When Arulmozli was a child of about 5 years of age, he accidentally fell into the River Cauvery while on a pleasure boating trip. An unknown woman rescues him from the swirling floods and places him back on the boat and Vanishes. No one knew who she was – hence they surmised that she was the Divine Mother Cauvery herself who had rescued the little Prince. Because of this the royal household began to call him the beloved of the River Ponni -- Ponni’s Beloved [Ponniyin Selvan.]
Vandiya Devan reached the sea shore at Kodi Karai and is befriended by a girl named Poonkuzlali. With her help he crosses the sea and manages to travel across northern Lanka and meet Prince Arulmozli. He safely delivers Princess Kundavai’s messages. From the instant they met, Prince Arulmozli and Vandiya Devan become steadfast friends.
During his stay in Lanka Vandiya Devan becomes cognizant of some surprising secrets.
Before he came to ascend the Tanjavur throne, Sundara Chozla had been shipwrecked and had chanced to live on an island offshore from Lanka for some time. At that time a girl had rescued him from an attacking wild bear. She was a born deaf-mute. Sundara Chozla fell in love with her. However, very soon he had to part from her. That deaf-mute was the same woman who had some years later rescued Prince Arulmozli from the Cauvery floods. This Mute Queen had rescued Arulmozli from several other dangers while he was garrisoned in Lanka. From pictures she drew, Ponniyin Selvan realizes that she was his Elder Mother [i.e., his father’s chosen companion of long ago.] Arulmozli also makes some surmise about the fate of the twins that were born to her. The young Prince was anxious to meet his father quickly and share this knowledge with him.
Vandiya Devan had come with a message from Kundavai and was anxious to take him back to Pazlayarai – Tanjavur. At the same time, Parthibhan Pallava came with messages from Prince Karikala and wanted Arulmozli to go back to Kanchi with him. Parthibhan insisted that going to Tanjavur was dangerous and it was essential that he come to be with his brother the Crown Prince.
While Ponniyin Selvan was debating about these conflicting messages, Poonkuzlali the boat girl from Kodi Karai came to him with a strange piece of information. She announced that Lord Pazluvoor’s men had come in two large ships with apparent orders from Emperor Sundara Chozla to arrest him and take him back to Tanjavur. The young Prince came to an immediate decision, “I shall go and surrender myself to those men immediately!” The Lankan Commander, Elder Lord Velir of Kodumbalur and Parthibhan Pallava were intent on somehow obstructing this intention. Their efforts were of no avail – the Prince was steadfast in his plan. Taking Poonkuzlali as his guide he departed.
One of the Chozla ships accidentally became mired in the sand dunes near the northern Lankan shores and sank in the sink holes. The other ship had been captured by Arab pirates. Thinking that Prince Arulmozli was in that ship, Vandiya Devan somehow managed to go aboard the ship controlled by pirates. The pirates tied him up to the mast and were intent on their own affairs. Sorcerer Ravidasa and his gang who had also boarded that ship manage to overpower the Arab Pirates and kill them all. They abandon the ship with Vandiya Devan still tied to the mast and leave in the only boat, intent on escaping from the approaching whirlwind. A horrible and terrifying whirlwind soon enmeshed the ship on the open sea.
Realizing that his friend Vandiya Devan was on the pirate ship, Arulmozli boards the ship brought by Parthiban Pallava and tries to follow the other ship. This ship too was enmeshed in the whirlwind; since it was manned by trained sailors, it somehow manages to survive intact.
Lightning strikes and the mast to which Vandiya Devan was tied catches fire. In the midst of the storm, because of the light from the burning mast, Arulmozli recognizes the man bound to the burning ship. Deciding to rescue him they lower a boat into the stormy waters and the young Prince insists on going to rescue his friend. He manages to rescue the rash young Vandiya Devan from the burning ship. However, the small boat is struck by floating debris from the capsized ship and is overturned. Both men manage to get hold of a large floating log and survive the stormy sea. As they float closer to the shores of Ghost Island, they are rescued by Poonkuzlali who was rowing her boat near that shore.
Now Read on to Ponniyin Selvan Part III – A Killing Sword.
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