CHAPTER 13 The Waxing Moon
s soon as the princess's chariot disappeared, the josier led Vandiyathevan inside. He sat down and asked
Vandiyathevan to sit down as well. He looked him up and down and asked. “Thambi! Who are you? Why have you come here?”
Vandiyathevan laughed. “Why are you laughing?”
“Oh! Nothing! You’re such a famous astrologer and yet this question! Can't you tell from your astrology who I am and why I’m here?”
“Oho! I can! And I will. But who will pay me for it?”
Vandiyathevan smiled and asked, “Josier! Who are the people who were here just now?”
The josier said evasively, “Oh! Those people! I know the people you’re asking about. The ones who were here when you came in dragging my disciple. The ones who went away in a chariot, raising a cloud of dust.”
“Yes, yes, I asked about them.”
“You are free to ask. Who said you can’t? They’re just two women.”
“That was obvious to me, josier! I’m not blind. I know the difference between a man and a woman. I can even make Out a man disguised as a woman.”
“Then, why do you ask?”
“They’re women, but to what class do they belong?”
“Oh! You want to know that. Woman are classified in four categories – Padmini, Siddhini, Gandharvi and Vidyadhari according to their characteristics. You seem to know something about this classification. These two belong to the Padmini and Gandharvi categories.”
“My God!”
“What is it, appane?”
“You ask me why I call upon God!”
“What's wrong with that? God is omnipresent, haven’t you heard? It’s obvious that you haven't moved much with great men. God resides within me. The one who is within you is God, the one who is not is also God. God is within my sishya whom you dragged inside.”
“That's enough. Please stop.”
“The one who made me say all this is God. The one who asks me to stop is also God.”
“Josier, those women who left this house—I want to know who they are, where they come from, their lineage, their family, their names. If you answer me without circumventing. ”
“If I do, what will you give me?”
“I'll offer you my salutations.”
“Keep your thanks! Give me gold if you can.” “If I give you a gift of gold, will you tell me?”
“Only if it’s something I can tell, thambi. Listen, many people come to a josier's house. I can’t divulge the identity of one person to another. I won’t tell you who it was who left. If somebody asks me about you after you leave, I won’t tell them a word about you.”
“Aha! So what Azhwarkadiyan Nambi told me about you is true.”
“Azhwarkadiyan? Who is he?”
“Don’t you know? He talked about you with such familiarity. You’ve never heard of Azhwarkadiyan Nambi”
“I might know him, but I don’t remember the name. Please describe him to me.”
“He is dark and short and has a tuft over his forehead. He wears his dhoti firmly around his potbelly and smears sandal paste all over his body. He quarrels with any Saivite he sees, and raises his stick at advaitins. A little while ago you said that both you and I are God. If Azhwarkadiyan had heard you, he would have said, ‘God hits God’ and rushed to hit you with his stick.”
“It seems to me that you’re talking about Thirumalai.” “Does he have a name like that?”
“Indeed! He has a different name for every place he goes to,
that Veera Vaishnavite!”
“Does he behave differently with different people?”
“He acts as each occasion demands.” “Does he tell a lot of lies?”
“Three fourths of what he says is fantasy or falsehood, the
rest could be true.”
“He seems to be a wicked man.”
“We can’t quite say that. He's wicked towards the wicked and good towards the good.”
“You can’t go by what he says.” “It depends on what he says.”
“For example, what about his advice to me to consult you?” “I told you, some of what he says is true. It could be that bit.”
“If that is so, tell me something about my future. It’s getting late, I must be leaving.”
“Why are you going in such a hurry, appane?”
“Can’t you find out astrologically where I should go and where I shouldn’t And whether, if I go, I’ll accomplish my goal? I’ve come to consult you about all this.”
“I need something to start from, to make a prediction. A horoscope, or the date of birth and the star under which you were born, or at least your name and the name of the place you come from.”
“My name is Vandiyathevan.” “Aha! From the Vanar clan?” “Yes.”
“Vallavarayan Vandiyathevan!”
“Exactly.”
“Why didn't you tell me earlier? I have your horoscope. I can find it if I look for it.”
“Oho! How is that?”
“What else do josiers like me do? We collect the horoscopes of men and women born in great clans.”
“I am not so high-born.”
“How can you say that? What an incomparable heritage you have? Poets have sung many songs in praise of the Vanar clan. Perhaps you may not have heard them.”
“Why don’t you recite one? Let me listen.” The josier sang:
Is there a mouth which hasn’t uttered the great Vanar's
praise?
Is there a chest which does not display his name? Is there a staff that does not hold his flag?
Is there one who does not bend for the king?
It was obvious that the josier was no musician. However, he had set the song to the correct pann (ragam) and sang the words clearly and with feeling.
“How does it sound?” asked the josier.
“It sounds sweet. But as far as I’m concerned, I have to hoist my own flag. And I’ll have to climb a tree to reach up and hoist it. Even so, I’m not certain I can do it. The branch could break under my weight and toss me down.” said Vandiyathevan.
“You’re like this today. But who knows what you’ll be like tomorrow?”
“I came to you because I thought you would know.”
“What do I know, thambi? I am mortal, like all human beings. But planets and stars can tell you the future. I know how to make out what they say and explain it to those who ask.
That’s all.”
