Jaina Literature in Tamil

Author(s): A Chakravarti, K V Ramesh
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith

Page 94

JAINA LITERATURE IN TAMIL tasted the power and privilege of royalty, desired to usurp the same. The king, ignorant of such a Machievallian policy of his minister, to whom he foolishly entrusted the state affairs, discovered the mistake a little too late. In the meanwhile, the queen had three dreams of rather an unpleasant nature. When she wanted their interpretation from the king, he somehow consoled her not to worry about the dreams. Anticipating troubles from his ungrateful minister, it is said that he had constructed for him a sort of aerial vehicle like the modern aeroplane in the form of a peacock. This peacock machine was secretly constructed within the palace in order to carry two persons in the air, and he instructed his queen on how to manipulate this machine. When the queen was in the state of advanced pregnancy, the ungrateful Kattiyangāran wanted to realise his wish to usurp the kingdom and thus besieged the palace. Since the peacock machine was constructed to carry the weight of two persons alone and since the the queen was in an advanced state of pregnancy, the king thought it advisable to place the machine at her disposal and himself stayed behind. When the machine started up with the queen on it, the king with the drawn sword in his hand came out to meet the usurper. In the melee of the fight the king lost his life and the wicked Kattiyangāran proclaimed himself the king of Rājamāpuram. The queen, who had by that time reached the outskirts of the city, heard this royal proclamation resulting from the death of her royal husband and lost control of the machine which descended and landed on the cremation ground in the outskirts of this city. In the darkness of night she gave birth