Kovalan was the son of a wealthy merchant in Kaveripattinam, married
Kannagi, a young woman of legendary beauty. They lived together happily
in the city of Kaveripattinam, until Kovalan met the dancer Madhavi and
fell in love with her. In his infatuation he forgot Kannagi and
gradually spent all his wealth on the dancer. But when he was penniless,
he went back to Kannagi. Their only
asset was a precious pair of anklets (chilambu—hence the name of the
epic), filled with gems, which she gave to him willingly. With these as
their capital they went to the great city of Madurai, where Kovalan
hoped to recoup his fortunes by trade.
The city of Madurai was ruled by the Pandya king Nedunj Cheliyan I. Kovalan's objective was to sell the anklets in this kingdom so that he and his wife would be able to start their lives over. Unfortunately, around the time he set out to sell the anklets, one anklet (out of a pair) was stolen from the queen, by a greedy court member. This anklet looked very similar to Kannagi's. The only difference was that Kannagi's were filled with rubies and the queen's filled with pearls, but this was not a visible fact. When Kovalan went to sell it, he was accused of having stolen the anklet. He was immediately beheaded by the King's guards, without trial. When Kannagi was informed of this, she became furious, and set out to prove her husband's innocence to the king.
Kannagi came to the king's court, broke open the anklet seized from Kovalan and showed that it contained rubies, as opposed to the queen's anklets which contained pearls. Realizing their fault, the King and the Queen died of shame. Unsatisfied, Kannagi tore out a breast and flung it on the city, uttering a curse that the entire city be burnt. However, after the request from the Goddess of the city, she withdrew her curse and later, attained salvation. She is worshiped as goddess as Kodungallur Bhagavathy and Attukal Bhagavathy in the South Indian state of Kerala.
The city of Madurai was ruled by the Pandya king Nedunj Cheliyan I. Kovalan's objective was to sell the anklets in this kingdom so that he and his wife would be able to start their lives over. Unfortunately, around the time he set out to sell the anklets, one anklet (out of a pair) was stolen from the queen, by a greedy court member. This anklet looked very similar to Kannagi's. The only difference was that Kannagi's were filled with rubies and the queen's filled with pearls, but this was not a visible fact. When Kovalan went to sell it, he was accused of having stolen the anklet. He was immediately beheaded by the King's guards, without trial. When Kannagi was informed of this, she became furious, and set out to prove her husband's innocence to the king.
Kannagi came to the king's court, broke open the anklet seized from Kovalan and showed that it contained rubies, as opposed to the queen's anklets which contained pearls. Realizing their fault, the King and the Queen died of shame. Unsatisfied, Kannagi tore out a breast and flung it on the city, uttering a curse that the entire city be burnt. However, after the request from the Goddess of the city, she withdrew her curse and later, attained salvation. She is worshiped as goddess as Kodungallur Bhagavathy and Attukal Bhagavathy in the South Indian state of Kerala.
The Real story of Kannagi
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