–by Suresh Iyer
–Reading Time – 18min Approx
Cast of Characters
| Elangovathiarayan | Emperor of Tanjore and father of Mutharaiyar | |
| Mutharaiyar | Son of Elangovathiarayan | |
| Kundavai | Wife of Mutharaiyar and Queen of Tanjore Empire | |
| Kulothunga | Son of Mutharaiyar and Kundavai | |
| Krishnan Raman | Childhood friend of Mutharaiyar | |
| Vikram Raja Sinha | King of Sinhala kingdom | |
| Valli Mayil | Daughter of Vikrama Raja Sinha and second wife of Mutharaiyar | |
| Hiranya and Hiranmaya | Twins sons of Mutharaiyar and Valli Mayil | |
| Airavata | Father of Krishnan Raman and Architect of the Tanjore Empire | |
| Bhalanetra | Court poet of the Empire of Tanjore | |
| Maharishi Sivananda Yogi | A Great Hindu Sage from Mount Kailas | |
| Veera Bhadra | King of Mysore and friend of Emperor Elangovathiarayan’ | |
| Veera Someshwara | Son of Veera Bhadra and friend of Mutharaiyar and Krishnan Raman |
YEAR 2034
Vihaan and Mayuri were part of the special time assigned by the Archaeological Survey of India. Vihaan was the senior member of the team with specialization in paleontology and geophysics. He also specialized in courting controversy as he never followed the standard operating procedures and went by his own instincts.
They were part of the Special Investigating team deputed by the Government for restoration of the famous temple of Tanjore which was closed for the general Public on a PIL filed by various activists before the Supreme Court raising concerns over its state of deterioration. Mayuri was the junior member of the team. She was excited to be a part of this task only due to the presence of Vihaan who was her friend.
She was cynical of the whole exercise, “I don’t understand why we are going through this futile exercise. At a time when India is facing threat from China and parts of our Kashmir have already been under siege by Pakistan, our Apex Courts are concerned about dead monuments.”
Vihaan put his fingers on her lips. “We are here on a Court monitored mission, so keep your mouth shut.”
Mayuri continued with exploring around the temple. It was her first visit to the South and she had very little understanding of the history of the Southern part of India.
“Look at these Wall paintings and sculptures, they seem to tell a story.” Mayuri kept listening to him as they proceeded together.
He continued, “This temple seems to be a work of a glorious Empire around the 10th century, which was rich in culture and architecture and vast trading links with South East Asia and as far as the Roman Empire. Look at these sculptures and paintings, they have influences of Indonesia and Cambodia. Every painting and sculpture has a pattern with numerical multiple of nine, which seemed to be a divine number during this Era.”
As they continued with their research, a part of their team which was working on the top of the temple witnessed a shiny diamond as they peeped through a huge boulder which sat like a crown. They informed Vihaan who immediately reached on the top to find out more about the object of attraction. It was apparent that no one seemed to have ever noticed it for many decades. He carefully guided the team to take it out and kept it with him for further research. He waved his torchlight inside the dark chamber beneath the chamber where the diamond was kept and saw images of mountains, shiv lings, Maharishi and yogis of the Himalayas.”
Mayuri was getting excited, “Wow, what an ornamental piece. It seems there must be many treasures of the Empire buried around the temple.”
Vihaan smiled at her and said, “That’s the thing with you girls when you come across diamonds and precious metals, they cloud your powers of judgment. There is something curious about this Diamond.”
Mayuri asked, “What is it that you find curious about?”
Vihaan said, “Look at the patterns of sculptures and paintings around the temple, they seem to tell a story and have a connection with multiples of the numerical figure ‘Nine’. This Diamond simply does not fit into the story, the walls of the temple seem to convey.”
Mayuri was not amused, “What could be that wonderful story and why do you think that the Diamond does not fit into the story? I think you are imagining things beyond your domain.”
Vihaan laughed and patted her cheeks, “My instincts say that the artisans who were engaged in the creating of the marvels of the temple were not aware of this diamond, it seems to be not a part of their Plans. It has some connection with the Himalayas and Mount Kailas. The design of the chamber beneath the boulder is completely different from what lay around the walls of the temple and seemed to have been done by a different person or persons.”
He kept the diamond in his custody.
Mayuri looked at him quizzically, “Hey what are you going to do next? Remember this diamond belongs to the artifacts unraveled in our mission and I hope you keep it that way.”
Vihaan laughed at her and kissed her. She turned around to notice whether anyone caught them kissing and blushed.
CHAPTER -I
The Mystical Diamond had a story to tell about the Empire, a story which no one would know. When Enemies rise within, Empires fall.
