500. The Prince's Valour

Prince Parantaka was hailed by the whole country for leading the country to victory in the war against the neighbouring country.

"With our king being indisposed, our prince took up the reigns and led the troops in the war. The soldiers keep talking about the heroic acts of the prince in the warfront, even several days after the war was over."

"When the horse, our prince was riding in the war front, was hit by the enemy's arrow and fell down, the prince, didn't wait for another horse, but fought the enemy king who was on horseback, standing on the ground and killed him with his sword. The lieutenants have been saying that our price has outdone our king, a veteran of many battles."

"Won't the king be offended by these kinds of comments?"

"Hasn't the poet Thiruvalluvar said 'A father will be proud to hear that his son his bettered him'?'"

"it is true. We can also feel proud that at a time when our king is bed-ridden, we have a prince having the valour and strength to take over the responsibility of governing our country!" 

This was the kind of conversation that was taking place among the people of the country.

"The atrocities of the insurrectionists in the border areas have been worsening. Though they don't have the support of the people, they have taken control of a small region through violent means and been running a parallel government there, by terrorizing the people living there. If we send our troops there, the rebels can be eliminated in no time. But our king is very particular that common people should not become casualities during the operation" said the minister.

"How are you tolerating this situation? If we don't contain the rebellion quickly, the rebels will become emboldened and commit more atrocities. People living there will lose faith in us" said Parantaka.

"You are right, prince. We have already finalized a strategy. We have created a secret army of fifty men. We are giving training to them now. They will infiltrate the region as ordinary people, get access to the leaders of the rebellion through clever means and kill them at an opportune moment. Once the leaders are eliminated, the other rebels will panic and give up their activities" said the minister.

"It is a good idea. I will lead the secret army, myself" said Parantaka.

"No, prince. This is a dangerous mission. The fifty people selected for this mission are going to carry out the task, by risking their lives. We cannot have you taking this risk. You are the prince and you are going to succeed your father as the king. Your fame resulting from your acts of heroism in the war has reached even neighbouring countries. But, this is not a regular battle. You should not participate in this risky venture. The king won't consent to this, either. I will also appeal to you not to have any role in this mission" pleaded the minister.

But, Parantaka didn't listen to the minister's advice. Though his father inititially opposed the idea of the prince participating in this mission, Parantaka persuaded him and made him give his consent eventually.

Parantaka left for the border region along with fifty men to carry out the mission of eliminating the insurrectionists.

It was ten days since the secret army led by Parantaka infiltrated the region under the control of the rebels. During this period, they had killed two top leaders of the insurrection.

Though the insurrectionists were rattled by the killing of two of their top leaders, Dhandapani, one of the surviving leaders, managed to keep the second level leaders in good spirit.

"This is definitely a conspiracy by our king. He has sent some people here to kill us. We should be cautious. Check every one who has come to our place recently. If you have any suspicion on anyone, let me know. We will question them in an 'appropriate' way and extract the information from them" Dhandapani told the second line leaders, secretly.

It was dark. Parantaka was walking along the street studded with dense trees on both sides of the street. Two of his men guarding him were walking a few yards behind him.

When Parantaka was walking under a tree, a boy sitting on the tree jumped on Parantaka's shoulders. Due to the impact of the jump, both of them fell down. Before Parantaka could realize what had happened, the boy struck the knife he was holding in his hand deep into Parantaka's neck, saying, "You are the one who killed my father."

By the time, the two guards rushed to the spot, Parantaka had become lifeless. The boy who had stabbed him had also run away. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 50
Knowing the Right Place

Verse 500 (in Tamil):

kAlAzh kaLaril nari adum kaN anjA
vElAL mugaththa kaLiRu.

Meaning:

An uncontrollable elephant that has gored many a spearman,

when stuck in a deep quagmire, is an easy prey for a fox.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'parAnthakanin mudivu' by the same author.)

Verse 501 (Soon)
Verse 499