A tale from the life of Marudhu Pandiyar

I heard this touching story from my friendly Aasiriyar- David Ayya. I cannot help but recording it online and sharing it with all.
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The Maradhu Pandiyar brothers were the rulers of SivaGanga, who fought the British and declared independence long before Rest of India even planned the First war of Independence(1857) ! Click for a short history of Maruthu Pandiyar

The brothers didnt exactly hail from aristocratic family lines, but were normal people. By virtue of their bravery and skills, they rose among the ranks and occupied top ranks of Defence ministers, and Commanders of the armyin the court of the then Queen Velu Naachiyaar. After her period, they took over the reins of the kingdom, and were generally loved and accepted by their subjects as their legitimate rulers.

The story relates to an incident that happened under their reign. They built a temple to Siva (Kaalaiyar Koil)during that period and held the consecration ceremony. A huge chariot (ratham) was built to carry the Lord's idol in a procession, and all preparation were done to start the procession , in this brand new chariot, pulled by thousands of devotees.

But the twist in the story starts when, the chariot refused to budge an inch from its original position, despite the best efforts of young, strong devotees. That was a surprise since the chariot itself looked constructed correct to the specifications, and nobody could find the reason for the physical stubbornity of the chariot.

The embarassed Maruthu Pandiyar , were very keen to see the procession moving, and summoned the skilled constructor of the chariot(Achaari), to help them in this tight situation. The carpenter suggested that the chariots refuse to move, since its constructor has not been paid for his services. The ruler-brothers offered reasonable amounts or precious articles worthy of his work and actually apologised for their negligence in prompt payment.

But the adamant carpenter had other plans, and calmly refused all these costly gifts. He demanded to be the king of the country for just one day, and on the very same day. The crowd was certainly shocked at this request, and heaped curses on this man, for his opportunism and unreasonable greed for holding high position. But Marudhu Pandiyar were true devotees, and were only too ready to give up anything for the religious event to be successful. They accepted his demands and crowned him King for that day. This also meant that the carpenter occupied a seat near the God's statue on the chariot thats actually reserved for the King himself.

The rally continued, and while the Maruthu Pandiyars walked alongwith the crowd, the chariot and its occupants rode high above, passing over undulating terrain on the way to the temple. This required a large effort by the pulling crowd, when they had to pull it up the slope, and also when they had to control the pace when the chariot went down-hill too.

One particular downward slope was particularly demanding, and all of a sudden the harnesses gave way and the chariot raced downhill threatening to crush some devotees on its path. After a major struggle, the able men took control of the run-away chariot, after it had come to a stop due to a casuality that occured. A man was trapped in between the wheels, and that apparently stopped the chariot, but after inflicting mortal wounds to the poor devotee. And this was none other than the carpenter king who had lost his balance in the commotion and had fallen to the brink of death, bleeding profusely having been badly injured by his own work of craftmanship.

In his dying moments he held out a piece of papyrus manuscript, which appeared to be some kind of ancient poetry. It was deciphered , and the complete picture reached the people who had cursed the One-day king. He was found to be a firm believer of Naadi astrology and the manuscript had the predictions for the day. It contained the statement that the King of the country would have to die an unfortunate death, at the end of the chariot procession !

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I heard this story right after watching the movie Rang de Basanti which has the main characters killing the corrupt Defence Minister of their own country !