Madhavi is an important character in the ''

Silapathikaram ''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം,International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram' ...

'', one of the epics in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

literature. Silapathikaram is the first Kappiyam (epic) among the five in Tamil literature. It belongs to the

Sangam Period The Sangam period or age (, ), particularly referring to the third Sangam period, is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam) spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. ...

. Madhavi was born in a lineage of courtesans, and was an accomplished dancer. Madhavi is one of the three main characters in Silappatikaram, along with

Kannagi Kannagi ( ta, கண்ணகி) sometimes spelled Kannaki, is a legendary Tamil woman who forms the central character of the Tamil epic ''Cilappatikaram''. Kannagi is described as the chaste woman who stays with her husband despite his unfai ...

and Kovalan.

Plot

Madhavi was the daughter of a dancer, Chitrapahti; they were believed to have a long ancestry, starting with the apsara

Urvashi Urvashi ( sa, उर्वशी, Urvaśī}) is the most prominent apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology, considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer. She is mentioned in both ''Vedic'' and ''Puranic'' s ...

. Madhavi was rigorously trained in music, dance and composition of poems. Kovalan, the son of a wealthy merchant and the husband of

, met Madhavi in a performance in Chozha king

Karikalan Karikala ( ta, கரிகால சோழன்) was a Tamils, Tamil Chola dynasty, Chola Emperor who ruled southern India. He is credited with the construction of the flood banks of the Kaveri, river Kaveri. He is recognised as the greates ...

's court. Enamoured of her beauty, he fell in love with her. Eventually, Kovalan left his wife and moved in with Madhavi, with whom he stayed for a year. Madhavi bore him a daughter

Manimekalai ''Maṇimēkalai'' ( ta, மணிமேகலை, ), also spelled ''Manimekhalai'' or ''Manimekalai'', is a Tamil-Buddhist epic composed by Kulavāṇikaṉ Seethalai Sataṉar probably around the 6th century. It is an "anti-love story", a s ...

. However, after spending all his money on Madhavi, he realised his mistakes and returned to his wife Kannagi.

Love with Kovalan

Kovalan, who was married to Kannagi, fell in love with Madhavi when he saw her at her dancing debut in the court of the Chola king Karikalan. Kovalan left Kannagi and starts living with Madhavi. She lived with Kovalan happily for some time. During that period, Madhavi's mother stole all of Kannagi's wealth by using Kovalan's ring ''Kannaiyali'' without Madhavi and Kovalan's knowledge. After three years, Kovalan learned the truth about the mother's crime through the song ''kaveri kanal vary'', during the festival of the god

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

. He grew angry with Madhavi and again returned to Kannagi. After Kovalan left her, Madhavi learned of her mother's theft and showed her moral worth by returning all the wealth of Kovalan to his father and renouncing the world to become a Buddhist nun. Manimekalai, the daughter of Madhavi and Kovalan, who is the main character of another epic called "

Manimegalai Manimegalai is an Indian television presenter and video jockey who is working in Tamil television industry for almost 12 years. Since 2010, she has regularly been a host for shows on Sun Network before joining Star Vijay in 2019. She gained ...

", written by Seethalai

Sattanar Satthanar or Chithalai Satthanar ( ta, சாத்தனார் or சீத்தலைச் சாத்தனார், ''cītalai cāttanār'') was the Tamil poet who composed the epic Manimekalai. A total of 11 verses of the Sangam liter ...

, born to them in this period of love in between them at Kaveripoompatinam.

Kovalan's death

Kovalan and his wife left for

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

to restore their fortunes by trade. In an unfortunate twist of events, he was mistakenly arrested for having stolen the queen's anklet and beheaded as the queen had a similar anklet. Upon hearing this, Kannagi set out to the court of the Pandya king

Neduncheziyan Nedunjcheliyan I ( c. 270 BCE) (Tamil: நெடுஞ்செழியன்) was a Pandya king.He was also known as Arya Padai kadantha Nedunjezhiya Pandiyan Archaeological evidence His name is present in the Mangulam inscriptions of 3r ...

and proved her husband's innocence. On realizing his mistake, the king died instantly. Kannagi took revenge by burning the whole city of

with her curse, which she later took back due to the city goddess' request. Upon learning the tragic turn of events, Madhavi shaved her hair and became a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

nun.

References

{{Authority control Characters in Silappatikaram Fictional Buddhist nuns