Thursday, July 17, 2014

Kunnutaiya Part IV: Becoming A King


  • After days of walking, Kunnutaiya finally spots the two temples he remembers from childhood.

  • Kunnutaiya and Tamarai’s first task is to visit the goddess attached to the family lands. The couple commit to cleaning Celatta’s temple and worshiping her daily.

  • Next Kunnutaiya and Tamarai build a modest home and begin to settle down on his ancestral lands.

  • Kunnutaiya next begins to plow the one field his clansmen are willing to let him have. They try to keep the rest for themselves.

  • But when Kunnutaiya goes to get seeds, his clansmen trick him by secretly roasting them first. But his wife figures this out.

  • Kunnutaiya tries to plant the seeds anyway, in his one rocky, thorn-filled field.  

  • Fortunately Lord Vishnu sees the problem and uses his magical powers to help the seeds sprout.

  • Later, after still more tricks played by the clansmen, the couple finally discover that their crop has ripened.

  • But Kunnutaiya thinks there is something wrong. He can not find any harvest-ready grain.

  • It is only when Tamarai investigates that she finds not maize but jewels in each plump corn cob.

  • The couple harvest their jewels in private, fearing their jealous clansmen might intervene.

  • But then Lord Vishnu tests the couple’s generosity, sending a thousand beggars to their doorstep. Only Tamarai is willing to give away all their new wealth as alms.

  • Fortunately, Vishnu is pleased with Tamarai’s compassion and refills the harvest baskets in secret.

  • Kunnutaiya then takes a small gift to the Chola king. He politely informs him of the bountiful harvest just reaped on his lands in Ponnivala.

  • The couple build a palace with their new wealth. Soon the Chola king pays a visit and rewards Kunnutaiya with gifts and a small crown.

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