Kannagi ( ta, கண்ணகி) sometimes spelled Kannaki, is a

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

ary

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, na ...

woman who forms the central character of the Tamil epic ''

Cilappatikaram ''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം,IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the e ...

''. Kannagi is described as the chaste woman who stays with her husband despite his unfaithfulness, their attempt to rebuild their marriage after her husband had lost everything but repented, how her husband is falsely framed then punished without the due checks and processes of justice. Kannagi proves and protests the injustice, then curses the king and city of Madurai leading to the death of the unjust Pandyan

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

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 i ...

, who had wrongfully put her husband

Kovalan Kovalan ( ta, கோவலன்) is a central character in Ilango Adigal's '' Silappatikaram,'' one of the ancient Tamil epics. Family Father : Machattuvan Wife : Kannagi Lover : Madhavi Daughter : Manimekalai (Mother: Madhavi) Narra ...

to death. The society that had made her suffer, suffers in retribution as the city Madurai is burnt to the ground because of her curse. In the Chera (

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

) and Tamil tradition, Kannagi has been deified as the symbol – sometimes as goddess – of chastity, with sculptures or reliefs in Hindu temples iconographically reminding the visitor of her breaking her anklet or tearing her bleeding breast and throwing it at the city. The earliest Tamil epic '' Silappadikaram'' written by Jain prince

Ilango Adigal Ilango Adigal ()() was a Jain monk and a poet, sometimes identified as a Chera prince. He is traditionally credited as the author of '' Cilappatikaram'', one of the Five Great Epics of Ancient Tamil literature. He is one of the greatest poets ...

features her as the central character.

Text

The Kannagi story first appears in the Sangam era poem ''Narrinai 312''. A more extended version appears in the post-Sangam era Tamil epic in '' Silappatikaram'' ("Epic of the Anklet).

Legend

Kannagi was the daughter of the merchant and ship captain ''Manayakan'' from Puhar''.'' She marries the son of ''Macattuvan'',

, whose family were sea traders and had the sea goddess ''Manimekalai'' as

patron deity A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety an ...

. Later, Kovalan met a dancer Madhavi and had an affair with her, which prompted him to spend all his wealth on the dancer. At last, penniless, Kovalan realised his mistake and returned to his wife Kannagi. Kovalan hoped to recoup his fortunes by trade in

, by selling the precious anklet of Kannagi. Madurai was ruled by Pandya king

Nedunj Cheliyan I 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 ...

. When Kovalan tried to sell the anklet, it was mistaken for a stolen anklet of the queen. Kovalan was accused of having stolen the anklet and was immediately beheaded by the king 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

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s. Realizing the error, the king committed suicide in shame, after having caused such a huge miscarriage of justice. Kannagi uttered a curse that the entire city of Madurai be burnt. The capital city of Pandyas was set ablaze resulting in huge losses. However, at the request of Goddess Meenakshi, she calmed down and later, attained salvation. The story forms the crux of

written by poet

Worship

Kannagi or Kannaki Amman is eulogized as the epitome of chastity and is worshiped as a goddess in select regions. She is worshiped as goddess

Pattini Pattini (, ,), is considered a guardian deity of Sri Lanka in Sri Lankan Buddhism and Sinhalese folklore. She is also worshipped by Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus by the name of '' Kannaki Amman''. She is considered the patron goddess of fertility ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

by the Sinhalese

Buddhists 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 ...

, Kannaki Amman by the

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern P ...

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and as

Kodungallur Bhagavathy Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...

& Aatukal Bhagavathy in the South Indian state of

. Keralites believe Kannaki to be an incarnation of Goddess Bhadrakali who reached

Kodungalloor Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Th ...

and attained salvation in the Kodungalloor temple.

In popular culture

A Tamil

epic film Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

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 unfa ...

'' directed by R.S Mani released in 1942. This was the first Tamil film based on the epic Silapadhigaaram. A similar second movie named ''

Poompuhar Puhar (also known as Poompuhar) is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient port city known as Kaveri Poompattinam, which is described in Sangam literature like Silappa ...

'' released later in 1964. A statue of Kannagi holding her anklet, depicting a scene from ''

'' was installed on Marina Beach,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. It was removed in December 2001 citing reasons that it hindered traffic. The statue was reinstalled in June 2006. A

Sinhala film Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sin ...

called ''

Paththini Pattini (, ,), is considered a guardian deity of Sri Lanka in Sri Lankan Buddhism and Sinhalese folklore. She is also worshipped by Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus by the name of ''Kannaki Amman''. She is considered the patron goddess of fertility ...

'' was released on 5 May 2016 in

. The role of the goddess Paththni or Kannagi was played by

Pooja Umashankar Pooja Gauthami Umashankar, mononymously known as Pooja, is an Indian-Sri Lankan actress, who has primarily appeared in Tamil, Sinhala and Malayalam language films. Early and personal life Pooja's mother, Sandhya, is a Sri Lankan Sinhalese and ...

. A famous television serial named ''Upasana'' was broadcast on

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest b ...

in the early 1990s and was based on the twin novels Silappatikaram &

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 ...

References

;Bibliography *

External links