Part Three – The Sword of Slaughter

While the prince and Princess Kundavai sat conversing in the Nandi Mandapam— while Vanathi stood by the pillar, listening— an important conversation was taking place in the boat waiting in the canal, between Poonguzhali and Sendhan Amudhan.

“Amudha! I am going to ask you something. Will you answer me truthfully?” asked Poonguzhali.

“Poonguzhali, nothing but the truth ever passes my lips! That is why, these past few days, I have not seen or spoken to anyone,” replied Amudhan.

“For some people, truth never comes to their lips. That Vandiyathevan, who took the letter to the prince and went to Lanka—he is such a person.”

“Even so, he is a very good man. He has never lied to harm anyone.”

“He said something about you. I want to know if it is true or false…”

“He has no reason to say anything untrue about me. Still, tell me what he said!”

“He said you spoke very highly of me.”

“That is entirely true.”

“He said you have affection for me, that you wish to marry me…”

“Did he truly say that?”

“Yes, Amudha!”

“I must thank him for that.”

“For what?”

“I would never have had the courage to open my heart to you myself; I could not have found such boldness. He spoke on my behalf to you, did he not? For that, I must thank him.”

“If that is so, then what he said is true?”

“It is true, Poonguzhali! There is no doubt about it.”

“Why did you come to desire me, Amudha?”

“Can anyone ever explain the reason for love?”

“I will think and tell you. Could there be no reason at all?”

“No one in this world has ever discovered or explained why or how love arises, Poonguzhali!”

“Don’t people desire each other upon seeing beauty?”

“Yes, people do desire beauty; they may even feel infatuation. But that cannot be called true love, nor does it last. Just now, you spoke of Vandiyathevan—he became fond of me the moment he saw me. I was ready to give my life for him. Did he become attached to me because of my beauty?”

“But your friend described my beauty at great length, didn’t he?”

“He did praise your beauty. But he did not desire you. He praised the beauty of the Pazhuvoor queen a hundred times more, but he did not love her.”

“I know the reason for that.”

“What is it?”

“That warrior’s heart has already gone to the young princess who is speaking with the prince over there. That is the reason.”

“Doesn’t this show that there is no connection between beauty and love?”

“How does it happen, then? Are you saying I am more beautiful than the young princess?”

“What doubt is there in that, Poonguzhali! Compared to the junior princess of Pazhaiyarai, compared to the princess of Kodumbalur standing behind that pillar, you are many times more beautiful. Even the beauty of the junior queen of Pazhuvoor, whom many praise as the incarnation of Mohini, cannot equal yours. Such divine beauty is my enemy. That is why the love that surges and overflows in my heart—” “I cannot even reveal it to you. You, who possess a beauty coveted by the gods of the heavens and the emperors of the earth—how could I ever hope to keep you near me? The fear that I might lose you has taken up residence in my heart!”

Poonkuzhali fell into a brief silence, lost in thought. Then she asked, “Amudha! What if I told you that I have no desire for you? What would you do?”

“I would wait patiently for a few days. I would see if your heart changes.”

“How could it change?”

“The human heart is a strange thing. Sometimes, even the innermost corners of our hearts are unknown to us. Because of outward circumstances, the mind may be plunged into delusion. When that delusion is dispelled, the true heart will be revealed…”

“So you would wait and see. But if, even after that, there is no change in my heart…?”

“I would try to rid myself of the desire I have for you…”

“Is that possible…?”

“If I try, it is possible; if I turn my mind towards God, it is possible. Our elders controlled their hearts only by devoting themselves to the Lord…”

“Amudha! I do not believe that the love you have for me is true love.”

“Why do you say that? What is the sign of true love?”

“If you truly loved me, the moment I rejected you, you would feel you must kill me. If you saw me loving someone else instead of you, you would be seized with a rage to kill him as well…”

“Poonkuzhali! What I spoke of is a divine, sattvic kind of love. What you describe belongs to the asuric nature; one might even call it demonic…”

“I do not know of the divine; nor do I know of the demonic. I only know human nature. Love should bring happiness. If instead it brings suffering, why should one endure it? If we love someone, and they betray us by not loving us in return, why should we tolerate it? Is not revenge the true nature of man?”

“No, Poonguzhali! Revenge is not the nature of humankind; it is the nature of demons. If our love for someone is true, then their happiness should bring us happiness as well. Even if their rejection pains us at first, if we bear it with patience and respond only with kindness, the joy that will come to us later will be tenfold greater…”

“What you speak of is not human nature; it is not something humans are capable of. Once, a physician’s son came with Vandiyathevan. The moment he saw me, desire arose in him. When he realized that his wish would not be fulfilled, thinking that I stood in the way of his desire, he tried to betray Vandiyathevan to