498. Hunting a Snake

"If we are beating a snake, we should beat it to death. If we leave it alive, it will always be a danger to us" said King Vikramasingha.

"I understand that Your Majesty is referring to Veera Varma, the King of Pingala, running away from the battlefield, taking with him whatever was left of his small army, after our troops inflicted a crushing defeat on his army. But we didn't expect that he would decide that saving his army was more important and choose to run away rather than fight us back, as a true warrior would!" said the Minister.

"Yes. That is what I meant by allowing a beaten up snake to run away. Do we have any information about his whereabouts?"

"I just got an update from the Chief of our Spy unit. I came to meet you only to apprise you of the information."

"Tell me" said the king, with curiosity.

"Veera Varma, with his troops, has taken refuge in Panimalar island, belonging to Parakala kingdom."

"Oh!" said Vikramasinga. "Are the troops of Parakala kingdom stationed in Panimalar island?"

"No. Your Majesty. Panimalar island is inhabited only by a small number of people. It is a peaceful island. There only a handful of troops of Parakala kingdom in Panimalar island. I think the King of Parakala might have allowed Veera Varma and his troops to stay there, since it is an inconspicuous place" said the Minister.

"In that case, we can launch an attack on Panimalar island, capture Veera Varma and his men and bring them to our country."

"Pardon me, Your Majesty. It may not be an advisable course of action. Since Panimalar island belongs to the Parakala kingdom, our attacking that island would amount to waging a war against Parakala kingdom" said the minister.

"We are not going to occupy Panimalar island. We are only going to capture Veera Varma and his troops and bring them to our country. This is not an invasion."

"But our troops entering a territory belonging to another country..."

"Listen to me! Panimalar island is only a few miles away from our East coast. Since Panimalar island is in the midst of several small islands with mountains and forests, we can send our troops in boats, ensuring that the movement of our troops is inconspicuous. We can complete the mission within a few hours and return to our country, with Veera Varma and his men as prisoners. If necessary, later on, we can send an emissary to Paralkala kingdom and explain our action to the King of Parakala. What do you say?"

The Minister nodded his head half-heartedly.

"Your Majesty! We are in deep trouble" said the Minister, feeling tense.

"What happened? We received the message that our troops have captured Veera Varma and are on their way back to our country!"

"As per the plan, our troops went to Panimalar island and captured Veera Varma and his troops, without much difficulty. But, when our troops were returning on boats to our country with Veera Varma and his men, unexpectedly, the troops of Parakala kingdom attacked us. They got Veera Varma and his men released and took them back with them. Now, the army of Parakala has begun to attack our troops on the border, by way of waging a war with us." said the Minister, with concern.

Vikramasingha regretted his hasty decision and action, ignoring the advice of his Minister.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 50
Knowing the Right Place

Verse 498 (in Tamil):

siRu padaiyAn sellidam sErin uRu padaiyAn
Ukkam azhindhu vidum.

Meaning:

If a king with a small army battles from a strategic location,

the power of the mighty foe will get shattered

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pAmbu vEttai' by the same author.)

Verse 499
Verse 497