“What do the planets and stars prophesy for me, josier?” “That you will grow in stature day by day.”
“Incredible. As it is I am too tall. I had to bend low to come
into your house. What will I do if I grow taller? Please don’t be so vague, be more precise.”
“Ask me a direct question and I’ll answer it.” “Will I succeed in my mission to Thanjavur?”
“If it's for yourself that you’re going, you’ll succeed. All the
planets of victory are in the ascendant. If you’re going on behalf of someone else, I’ll have to study that person’s horoscope.”
Vandiyathevan shook his head, laid his finger along his nose and said, “I’ve never met anyone so smart as you.”
“Don’t flatter me,” admonished the josier.
“I’ll tell you clearly what I want. I want an audience with the Emperor of Thanjavur. Will I succeed?”
“You’ll have to ask two josiers in Thanjavur who are both greater than me.”
“Who are they?”
“One is the Periya Pazhuvettarayar and the other, the Chinna Pazhuvettarayar.”
“Is it true that the Emperor's health is deteriorating?”
“People talk. And why shouldn’t they? Don't listen to them. And don’t talk about it.”
“If anything happens to the Emperor, can you tell me who'll succeed him?”
“Not you or me. So why worry?”
“Thank God. We are saved!” said Vandiyathevan.
“That’s true, thambi. It’s no small matter to have to exercise the right to sit on the throne. It's fraught with danger.”
“Josier? Crown Prince Aditha Karikalar who is in Kanchi now...”
“Yes, he's there. Haven’t you come on his behalf.”
“So you’ve finally understood. I’m glad. What does the future have in store for him?”
“I don’t have his horoscope now. I can’t say until I consult it.” “What about Maduranthakar’s future?”
“He has a strange horoscope. It’s like a woman's. He'll always be dominated by someone.”
“But they say even now that it’s women who rule the Chozha country. That it’s worse than allirajyam, the rule of women.”
“Where did you hear this?” “North of the Kollidam.”
“Perhaps they’re talking about Periya Pazhuvettarayar's new wife.”
“What I heard was quite different.” “What did you hear?”
“That it’s Kundavai, the beloved daughter of the Emperor, who is ruling the country.” The josier looked intently at Vandiyathevan trying to find out whether he had said this deliberately, knowing that it was Kundavai who had left the house as he arrived. But Vandiyathevan's face gave no indication that he knew.
“That's not true, thambi. Sundara Chozhar is in Thanjavur and Kundavai is in Pazhayarai. Furthermore...”
“Furthermore what? Why did you stop?”
“In the daytime, one should look around before one says anything. At night, one shouldn’t talk at all. However, there’s nothing wrong in telling you. What power does the Emperor
have now? It's all in the hands of the Pazhuvettarayars.” The josier looked hard at Vandiyathevan to gauge his reaction.
“Josier, don’t suspect me of being Pazhuvettarayar's spy. Some time ago, you were talking about the impermanence of kingdoms. You talked of my Vanar clan as an example. Please tell me the truth. What is the future of the Chozha dynasty?”
“I’ll tell you the truth without being ambiguous. At the end of the month of Ani, fresh water flows through the Kaveri and its tributaries. Those who live on its banks know that the floods grow stronger from day to day and that they continue to do so through the months of [10] Avani and [54] Purattasi. During the months of Karthigai and [44] Margazhi, the floods begin to abate and those who live on the banks of the Kaveri know this. At the moment the Chozha kingdom is like the rising waters of the river. For another hundred years, it will be on the rise, like the waxing moon. There are many days yet for the full moon. So the Chozha kingdom will continue to expand.”
“You’ve made that clear to me. Thank you. One more thing now. I’ve been wanting to go on a long voyage...”
“Your wish will definitely be fulfilled. You're lucky, you’ll always be able to move around as though there were wheels on your feet. You'll walk. You'll ride horses. You'll travel on the backs of elephants. You’ll sail in boats. You’re destined to cross the sea — soon.”
“Ayya! Can you tell me something about Prince Arulmozhivarmar, the commander of the south, who is waging a war in Eezham? What do the stars and planets say about him?”
“Thambi Seafarers use a magnet to fix their direction. They also observe lighthouses. But do you know what the sailors rely on most of all? The pole star, in the lower part of the
northern skies. All the other planets and stars move and change direction, including the constellation of the saptarishi. But the pole star never moves. Emperor Sundara Chozhar’s younger son, Arulmozhivarmar, is like the pole star. He is strong minded and nothing upsets him. He is known as much for his bravery as for his sense of sacrifice and he is both worldly wise and educated. It is said that the sight of his childlike, ingenuous face will stop hunger. He is the beloved son of the Goddess of Fortune. If every young man who plunges into the sea of life looks up to Arulmozhivarmar as sailors look up to the pole star, he will reap great benefits.”
“Appappa, you describe Arulmozhivarmar as a lover would his beloved.”
“Thambi, anyone you ask in the Kaveri region will tell you the same thing.”
“Thank you, josier, I’ll follow your advice if I find an occasion to do so.”
“I ascertained that your stars are in the ascendant before I told you all this.”
“I take leave of you, josier, with gratitude. Let me offer you something in gold that I can afford. Here, please accept it.” Vandiyathevan gave him five gold coins.
“The Vanar clan has not lost its benevolence,” remarked the josier as he took the coins.
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