When Vandiyathevan entered the house of the Kudanthai astrologer for the second time, a strange and wondrous joy welled up within him. It was within that small house that he had first laid eyes upon the young princess Kundavai. He had stood transfixed, gazing at her lotus-like face and her large, dark eyes widened in astonishment. It was there that her honey-sweet, melodious voice had first fallen upon his ears. All these memories surged and crashed within his heart. Because of them, his ears tingled with sweetness; his heart overflowed with delight; his entire body thrilled with bliss!

The astrologer was just then preparing for his evening prayers. Upon seeing Vandiyathevan, he exclaimed, “Come, my boy, come! Aren’t you the valiant scion of the Vanar clan?”

“Yes, astrologer! Even if your predictions sometimes run ahead or behind, your memory is truly remarkable!” replied Vandiyathevan.

“My boy, to study the science of astrology, memory is absolutely essential. Planets, stars, planetary periods, sub-periods, yogas—there are a hundred thousand possible combinations. One must keep all of them in mind and calculate the year, month, day, hour, minute, even a hundredth part of a second—only then can one make a pronouncement. But let that be; you said my predictions sometimes run ahead or behind—what do you mean by that? Did what I foretold for you not come to pass?”

“Isn’t there a way for you to find that out through your astrology itself?”

“There is, there is! I can discover it through astrology—or even by intuition. Surely, what I told you must have come to pass. Otherwise, would you have returned to this hut?”

“Yes, yes. Your prediction did indeed come true.”

“Say it plainly, then! In what way did it come true, my boy?”

“What you told me happened exactly as you said. ‘If the task you set out for is destined to happen, it will happen; if not, it will not’—that’s what you said, and that’s exactly what happened. Even to say ‘it happened’ is a stretch. The moment it saw me, it turned and ran away!”

“My boy! You are quite the jester!” “It is true, I am a jester! And, in addition, a bit of a hothead!”

“When you enter this hut, you must leave your anger tied up outside.”

“I tried to do just that. But your disciple was not at the doorstep. If I left my bundle of anger on the porch, what if someone took it away? So I brought it inside with me. Where is your disciple, astrologer? I still remember how, last time, he tried to stop me at the door!”

“Today is the new moon day of Aippasi, is it not? For that reason, he must have gone to the banks of the Kollidam.”

“What connection is there between the new moon and the Kollidam riverbank?”

“Today, on the banks of the Kollidam, the great assembly of the Kalamukhas is taking place. My disciple belongs to the Kalamukha sect.”

“Astrologer! I am thinking of