At the point where Poonguzhali parted ways with Mandakini Devi, it becomes necessary for us now to follow that lady’s path. The reason for her disappearance amidst the crowd and confusion was, as Alwarkadiyan had said, entirely true. As she entered the fort along with the Velakkara troops, Mandakini caught sight of Ravidasan, the conspirator. Is it not natural that when one sense is diminished, the others become sharper? Mandakini could not hear; she could not speak. But her eyesight was all the keener for it. While Alwarkadiyan and Poonguzhali were both intent on watching Mandakini Devi, Ravidasan, who escaped their notice, did not escape hers.

Mandakini also possessed that innate instinct which enables one to sense approaching good or evil before it arrives. Thus, she immediately understood that Ravidasan had come here with some wicked purpose. Had she not already known that Ravidasan had tried to kill Arulmozhi Varman in Eezha Nadu? Therefore, as she moved along the streets of Thanjavur with the crowd, her gaze never left Ravidasan.

At the height of the confusion, when Chinna Pazhuvettarayar rode in on horseback and the crowd scattered in a rush, Mandakini saw Ravidasan and another man hastily slip away into a side alley. At once, she too hurried in that direction and entered the same alley.

All this happened in the space of a minute, so that Thirumalai, who had been jostled and pushed by the crowd, and Poonguzhali, could not keep track of Mandakini. When they looked again, she was gone. Mandakini, after entering the alley, turned back once or twice to see if Poonguzhali and Thirumalai were following, but she did not see them. Still, she thought it more important to follow Ravidasan.

At the beginning of this tale, it was along this very path that Vandiyathevan had escaped from the men of Kaalandhakandar. Now, Ravidasan and his companion took that same way.

We have met Ravidasan’s companion before as well. He was none other than Soman Sambavan, whom we saw at the midnight conspirators’ gathering in the Thiruppurambiyam monastery.

The two of them hurried swiftly through the winding paths, darting into the thickets. They leapt over fallen trees without a care, paying no heed to the trunks strewn across their way. They crossed muddy pools formed by the rainwater, unmindful of the slippery ground. The wind still blew gently, causing the branches to sway and dance. From time to time, droplets of water fell from the leaves with a soft, splashing sound. Not for a moment did they imagine that anyone would follow them. Therefore, they did not look back, but pressed on with haste. Even if they had turned, they would not have seen Mandakini Devi.

At last, their hurried journey ended at the rear wall of Periya Pazhuvettarayar’s palace garden. A tree, uprooted by the storm, had fallen across the wall and lay broken upon it. Ravidasan and Soman Sambavan easily climbed over the tree, crossed the wall, and leapt down into the garden beyond.