Tamarai - Part II: Her Marriage and Early Years in Ponnivala
- Tamarai has now grown into a lovely young woman. She is now
sixteen years old, but she still loves to sit in her simple garden
swing.
- Kunnutaiya, the servant and shepherd boy who works for
Tamarai’s family, has fallen in love with her.
- Despite Tamarai’s brothers’ objections Lord Vishnu helps
arrange a marriage between Tamarai and Kunnutaiya. She is led to
the spot in the forest where the wedding will occur.
- The wedding place is by an old temple. Lord Vishnu, in
disguise, leads the way. No family members will be present.
- Now Lord Vishnu takes on his normal appearance and marries
the couple himself.
- Vishnu magically produces two flower garlands and has the
couple place them around each other’s necks, as is the wedding
custom.
- But then Tamarai’s family sends insulting wedding gifts: a
dried up old cow and a blind goat, as well as other unwanted things.
- Tamarai explains the meaning of these gifts to her new
husband. They are symbols that say “don’t you two ever come
back here.”
- The two leave on a journey to find Kunnutaiya’s homeland,
Ponnivala. They are happily married but sad that they have been
treated like this by Tamarai’s family.
- Tamarai and Kunnutaiya struggle, walking a very long
distance in the sun and in the rain.
- Eventually, after many days, the couple see two temples in
the distance. This tells them that they have finally arrived in the
land of Ponnivala.
- Tamarai’s first desire is to clean the old family temple
and get it back into a clean and pleasing condition.
- Next Tamarai helps her husband build a small hut where they
will live.
- Tamarai helps sort the lumber and work out the details of
their house design.
- The women of the area bring Tamarai some of the necessary
items for cooking. She thanks the two ladies for their kindness and
starts to organize her new home.
- Finally the house is ready. The couple have even purchased a
cow!
[<==Back to Part 1]
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