After a long while, when Pazhuvetarayar regained a sliver of consciousness, he found himself in the midst of a terrifying battlefield. Swords clashed against each other, ringing out with a resounding metallic hum. On one side, victory drums thundered. Along with them, thousands of voices shouted, “Long live the Maha Rajadhiraja, the Pandya King! Down with the enemies of the Pandyas!”

On the other side, thousands of voices screamed, “The king of the Gangas has fallen! Run! Run!” Amidst these, there were also voices trying to halt the fleeing men.

Suddenly, for a moment, silence descended upon the battlefield. Pazhuvetarayar looked around. He saw the legless Vijayalaya Chozhar being carried on the shoulders of another tall, broad-shouldered man. The man who bore him on his shoulders held two enormous swords, one in each hand.

“Chozha warriors! Stand firm! Pallavas! Do not flee! Death awaits in the river, death awaits in the field! Follow me! We will scatter our enemies to the winds!” he shouted.

The Chozha and Pallava soldiers, who had begun to flee, stopped when they saw Vijayalaya Chozhar and heard his words. The exhaustion and fear vanished from their faces, replaced once more by courage and valor. Those who had retreated began to advance again. Pazhuvetarayar looked once more at Vijayalaya Chozhar, who was the cause of this miraculous transformation. He also looked at the warrior who carried him on his shoulders. Astonishing! Astonishing! He realized that the warrior bearing Vijayalaya Chozhar was none other than himself.

That Pazhuvetarayar, with one hand, held the legless Vijayalaya Chozhar on his shoulder, and with the other, brandished a long sword as he plunged into the midst of the enemy. Wherever the two of them went, the heads of Pandya warriors rolled onto the ground.

The tide of battle had completely turned. The Pandya army scattered and fled. The Chozhas and Pallavas emerged victorious. The victory drums resounded in all eight directions. Before the Pallava emperor, Vijayalaya Chozhar was seated! Beside him stood Pazhuvetarayar. The Pallava emperor looked at the Chozha king and said, “Bravest of the brave! Today, defeat has been turned into victory because of you! From now on, the Chozha land shall be a free land! You, your valiant son Aditya, and your descendants shall forever reign as independent kings of Chozha…” “You shall rule the land!” he declared. At once, Vijayalaya Chola turned to the Pazhuvettaraiyar standing near him and said, “Elder! It is only through you that this victory has been won for us. I appoint you as the Commander-in-Chief and the hereditary chieftain of the free Chola country. As long as your descendants remain loyal to the Chola dynasty, they too shall hold these titles of chieftain and commander!”

The face of Pazhuvettaraiyar, marked by wounds, blossomed with pride.

Suddenly, a fierce anger appeared on that face. The old Pazhuvettaraiyar looked at this new Pazhuvettaraiyar. “Oh wretch! Traitor! Outcaste! You are the very axe-handle come to destroy my lineage! For six generations we have gathered this precious warrior fame, and you have brought it all to ruin! You have betrayed your friends, betrayed your lords! You have given shelter in your house to the hereditary enemies of the Chola dynasty! You have given them wealth from your own treasury! Is it not because of you that today the Chola clan faces its final hour? The blame that you have earned shall never, ever be erased as long as the world endures!” he cursed. Tears streamed in torrents from the eyes of the accursed Pazhuvettaraiyar.

Then, more Pazhuvettaraiyars arrived. Each recounted the valiant deeds he had performed. Each cursed the Pazhuvettaraiyar. Then, together, they all cursed him. “Outcaste! You have committed treachery against your clan and your king! You have destroyed all the warrior fame that we earned by risking our lives! How did your mind come to this?” they cried.

The Pazhuvettaraiyars disappeared. The Kodumbalur Velirs and the Thirukovalur Malayamans arrived. They surrounded the solitary Pazhuvettaraiyar. “Shame! Are you even a man? You used to boast that you and your lineage upheld the Chola dynasty! What do you say now? You have become the Yama of the Chola clan! Sinner! Where is your future?” they mocked, beating their drums and laughing scornfully.

Behind them, the people of Chola Nadu, gathered in a crowd, began to hurl stones and clods of earth at Pazhuvettaraiyar. At that moment, Sundara Chola Chakaravarthi pushed through the crowd and, with feeble steps, came forward. He looked at the Velirs, the Malayamans, and the others with anger.

“Shame! What are you doing? Are you throwing stones and earth at Pazhuvettaraiyar, the bravest of the brave? Are you calling him a traitor? Even if I and my dynasty are destroyed by Pazhuvettaraiyar’s betrayal, so be it. None of you should blame him! Chieftain! Come with me to the palace!” he commanded.

The crowd dispersed. Sundara Chola too disappeared. Only his younger brother, Kalanthaka Kandar, remained before Pazhuvettaraiyar.

He stood still. “Anna! The Emperor has placed such trust in us! Can we betray him? Can we keep in our palace the she-demon who has come to destroy his dynasty?” he said. At once, he too disappeared.

Vandiyathevan, Kandamaaran, and the other young men like them surrounded the great Pazhuvetaraiyar. “Old man with the graying moustache! Only your desires have not turned gray, it seems? You have been ruined by your obsession with a woman! What do the ‘sixty-four’ scars on your body say now? Are they the noble wounds earned in valor? Or are they the festering sores bought with the wages of treachery?” they taunted, and burst into mocking laughter.

Pazhuvetaraiyar tried to draw his sword to kill them. But the sword was not in its usual place.

At that moment, Princess Kundavai entered. She gestured with her hand to silence the laughter of the young men.

“Grandfather! Do not pay heed to their playful words. Drive out the venomous serpent in the guise of a woman from your palace! All will