#vallavaraiya | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sampigehoovu · 10 months

Text

The lovers of aditha karikalan

The Vanar prince

Where we have Vandiyadevan falling off horses, Aditha craving mangoes and the two of them growing into their friendship.

By the time Vandiyadevan had joined the imperial Chola army, Aditha Karikalan had already seen years of war. Vandiyadevan, who had just learnt how to wield a spear, handle a sword and string a bow, was in awe of the prince. A few years older than him, the prince already had scars across his arms, who’s armour was well worn and who had recently acquired a nasty scar across his eye. He had fought bravely, hoping to one day rise in the ranks and fight alongside Aditha Karikalan.

His chance came earlier than he thought.

“Aditha!” Malayaman called out, his hand around Vandiyadevan’s shoulders.

The crown prince turned from where he was training a battalion, his gaze on his grandfather, “Have you brought me another recruit, thata?” he asked, a hint of humour in his voice.

Vandiyadevan looked from Malayaman to Aditha, he was the same height as the prince, though he was a few years younger, wondering what the older and more experienced commander of the Chola forces had in mind when he had pulled him out of the infantry training schedule.

“This boy fights well, he’ll do well in your cavalry,” he gently pushed Vandiyadevan forward.

Aditha looked at him, “Your name?”

“Vallavarayian Vandiyadevan,” our hero answered, his voice strong and proud.

“Ah, a warrior of the Vanar clan! Do you know how to ride a horse?”

“I do, your highness. But I do not yet know how to fight on a horse.”

Aditha laughed, “That’s the spirit.”

Vandiyadevan’s training had begun that day, he knew how to look after a horse, to ride, to saddle, but to fight on a horse was an entirely different matter. For the first month, he had to master the art of using the reins of the horse with one hand. With one hand tied back. Aditha had taken extra care to tie his tighter, after he had artfully gotten it loose the previous day. The crown prince had a smirk on his face when he had personally pulled the knot tighter, “You have way too much skill in escaping Vallavaraiya.”

Vandiyadevan nursed his aching body after a particularly long day of training, where he had somehow managed to fall off his horse and straight into a puddle*. Kandamaran had brought him hot rock salt tied in a cotton rag to put on his aching muscles before him and the rest of their troupe headed to the nightly bonfire. He heard the tent flap open and close, wondering which of his friends had returned early; he turned his head to find Karikalan.

“How are your aching muscles faring, Vallavaraiya?” he asked as he sat down in front of him.

Vandiyadevan who had stood up, “They’re getting used to the falls and tumbles, Ilavarase.”

Aditha gestured for him to sit down.

“Give me that bag and turn around,” he held his hand out. Vandiyadevan looked at the prince in shock, “I’ll ask Kandamara when he comes back your highness, no need to trouble yourself.”

Adhita took the bag and placed his hands on Vandiyadevan’s shoulder to turn him, before pressing the warm compressing into Vandiyadevan’s aching muscles, “When I began training, Periya Velar had me falling off my horses almost every day. I was just tall enough to get on the horse by myself at that time. That tumble you took was quite bad.”

“It seems like you were born to be a warrior, Ilavarase, you do everything with such ease,” Vandiyadevan said.

Aditha laughed, “You wouldn’t be saying so if you were there in Pazhayarai when Partibha and I had just started out.”

“Did the Pallavan also fall off horses?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know!” Aditha laughed again.

Vandiyadevan slept that night, trying to imagine a young Aditha Karikalan training for battle. How different it must have been for a prince like him, who came from a line for fierce warriors. He had so many great names to live up to. So much pride to uphold and so many great feats to perform if he had to make a name for himself in the long line of illustrious kings. Vandiyadevan too came from a long line of warriors, but he was never expected to rule. His kingdom was the sky above him and the piece of land he stood on. He was proud of his ancestry, he knew some of the songs they sang about his long lost grandfathers and great-grandfathers. But he fought for himself, he had joined the army to make a name only for himself.

But listening to the prince today, he wondered if there was more to being a warrior than just fighting. Karikalan did not have to check in on each soldier, he did not have to care about the wellbeing of the people who were training to fight and to eventually die. But he did, he knew his soldiers, he asked after their families, he made sure the medical tents were open and stocked. He made sure there was always enough food to feed everyone. He rarely sent anyone who was not trained enough out to battle. He did not speak much, only saying what needed to be said, he had a terrible temper leading to impulsiveness and was more melancholic than not but in the time that Vandiyadevan had spent training under the prince, the prince had gained his loyalty. He had wanted to fight by his side before because Karikalan was a warrior, but now he wanted to fight by Karikalan, because he was his leader.

