After sitting for a while as if possessed by a feverish delirium, Madurantakan suddenly sprang to his feet and, turning to Aniruddhar, exclaimed, “Prime Minister! All this is your doing! I knew it even then! You have a special fondness for the children of Sundara Chola, especially for Arulmozhivarman. It is your desire that he should be crowned king. For that purpose, you have spun such lies and deceptions to my mother, poisoning her noble heart! Oh, Brahmarayar, so full of affection! What harm have I ever done to you? Why do you seek to betray me thus? Must I, for the sake of your ambitions, leave my mother childless? Has such a dreadful, sinful plot ever been conceived in this world? You, a Brahmin born in the lineage of Vishnu’s devotees—was it for this you were born? No, no! The fault is not yours. It is the handiwork of the young princess Kundavai and Arulmozhivarman—they have somehow ensnared you and made you commit this crime!” he cried.

Aniruddhar replied in a calm, measured voice, “Prince, if I bore such hatred towards you, would I have brought you here, rescuing you from where you lay under a tree in the pouring rain? And do not speak ill of Arulmozhivarman. Do you know what that valiant conqueror of Lanka is doing at this very moment? He is going among the soldiers and people surrounding the Tanjore fort, speaking kind words, pacifying them, and bringing them to calm. He is striving to persuade them that it would not be right for him to ascend the throne while you, his uncle, are still alive, and that neither the warriors nor the people should demand such a thing. He is working to change their minds and set things right.”

“If that is so—if that is so, then the news you just told me is unknown to Arulmozhi, is it not?”

“Arulmozhi does not know; nor does anyone else!”

“Then why should it ever be revealed? Aniruddhar! If you alone agree to keep your mouth shut… The Emperor gave you a grant of ten velis of land in a village, did he not? I shall give you the whole of Pandya Nadu as a gift….”

“Sir! There is no need to grant me the Pandya kingdom just to keep my mouth shut; your mother’s command alone is enough. Tell her so!”

Madurantakan looked at the mother who had raised him, his gaze filled with sorrow. “Child! Madurantaka! What Aniruddhar says is true. He has known my secret for twenty years. On that day, he said, ‘Maharani! This is your secret. Unless you yourself reveal it to someone, no one else will ever know. It will never escape my lips—this I swear!’ He has kept that promise to this day. He swore loyalty to the Chola dynasty. He has not told even Emperor Sundara Chola. If I had agreed for you to ascend the Chola throne, he too would have remained silent…”

“Yes, Mother! I would