Events unfolded just as Ponniyin Selvan had surmised and foretold. As soon as Kundavai Devi and Vanathi arrived at the Chola palace in Thiruvaiyaru, their palanquin and attendants were halted there. They learned that Sembiyan Maadevi, along with her son and daughter-in-law, had gone to the temple. Informing the palace guards that they, too, would visit the temple, they took only a single brave soldier as escort and set out in search of the astrologer’s house.

Yes, after the floods had swept away his house, the Kudanthai astrologer had come to Thiruvaiyaru. On the eastern edge of the city, by the banks of the Kaveri, he had built himself a small house and begun to reside there.

Perhaps, having divined through his astrology that Thanjavur would soon eclipse Pazhaiyarai in importance, this was the reason for his move to Thiruvaiyaru.

As they stepped onto the threshold of the astrologer’s house, a sweet, childish voice from within greeted them: “Welcome, queens of dance! Welcome, queens of grace! Come in, come in!” Both the noblewomen were astonished to hear such a welcome. The astrologer who once kept a rude disciple as his doorkeeper—whom had he now set to receive guests with such courteous words? With this thought, they entered.

Their astonishment vanished when they saw, hanging from the rafters in a cage, a beautiful green parrot. The parrot cocked its head this way and that, its small eyes like tiny bells fixing them with a keen gaze, and once again it chirped, “Welcome, queens of dance! Welcome!”

Hearing both the parrot’s voice and the tinkling of the women’s anklets, the astrologer emerged from within.

Startled at the sight of the noblewomen, he exclaimed, “Welcome! Welcome, my ladies! Today, this humble hut is truly blessed!”

The green parrot, opening its coral-red beak, echoed, “Today, this hut is truly blessed!”

The astrologer turned to the bird and said, “Tch, tch! Be quiet for a while! Close your beak!” “Sir! Why are you angered by that? This hut always welcomes its visitors in the best manner. Every day, many come here and seem to make this hut their ‘lucky abode for the day’. It appears that queens and princesses themselves frequent this place without rest!” said the young princess Kundavai.

“Come! O queens of dance! Come!” cried the parrot.

The astrologer silenced the bird once more and said, “Forgive me, noble ladies! When the great saint Thirugnana Sambandar visited this sacred Thiruvaiyaru, he saw dance halls lining every street. He heard the anklets of the maidens learning dance ring out ‘kaleer, kaleer’. He even sang of it in his divine hymns. Just as in those days, even now, there are many maidens in Thiruvaiyaru who study the art of dance. They often come seeking their fortunes here at this hut! For their sake, I have trained this parrot to speak thus! Please forgive me!”

“But today, I see none of those dancing queens or maidens here,” said Kundavai.

“Devi! Today is the sacred festival of Thiruvadhirai. So, the queens and maidens of dance must have gone to serve at the shrine of Lord Aiyaru. But the true queens—you yourselves—have come here. This hut is truly blessed. I am the one who is fortunate!” the astrologer exclaimed with delight.

Then he added, “Please, be seated! Ask this poor man whatever you wish to know! I shall answer as best I can!”

The two princesses sat down. Kundavai let out a deep sigh and said, “Astrologer! What is there to ask? The first question that comes to mind is whether there is any truth at all in this science of astrology!”

“Devi! If you ask thus, what can I say? For those who have faith, astrology is true. For those who do not, it is false!” replied the astrologer.

“I used to have complete faith in astrology. But now, it is that very science which has abandoned me!”

“In what way has it abandoned you, Lady?” “Has anything happened as you foretold in your astrology? Did you ever tell me that my brother would meet with such an untimely death?”

“How could I have said so, Devi? Even if I had known, could I have opened my mouth and spoken of it? If I had spoken, would they not have counted me among the conspirators from Pandya Nadu? One can only speak in generalities about royal families and matters of state. To say, ‘Danger lies ahead, obstacles are coming, evil planets are in sight’—that itself is perilous. Moreover, I do not even possess Aditya Karikalan’s horoscope. I have never seen it!” said the astrologer.

“Even if you had seen it, you would not have spoken. And even if you had spoken, could that disaster have been averted?”

“How could that be possible, Mother! Am I Brahma himself? Can even Brahma erase what he has written?”

“If that is so, what is the use of astrology, O astrologer?”

“Mother! Why do you ask me thus? If people like you do not consult astrology, how are people like me to make a living? How else would the feet of royal princesses grace the hut of this poor man?” replied the astrologer.

At this, Kundavai burst into laughter. Even on Vanathi’s face, a smile blossomed.

“Astrologer! Do you speak like this to everyone who comes to consult you?” asked the young princess.

“Do I speak like this to everyone? The whole world sings your praises, saying that the goddess of arts and the goddess of wealth have both incarnated in you. How could I hope to match wits with such a one as you in debate? That is why I spoke so. But, Mother! Can you judge the truth of astrology by what I have not foretold? Should you not judge it by what I have said? Did I not speak of Ponniyin Selvan’s auspicious horoscope? Though many obstacles arose, in the end, the time has come for him to become the emperor of this world. Even the date for