wish to be at Kodumbalur. I long to hear directly from him all that happened in Lanka!”

“Why are you so eager to know what happened in Lanka?”

“How can you ask that? Have you forgotten that my father attained a hero’s heaven in the war in Lanka…?”

“I have not forgotten. That stain has now been washed away…”

“I do not feel it is entirely cleansed. Before the war ended, Periya Velar is hastening back.”

“Are you going to ask him to go to Lanka again and wage war? Is that why you say you must go to Kodumbalur?”

“Who am I to speak of such great matters? I only wish to ask and learn about what has happened…”

“Aha! Now I understand your mind. You wish to ask your great father about the heroic deeds performed by Ponniyin Selvan in the Lankan war, do you not?”

“Is that a fault, Akka?”

“It is not a fault, but at a time like this, you say you will leave me alone and go away—that is the greater fault!”

“Akka! Am I the one leaving you alone? How many friends you have, how many wait to know your mind and carry out your wishes…”

“Have you too begun to speak like this, Vanathi? It seems your heart has been disturbed by the news about my brother. Do not worry yourself too much about that news…”

“What worry can I have for your brother that you do not already possess, Akka!”

“Tell me the truth! Did you fall into the stream on purpose? Or did you faint and fall?”

“Why would I wish to fall on purpose? I fainted and fell. You and that valiant warrior of the Vanar clan saved me.”

“You do not seem grateful for having been saved!”

“Not only in this birth; in seven births to come, I shall remain grateful.”

“You speak as if this birth has already ended! Listen to me, Vanathi! Do not trouble your heart in vain! I do not believe any harm has befallen Arulmozhi Varman. What I told the people gathered in the palace courtyard just now, I say to you as well. Once, Mother Kaveri saved my brother. In the same way, the Lord of the Ocean must have saved him now. Soon, we will hear good news.”

“On what basis do you speak with such certainty and courage, Akka?”

“Something within my heart tells me so. If anything had truly happened to my beloved younger brother, my innermost self would have known it. I would not be speaking so calmly now…”

“I do not have such faith in what the mind says, Akka! Nor do I trust the inner mind! Not even the outer mind!”

“How is it that you alone can speak so decisively?”

“For the past few days, a strange delusion has been haunting both my inner and outer mind. It appeared in my sleep, in my dreams. Even while awake, at times, that same delusion would arise.”

“What is it, Vanathi?”

“In the water, your brother’s face would appear again and again. It was as if he were calling out to me. Even in my dreams, this strange vision would often recur.”

“Why do you call it a delusion? The news we have received and your own feelings seem to coincide, do they not?”

“If you hear the rest, you will realize just how mad a delusion it is. Did I not faint and fall into the stream? At that time, I truly believed I had gone to Nagaloka. There, a wedding celebration was taking place…”

“Whose wedding was it?”

“I do not wish to say, Akka! In short, I have no faith in what arises in my mind or in my dreams. From now on, I have resolved to believe only what I see with my eyes and hear with my ears…”

“Vanathi! What you say is entirely wrong. Sometimes, what you see with your eyes and hear with your ears can be false. What arises within the heart is what is truly real. I could tell you countless examples of this from stories and epics…”

“Then tell me another time, Akka! For now, please let me go!” said Vanathi.

Princess Kundavai was filled with astonishment. She wondered how such courage and sudden resolve had arisen in this girl.

“Vanathi! What is this haste? Even if you absolutely must return to your hometown, can you not wait a few more days before you depart? The whole country is in turmoil right now. Should I not ensure