Vethalam Vikramathithan (Vikram and the Vampire)

'He who understands it will be his sire’s sire' - Rig–Veda (I.164.16).

Preface

Oru Kadha Solta ...



King Bhoja, the heir to the throne, entered the throne room amidst the salutations from his ministers. He stood at the bottom of the royal seat and raised his head to watch the thirty-two steps leading to the Golden Throne. To the right side on each step were golden statues of beautiful women. The idols were posing themselves involving various body gestures, mostly pertaining to gracious invitation.

"What a fabulous route to the throne", Bhoja thought.

When he set his right foot on the first step, all the statues laughed at him clapping their hands. Bhoja felt insulted and quickly removed his foot from the stairs; his action froze the idols. He asked the first statue to his right, "Who are you and why are you laughing at me."

"We are Apsaras", the thirty ladies smiled and spoke in unison, "We are put on this earth to serve the Son of Indra and speak about his laurels."

"Who is this Son of Indra?" Bhoja exhibited his ignorance without hiding his frustration.

The first golden statue of the thirty steps introduced to Bhoja the greatness of the Greatest Emperor Vikramathithan.

At dusk the idol finished speaking with the Bhoja. He returned to his chamber and thought about the glory of his predecessor spoken by the speaking statue.

The next morning he returned to the throne room early. There was silence when he marched on the first step. As he set his foot on the second, the respective statue came alive and questioned him if he was brave and wise to claim the throne of Vikramathithan. Confused, Bhoja stayed on the second step listening to the Apsara telling him the "Twenty Five Tales of Vethalam":

Upon the request of a Tantric (one who practised the science of cosmic principles), the King Vikramathithan, along with his second son Dharma Dhwaj set out to capture a vampire that lived in the countryside cemetery. He reaches the tree where a huge bat hung itself upside down from a branch. It opened its eye lids to reveal its blazing red eye clearly depicting its unhappiness towards the trespassers. After a brief battle, the Vikramathithan captured the human size bat and started pulling it towards the Tantric's observatory.

The King caught its neck and asked who it shall be. As soon words flew out of Vikramathithan's mouth, the vampire slipped through his fingers and flew back to the tree where it hung itself over the same branch. It took six attempts for Vikramathithan to understand the cycle he and the vampire engaged with - Battle; Capture; Speak; Fly.

For the seventh time, Vikramathithan pulled the vampire over the hard ground of the cemetery, but this once he did not verbally engage with Vethalam, the huge bleeding bat.

Vethalam started to plead to the king. It cried out of pain in old age. It urged him to leave it in the graveyard. Vikramathithan neither withered nor showed mercy to the vampire. He kept on dragging it to reach the path leading to destination. Finally, Vethalam surrendered itself to the King and accepted to accompany Vikramathithan to the Tantric's observatory. Vethalam asked the King a favour, a request he could not reject as the king. It wanted him to carry it on his back as it was too tired to match the strides of the Vikramathithan.

The night journey turned tedious. Vethalam suggested a way to reduce the travel stress. It proposed to narrate a story to the King. Taking the silence of Vikramathithan as affirmation, the vampire narrated its first tale in which a man deceived a woman.

An intriguing story enveloped the King through an effective narration by Vethalam. Dharma Dhwaj could easily visualise what he heard, as the vampire fabulously described the events that occurred within the story world. The tale talked about a King, his son, their journey around a cemetery, a pretty lady and her lover.

As soon as the Vampire arrived at the end of its narration, it asked Vikramathithan, taking much care to use words that could provoke the King to speak up, "Now, Raja Vikram! You have not spoken much; doubtless you are engrossed by the interest of a story wherein a man beats a woman. But I warn you that you will assuredly fall into hell if you do not make up your mind upon and explain this matter. Who was the most to blame amongst these four - The lover, the lover's friend, the girl, or the father?"

The King took time, but replied despite himself, "The King is at fault."

The vampire asked him to explain himself, "In what way was he at fault?"

Very much satisfied with the reply, Vethalam said, "I never yet heard a King so readily condemn a King."

Vethalam giggled and announced, "I now return to my tree."

Vikram stood for a moment, fixed to the spot with blank dismay. He retraced his steps, followed by Dharma Dhwaj, and engaged in a brief battle with the vampire. Throwing wounded Vethalam on his shoulders, he again set out upon his way.

Soon afterwards a voice sounded behind his back, and began to tell another story.

Every time Vethalam completed its story and tricked the King to speak up by throwing intellectual questions that threw the King into the pit of guilt; and each time the King answered according to his virtue, Vethalam returned to its tree.

The King fell silent when the vampire asked him the solution at the end of its twenty fourth tale. The question puzzled the King. Vethalam held his peace for a few minutes by coughing twice impatiently. It turned and asked Dharma Dhwaj, but he stood dumb folded as his father without knowing the answer for the puzzle either.

Vethalam announced, "I will not stop to enquire whether it was humility and self-restraint which prevented your answering my last question but I will not look too narrowly into cause or motive just as your condescension in at last taking a Vampire’s advice."

Thus, Vethalam told its own tale as the twenty-fifth story. The final revelations made by Vethalam, saved the King and the Prince from deceit in the near future. The misrepresented truth by the Tantric was flashed on the King's face that made him open his eyes.

The second speaking statue stopped talking after finishing the twenty five tales of the Vampire. King Bhoja, reluctant to move upwards, stepped down from the stairs and returned to his chamber. For the next thirty days, he patiently listened to the Tales of The Throne narrated to him by the Apsaras while he advanced step by step. As and when he listened to the Adventures of Vikramathithan, his admiration grew towards him. He started to doubt his own bravery and wisdom.

Bhoja finally reached the Golden Throne ...

End of Part One of Three