At the Chudamani Vihara in Nagapattinam, Ponniyin Selvan waited with patience. Within his heart surged a fervent longing to travel to Thanjavur and see his father and mother. He was eager to prove that the accusation laid upon him—that he sought to seize the throne of Lanka—was baseless. He also wished to quickly dispel the slander that he had acted in defiance of his father’s command.

Yet, restraining all his desires, he had firmly resolved that he would depart for Thanjavur only after receiving word from his elder sister. Time seemed to pass with great difficulty. He spent some hours participating in the daily rituals and worship conducted by the Buddhist monks. Some time was whiled away admiring the exquisite paintings that adorned the walls of the Chudamani Vihara. The hours spent conversing with the monks, especially with the chief preceptor of the Vihara, brought him a measure of solace and enthusiasm.

For the chief monk of Chudamani Vihara was a man who had journeyed for many years to lands far beyond the southern seas. He had traveled from the land of China to the island of Java, visiting many towns and cities along the way. He could vividly describe those countries, their cities, and the people who dwelled there.

To the south of China, many island nations were then united under the great Srivijaya Empire. Arumanaadu, Kamboja, Manakkavaram, Thalaithakkolam, Maapappalam, Mayirudingam, Lanka Sogam, Thamaralingam, Ilaamuri—many such lands and cities were either subject to or allied with the Srivijaya Empire. Among them all, the city of Kadaram shone as the unrivaled center, famed for its splendor and wealth.

Whenever the chief monk found respite, Ponniyin Selvan would eagerly ask him to describe those distant lands and cities. The monk, never tiring, would narrate tales of the natural riches and the flourishing trade of those countries. He spoke of their abundance of gold and gems, of red rice and sugarcane, and how, in every way, they rivaled the fertile Chola land. He recounted the ancient ties between Tamilakam and those distant realms. He spoke of the wondrous artistry of Pallava sculptors who had journeyed to those lands and erected marvels of sculpture there. He spoke of the grand temples. He described how the arts of painting, music, and dance from Tamilagam had spread through those lands. He spoke of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and other epics, of the deities Vinayaka, Subramanya, Shiva, Parvati, and Thirumal, and of the Buddha Dharma—all of which had mingled and taken root in the hearts of the people of those countries. The people there worshipped all these gods together, unable to separate one from the other. He mentioned that Agastya Muni, the father of the Tamil language, was accorded special reverence in those lands, and that many temples had been built in his honor.

Arulmozhi Varman listened to all this again and again, questioned the monk closely, and engraved it in his mind. The prince inquired thoroughly about the land and sea routes to each of