One tenebrous night, when the moon
had left the brilliant circle of the stars, a young man accompanied by
his wife leaves the threshold of their stately house through the high
gate… Walking for about ten miles, they reach the dense forest that covers the
northern bank of the river, often swept by the Kaveri's floods. They see a grove of
trees in bloom, where a saintly nun named Kavundi lived… Where are they
proceeding to? What sad destiny has driven them from their comfortable hearth
and home?
In the ancient seaport of Puhar, or Kaveripattanam, the Chola
capital—the wealthy river port whose splendor rivaled that of heaven—we witness
the marriage of Kovalan, a merchant's son, and Kannaki, a shipowner's
daughter. Their happiness turns out to be short-lived as Kovalan falls in love with
a dancer, Madhavi and neglects his wife. During the festival of Indra,
Kovalan and Madhavi go to the beach and there, suddenly Kovalan realizes his folly
and leaves her. Full of remorse, he reflects later: "Is there any hope left for a
man who wasted his youth in the pernicious company of debauched friends,
laughing at vulgar deeds and scandals, neglectful of the warning words of wise elders?
I neglected all my duties toward my good parents."
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