Page:The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.djvu/169

Rh of their kind, our deeds react upon us. Like lights set upon a plain which go out when the wind blows, our souls go out of our bodies. Only those whose minds have been enlightened by the truths preached by Argha can save themselves from this prison of re-births.”

“To the end of my life,” replied the Kavunthi reverently, “I will worship none but Argha and believe in no precepts but those revealed in his Agamas.” The monk was pleased with the words spoken by the nun and blessed her and her fellow passengers saying, “May you be freed from the bonds of desire!” The travellers then got into a boat and landing on the southern bank of the river entered the city of Uraiyur.

They lodged in a Nigrantha monastery at Uraiyur, and worshipped the resplendent image of Argha, which was placed under a triple umbrella, beneath the shade of an Asoka tree. They stayed one whole day in the monastery, and on the next morning they started with the early dawn, and travelling till sunrise they arrived at a pleasant garden surrounded by cool tanks and verdant meadows. While they were resting in this garden, a Brahmin pilgrim also happened to arrive. He said that he was a native of Mankadu in the Chera country; that he had travelled through the Pandyan land and was going to worship the images of Vishnu at Arankam or Venkadam. Kovilan enquired of him the different routes to Madura and the nature of the roads. In reply to him the Brahmin said, “It is a pity you have come with this lady at a season when the fierce rays of the sun dry up and heat the surface of the earth: and travelling is far from pleasant. The road from Uraiyur up to the great tank at Kodumbai lies through rocks and narrow refiles; and thence there are three routes to Madura. The route on the right hand will take you through a wild region, where water is scarce, and lawless tribes harass the passengers. On that side you will see the Sirumalai hills, on which every kind of fruit tree grows in abundance. Keeping to the left side of the mountain you will arrive at Madura. If you take instead the route on the left hand, from Kodumbai, you will have to travel