KARIKALAN AND THE TIME MACHINE--CHAPTER 108

                      KARIKALAN AND THE TIME MACHINE—CHAPTER 108

When Sivanesan came to the Chola Kingdom and sought refuge from the king, the latter asked why Sivanesan should be granted a refuge.

Then Sivanesan related to the King Karikalan about the hoary past of his family and the Tradition of worshipping the Five Flames for well over a thousand years.

Then the king had asked if he had not been coming from the North and once again Sivanesar explained how some thousand three hundred and odd years back his forefather had come to the South along with his great joint family consisting of a hundred people and settled on the outskirts of Kanchi City.

The king had been greatly impressed and asked if he had completely forgotten the Sanskrit language. Sivanesan said he and his forefathers had never forgotten their mother tongue, though now Tamil had substituted the same in as much as they had started to talk in Tamil even at their houses. That there was a mingling of blood and culture and how they had started to marry into the high-class families of the Dravidiyans and started to worship Linga of the Dravidians. That how the Rig Vedic Rudra came to be mingled with the Linga and Lord Sivaperuman was born. That how huge literature had evolved round Lord Siva and all the related matter.

The king had talked to Sivanesan in pure and chaste Sanskrit and that had really amazed Sivanesan. Both talked to each other about the Ariyans, Vedas and Vedangas, and Sivanesan said how Ramayana and Mahabharata had been accepted by the Tamil speaking community in Kanchi. And how the pundits had taken to learning Sanskrit for its great literature and culture and music. The king wanted to know more and more and at last gave him refuge in his kingdom saying, “There is a white stone hill, by name, Lingaparai. It would perfectly suit your purpose. You and your family could live there, atop the hill once occupied by the Samana Monks and latter by my Raja Guru. But it’s been several years since he attained Maha Samadhi and Lingaparai has remained unoccupied ever since. I send with you my dearest friend, Mr. Veeravelar who is our Minister of foreign affairs. All my knowledge of Sanskrit and its rich culture and literature is due to the pundits brought here from the North by Mr. Veeravelar!”

And then the king had bided Mr. Veeravelar to accompany Mr. Sivanesan and his family to the Lingaparai and see him settle there. The king had also appointed Mr. Sivanesan as the head priest of his own Linga Temple and requested him to see to all the lighting arrangements as in Kanchi Temples.