Silappatikaram
AI-drafted · awaiting admin review
The Tamil epic of the anklet: Kannagi's fight for justice. One of the Five Great Epics of Tamil literature.
Source: Silappatikaram by Ilango Adigal (early centuries CE)
Festivals
- Kannagi worship in Tamil Nadu and Kerala (as Attukal Bhagavathy and Kodungallur Bhagavathy traditions)
The lesson
Justice must be done, even by a king. The courage of a single woman can shake a kingdom.
Kovalan, a merchant of Puhar, goes to Madurai with his wife Kannagi to sell her anklet. He is falsely accused of stealing the queen's anklet and executed. Kannagi breaks open her anklet before the Pandya king to show it holds rubies, while the queen's held pearls. The king, realising his injustice, dies of grief. The epic portrays the life, music and dance of ancient Tamil cities in rich detail.