690. A Shoulder Injury

"It is my duty to warn you of the dangers you may face when you go to Ponni country, as our emissary" said the Minister.

"I am not scared of dangers, sir" said Kathavarayan, who had been chosen as the emissary.

"Kathavarayan! I know that you are a fearless person. That was  the reason I recommended you to the King, for being sent as the emissary to Ponni country. But, it is always wise to be forewarned of the dangers one might encounter, during the mission one undertakes." 

Kathavarayan listened with keen attention to the potential dangers outlined by the Minister. 

"Congratulations, Kathavarayan! You completed your mission successfully. The King of Ponni has accepted my peace proposal and sent a reply through you. We have averted a war. The people of both the countries have been spared the agony of a war" said the King, appreciating Kathavarayan. 

"Your Majesty! Kathavarayan paid obeisance to you by raising only his left hand, instead of raising both the hands as per the custom. Don't you find his behaviour disrespectful?" the Minister asked the King. 

"The emissary has returned after completing his mission successfully. I didn't notice that he raised only one hand, while paying obeisance to me. Even if I had, I wouldn't have minded it. Kathavarayan is well-versed in etiquette and manners. If he had raised only one hand, it could have been due to a sprain in his other hand!" said the King, in good humour.

"It was not a sprain, Your Majesty. His right shoulder has an injury resulting from laceration by a sword" said the Minister.

"He was attacked with a sword! How did it happen?" asked the King, shocked. 

"Your Majesty. Some people conspiring against the King of Ponni had been making secret attempts, to create a war between the two countries. Their plan was to dethrone the King and capture power, when the King would be engaged in fighting the war. They had arranged to capture the King with the connivance of some officials working in the palace. I had come to know of this conspiracy, though our secret agents operating from Ponni country. Based on this information, I anticipated that the conspirators would try to sabotage our peace efforts and that as a part of their strategy, they might try to cause physical harm to our emissary, before he could meet their King with your peace proposal. I warned Kathavarayan about these risks, while briefing him about the mission" said the Minister.

"But, your warning the emissary did not avert the mishap. If there was a risk of a danger to the emissary's life, we could have avoided sending him!" said the King. 

"Your Majesty! Considering the interests of our country, there was a need for us to launch a peace initiative, by sending an emissary to Ponni country. I had warned Kathavarayan about the dangers he could face and also given him exhaustive advice about the measures he needed to adopt to save himself from such dangers. He agreed to take up the mission, only after knowing about the potential dangers he could face. It was because he was aware of the dangers and well prepared to face and overcome them that he was able to survive the attack made on him. After knowing about the attack made on our emissary, the King of Ponni identified the conspirators and arrested them. In the process, the threat to his throne was also eliminated. Thus, the attack made on our emissary has turned out to be a blessing in disguise to the Ponni country, in general and the King, in particular. Kathavarayan requested me not to tell you about the injury suffered by him, lest you should feel saddened by the incident. But, since I wanted you to know that he took up the mission, braving the potential danger to his life and that he suffered an injury during his mission, I pointed out to you that he had paid obeisance to you by raising only his left hand, as if I was finding fault with him and brought the injury suffered by him to your knowledge!" said the Minister.

"Kathavarayan, who took up the mission, unmindful of the danger he could face and did his job in an admirable way leading to a peaceful agreement between the two counties that would do a lot of good to the people, deserves all the praise and appreciation. His valuable service can never be compensated adequately" said the King, looking at Kathavarayan with pride. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 69
The Ambassadorial Mission

Verse 688 (in Tamil):
iRudhi payappinum enjAdhu iRaivaRku
uRudhi payappadhAm thU thu..

Meaning:

An emissary should fearlessly seek his sovereign's good, even at the risk of facing a danger to his life (in the course of delivering the message).

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thOLil vizhundha vettu' by the same author.) 

Verse 691 (Soon)
Verse 689