The Tanjore Empire was an important center of Culture, Art and Architecture under the caring eyes of the Great Emperor Late Elangovathiarayan who was viewed as the reincarnation of Lord Shiva. The Muthuraja clan controlled the fertile plans of the Kaveri Region and they were great devotees of Lord Shiva. The Emperors of Muthuraja Clan were hailed as the descendants of Lord Shiva Himself by the people. The Tanjore Palace located at the mouth of the Cauvery River was a majestic palace with vast labyrinthine buildings, enormous corridors, swanky and artistic halls, watchtowers, moat, fort and courtyards. A rare precious Diamond gifted to the Late Emperor Elangovathiarayan during his visit to Mount Kailas occupied the center of Palace and was the symbol of the Pride of the Empire. The entrance of the palace had a large quadrangular courtyard. There were big gateways to the northern and eastern walls.
The present Emperor Mutharaiyar wielded considerable power and respect all over South India and South-East Asia. Unlike his father Elangovathiarayan, Mutharaiyar did not like to rest on his laurels and was not much interested in Art and Architecture. He was keen to establish Tanjore Empire as an important center of trade owing to its vicinity to rivers and seas and extended his foreign trade and maritime activity to China and South East Asia. Yet the aura of the Great Emperor Elangovathiarayan was such that Art, Architecture and Culture continued to be the showpiece of the Tanjore Empire Mutharaiyar was an ambitious Emperor, who used his might to annex more kingdoms down South under his control. He let the kings ruling under his states to administer their subjects as long as they were submissive to the Empire. He married Kundavai when he was crowned as Emperor at his young age after the passing away of his father Elangovathiarayan. 
Kundavai looked after all the activities around the Palace and was viewed as Goddess by her subjects. They had a son Kulothunga, who was viewed as the beloved Prince of the Tanjore Empire by the people and was held with great respect. Emperor Mutharaiyar’s childhood friend Krishnan Raman was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief by his father the Great Emperor Elangovathiarayan under the promise that he would act as the Guardian of the Empire and Royal family. Under the mighty military led by Krishnan Raman, Emperor Mutharaiyar strengthened and established his Empire further and almost the entire Southern part of India was under his control.
It was during this time, Emperor Mutharaiyar waged a fierce attack on the Sinhala Kingdom across the sea, which was ruled by Sinhala King Vikrama Raja Sinha as he wanted to extend his control across the seas too. Despite valiant defence of the Sinhala King Vikrama Raja Sinha, Emperor Mutharaiyar’s mighty army led by Krishnan Raman defeated the Sinhala King after an intense battle. The Sinhala King was forced to surrender and sign a peace treaty. Emperor Mutharaiyar was besotted with the beauty of Valli Mayil, the daughter of Vikrama Raja Sinha and asked for his daughter’s hand for marriage. Valli Mayilwas a headstrong and tenacious woman. She agreed to marry the Emperor on the condition that he restore the full reigns of the Sinhala kingdom to her father Vikarama Raja Sinha, else she will sacrifice her life. Mutharaiyar was so smitten by the beauty of Valli Mayil that he was willing to do anything to attain her. Emperor Mutharaiyar handed over full control of the Sinhala kingdom back to Vikrama Raja Sinha and married Valli Mayil. He built a separate Palace for her which connected with the Palace of first Queen Kundavai. Kundavai was the most beloved Queen of the Tanjore Empire and the people of Tanjore did not like the arrival of Valli Mayil as the second Queen. Emperor Mutharaiyar had his way and Valli Mayil acquired equal prominence in all the Royal events and ceremonies. On the advice of Valli Mayil, Emperor Mutharaiyar toned down his ambitions of annexing more and more kingdoms under his control.
He also started giving more autonomy to the kingdoms under his control on her advice. To the joy of the Emperor, Valli Mayil gave birth to twins. Mutharaiyar named one of them as Hiranya after the precious diamond and the other one was called Hiranmaya.
Kundavai took all these events with grace and never questioned Emperor Mutharaiyar. Her only worry was her son Kulothunga, who was a man of unruly habits and vices. He was addicted to wine and found pleasure in the company of women. She was very much worried for him as he was destined to be the heir to the glorious Empire of Tanjore. Emperor Mutharaiyar overlooked the habits of Kulothunga as he spent most of his time with Valli Mayil. It was during this time, the Diamond which was the symbol of the Pride of the Empire went missing. The Emperor Mutharaiyar could not get over the shock of the missing diamond and fell ill. His commander-in-chief Krishnan Raman assured him that he will find out the Diamond and ensure that those who did the act not go unpunished. However, Mutharaiyar was deeply concerned by the missing Diamond rather than his own health which was making his recovery and treatment difficult. The Empire was being run by Krishnan Raman on the advice of Queen Kundavai as Mutharaiyar was incapacitated. The other Queen Valli Mayil did not take kindly to Krishnan Raman being given prominence as he did not belong to the Royal family. She felt Hiranya should take over the Empire if Kulothunga was not ready to take over the reins of the Empire. Krishnan Raman felt sad over the growing dissensions between the Queens but apart from being a Guardian of the Empire on behalf of Emperor Mutharaiyar, he did not like to meddle and make matters worse within the family in the interest of the Empire. He was concerned more with the lost diamond and had to retrieve it soon, as that can only help restore the health of Emperor Mutharaiyar.
–by Suresh Iyer
To Be Continued…
