Aniruddha Confesses to Kundavai That Mandakini Is Alive

Aniruddha Confesses to Kundavai That Mandakini Is Alive is a disclosure with consequences reaching beyond its private conversation: Aniruddhar admits that he falsified Mandhakini Devi’s death, then kept the truth from Sundara Chozhar for twenty-five years. His confession also opens a concealed history of Mandhakini Devi’s children and her possible role in saving the young Arulmozhi Varman, while setting in motion an attempt to bring her before the emperor.

The concealed rescue

Aniruddhar tells Kundhavai Devi that, twenty-five years earlier, Sundara Chozhar had ordered him to find Mandhakini Devi. At Kodikkarai, he heard witnesses report that she had jumped from the lighthouse into the sea. He repeated their account to his friend, but what he had seen himself contradicted it: a fisherman rescued Mandhakini Devi and brought her ashore some distance from Kodikkarai.

Rather than report the rescue, Aniruddhar bribed the fisherman to take her to Ilankai and keep her there. He returned to Thanjavur and told Sundara Chozhar that she was dead. He says he acted with the intention of protecting his friend’s happiness, without foreseeing the consequences of that concealment. The confession therefore names both the original deception and its long duration: Aniruddhar’s private judgment displaced the emperor’s right to know what had happened to Mandhakini Devi.

The children and the limits of what he knew

Aniruddhar’s account extends beyond the false death report. After Sundara Chozhar left for the warfront at Madurai, Aniruddhar spent several years studying in Kasi. On returning, he encountered the father of Eesana Siva Battar speaking privately with Mandhakini Devi in Pazhaiyarai. From him, Aniruddhar learned that Mandhakini Devi had stayed for a few days in Periya Piratti’s royal garden, where she gave birth to twins and left them there. She sometimes returned to see the children without anyone’s knowledge.

The informant refused to disclose the children’s fate, saying that the secret belonged to Sembian Maadevi. Aniruddhar chose not to press him. He also recalls the account that the young Arulmozhi Varman had been saved by Mother Kaveri after falling into the river; his own instinct, he says, was that Mandhakini Devi had in fact been the rescuer. The confession presents this as a suspicion, not as knowledge he had verified.

Confession and the proposed audience

Kundhavai Devi does not treat Aniruddhar’s deception as harmless, but recognizes that he intended to spare her father pain. She urges him to tell Sundara Chozhar that Mandhakini Devi is alive, reasoning that the truth could relieve the emperor’s distress. Her visit is also meant to arrange an audience with her periyannai, and Aniruddhar has already taken steps toward that end.

Aniruddhar believes that verbal assurance alone will not persuade the emperor after years of false reports. He has used his resources to bring Mandhakini Devi from Ilankai so Sundara Chozhar can see her for himself, and hopes that presenting her will also absolve him of blame. Kundhavai Devi cautions that revealing her abruptly could endanger her father’s fragile health; she advises informing him of the plan before carrying it out. The exchange shifts the problem from whether the truth should be told to how it can be revealed without harming the person it is meant to comfort.

The attempted reunion and its interruption

Mandhakini Devi is staying at Sendhan Amudhan’s home when Poonguzhali and Azhwarkkadiyaan arrive. A storm has damaged the house, and Sendhan Amudhan is ill with fever. Poonguzhali explains through gestures that Sundara Chozhar is gravely unwell and longs to see Mandhakini Devi, and that Kundhavai Devi is waiting to escort her to him. Mandhakini Devi agrees to accompany them.

At the fort, the group encounters the Velakkara Regiment and a crowd forcing its way through the entrance. Although Azhwarkkadiyaan proposes using a secret passage, Mandhakini Devi follows the crowd inside. When bystanders whisper that she resembles Pazhuvoor Ilaiya Rani, Poonguzhali and Azhwarkkadiyaan try to shield her; the soldiers turn their attention to the disturbance and surround Mandhakini Devi, separating her from her companions. Accusations that the soldiers have drowned the prince help provoke a clash between the Pazhuvoor soldiers and the emperor’s supporters. The arrival of Chinna Pazhuvettarayar briefly disperses the crowd, but when Poonguzhali and Azhwarkkadiyaan search for Mandhakini Devi, she has vanished. The confession’s intended proof—the living woman who could confirm Aniruddhar’s account—thus becomes the center of a renewed uncertainty before she can reach Sundara Chozhar.