Time passed, Vandiyadevan grew taller***, acquired more scars. Aditha’s hair grew longer, he was named the crown prince. They trained together, fought together, drank and danced together. Vandiyadevan stood by the side, watching Aditha, Malayaman and Parthibendra plan battles; they laughed as he pulled pranks lightning the mood of the war weary soldiers. They expanded the borders of the Chola kingdom village by village. The battles got bloodier, Vandiyadevan heard nothing but the harsh breathing of his horse, the sound of swords clashing, tuning everything else out. His focus was Aditha, protecting him as he surged through the soldiers, his spear and sword swinging in lightning speed, like he was the mythical prince Abhimanyu fighting inside the chakravyuha. They burnt more pyres than they had time to grieve for. They continued, until they had conquered the town of Kanchi and offered prayers at the shine of the goddess Kamakshi.

That night, Vandiyadevan sat with Kandamaran and the rest of his friends regaling them with stories of his childhood, most of which included stealing fruits off trees or sugarcane from fields and finding ways to escape from punishment. Karikalan and Pallavan had joined in eventually, laughing and joking. It was a time for celebrations and rest.

Vandiyadevan had not seen Aditha for a few days, the prince had been in talks with his grandfather and a messenger from Tanjai, the mood had been tense. Rumours were floating around of the treasurer of the Chola kingdom, Periya Pazhuvettarayar having denied the prince funds to continue his northward expansions of the kingdom. In return, Aditha had refused to send any of the plundered loot back to Tanjai, deciding to use the money to rebuild the city of Kanchi. He wondered what would happen as he scrubbed down his horse, Semba, a magnificent beast who had a fondness for sugarcane.

As he exited the stables, a strong hand wrapped around his arm and pulled him back inside, he raised his other fist, ready for a fight when he realised it was Karikalan who had pulled him back, “Ilavarase!”

“Vallavaraiya, come along!” the prince said, as he walked through the stables and out the back.

“If you had called for me, I would have come myself,” Vandiyadevan said, catching up with the prince who said nothing until they were out on the streets. Vandiyadevan realised the prince was dressed in regular clothes, his signet ring turned inwards and hidden from view, his usual red shawl replaced by a nondescript white one. He followed in silence wondering what had gone wrong, “Is something the matter, Ilavarase?”

“Yes, I have a craving for mangoes,” the prince smiled as they entered a large mangrove through a gap in the wall, “I thought you would be the best person to tell me which tree I should climb to get myself one.” Vandiyadevan’s face broke out in a mischievous grin, and he looked around to find the best fruits.

That afternoon, Aditha Karikalan and Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan found themselves sitting on the branches of a sturdy old mango tree, biting into some of the most delicious mangoes they had ever tasted, sunlight streaming in through the leaves, squirrels and birds twittering at them for laughing too loud. They sat there, until they were chased out by the workers of the orchard, they ran, laughter echoing through the streets, hands sticky and stomachs protesting the sheer amount of mangoes they had consumed.

That was when Vandiyadevan had realised that the prince’s childhood had been brutally cut short by war**. He made it a point, to include the prince in whatever games and pranks he could, his ears peaked for the prince's loud and booming laugh. Malayaman had patted him on the back one day, “You are a good soldier, Vallavaraiya, but I think you might be an even better friend.”

News reached Kanchi of the Rashtrakuta forces gathering to attack.

Vandiyadevan found himself sitting by the fire with the crown prince when the rest of the troops had retired to bed. Vandiyadevan got up too but turned around, gathering courage, “Might I ask you something, Ilavarase.”

Adhita smiled, gesturing for him to go on.

“When you become the king, and I pray that it is not for a long time, but when you do, would you give me permission to join your Vellaikaarar regiment?”

Adhita looked at his friend—he had begun thinking of him as a friend for a long time now—it had been years since Vallavaraiyan had fallen off his horse during training. Now he walked into the battlefield, knowing without having to glance back that Vallavarayan was behind him.

“You would be tied down to Tanjai, my friend. Only leaving the city when I do.”

“I would be by your side, at all times,” Vandiyadevan said, “that is all that matters.”

Aditha stood, placing a hand on Vandiyadevan’s shoulder and squeezing. His eyes glowing in the fire, a small smile on his otherwise grim face, “Off to bed with you now, we have much Rashtrakuta blood to spill tomorrow.”

When he was on the ground in the heat of battle, an axe wielding soldier bearing down on him, he did not raise his sword. A moment later he saw Vandiyadevan brandishing a spear after having felled the man. He smiled, the proud smile of a man who knew he could count on Vallavaraiya. The proud smile, of a prince who would dispatch his best soldier on the mission of a lifetime that very evening.

---

*Basing this off Karthi's interview's where he talks about falling off the horse not once, but twice!

**this is 21st century sensibilities, to be horrified at the thought of a child going to war at the age of 12.

***couldn't stop thinking about @toasted-stiletto's post about their heights, I giggled for a long time (https://www.tumblr.com/toasted-stiletto/703456440650809344/this-scene-made-me-wonder-how-tall-vikram-was?source=share)

They are too precious, and I just wanted them to eat mangoes together on a hot summer afternoon. also, using lovers as a term to include anyone who met, loved and lived with Aditha as a romantic partner, a friend or a subject.

#ponniyin selvan #aditha karikalan #vandiyadevan #ps ff #as you can see i am mourning the end of mango season

30 notes · View notes