When the elder who followed behind in the chariot made a sign, Aditya Karikalan turned his horse and rode up to where the old man sat enthroned in his chariot.

“My child! Karikala! Here, I wish to take leave of you and proceed to Thirukovalur. But before I depart, I must speak to you about some important matters. Dismount from your horse and come to the platform beneath that royal tree!” he said.

“So be it, Grandfather!” replied Aditya Karikalan, leaping down from his horse.

The elder too alighted from his chariot. Both of them walked to the platform beneath the royal tree.

At that moment, Parthibendran turned to Kandanmaran and said, “It’s a good thing this old man stopped here. I was afraid he might keep following us, refusing to let go.”

“If he had continued, I was thinking of pushing him into the floodwaters of the river and giving him a good dunking!” said Kandanmaran. Both laughed heartily at their own jest.

Turning to Aditya Karikalan, the lord of the hill country, Thirukovalur Malayaman, began to speak:

“Adithya! Today, it is twenty-four years since you were born! You were born in my palace at Thirukovalur! The celebrations that took place then are as vivid in my memory as if they happened yesterday. Members of your clan, my own kinsmen, and many minor kings from Chola Nadu and Thondai Nadu had gathered. Along with them, thirty thousand warriors assembled. Words cannot describe the grandeur of the feast given to them all. Not even during your father’s coronation were there such banquets and festivities. All the wealth my ancestors had amassed and stored in my treasury for a hundred years was spent in those three days of celebration!”

“At that time, your great-grandfather, Emperor Parantaka himself, came to Thirukovalur. Your elder grandfather Kandaradithar, and your father Sundara Chola, were there too. The moment they heard the news of a male child’s birth—” There was no limit to the joy that filled everyone’s hearts. They rejoiced, exclaiming, “You have been born to bring glory to the Chola dynasty!” Until then, your grandfather’s elder brothers had no heirs. Arinjaya, too, had only your father as his son. In his youth, your father shone with a beauty rivaling that of Manmatha himself. Nowhere in the Chola clan, nor among the lineages of the petty kings of Tamilagam, had anyone ever seen a child of such beauty before. This very beauty brought your father certain troubles as well. He was the darling of the entire family. The women of the palace delighted in dressing him in women’s attire, exclaiming in wonder, “If only he had been born a girl!” and spoke of it with endless joy.

From Lanka to the Vindhya mountains, kings and chieftains performed penance, hoping to wed their daughters to your father. Not only was he as handsome as Arjuna or Manmatha, but he was also the rightful heir to the Chola throne—this thought made them all the more eager. In