{{infobox book , , name = Yavana Rani , title_orig = யவன ராணி , translator = , image = YavanaRani.jpg , caption = , author = Sandilyan , illustrator = , cover_artist = , country =

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

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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 ...

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Historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

, published = , media_type = , pages = , isbn = , preceded_by = , followed_by = Yavana Rani ( ta, யவன ராணி, translit=yavaṉa ṟāṇi, lit. Greek Queen) is a

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory o ...

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

written by Sandilyan. The story is based on ancient Tamil poetry. The author of this novel is Sandilyan. It is a love story set around 2000 years ago, focusing on the Commander-in-chief of the Chola Army. The story takes place during the period of Karikala Chola, one of the greatest kings of the

Early Cholas The Early Cholas were a Tamil kingdom of the pre and post Sangam period (600 BCE–300 CE). It was one of the three main kingdoms of South India. Their early capitals were Urayur or Tiruchirapalli and Kaveripattinam. Along with Pandyas an ...

Plot summary

The story starts in

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 ...

, a port city that was an important harbour for the Cholas during a time of trade between the seafaring nations and Tamil Nadu. Ilanchezhiyan is the commander in chief of the eastern regiment of

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

. The army includes both

Yavana The word Yona in Pali and the Prakrits, and the analogue Yavana in Sanskrit and Yavanar in Tamil, were words used in Ancient India to designate Greek speakers. "Yona" and "Yavana" are transliterations of the Greek word for "Ionians" ( grc, � ...

s (Greeks) and

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

. When walking across the beach sands of Poompuhar, Ilanchezhiyan finds a beautiful Yavana woman gasping for breath on the bank of the

Kaveri River The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dist ...

. He takes her to his palace and gets assistance from Hippalaas, one of the many Greek soldiers in the Chola army, in rescuing the woman. Hippalaas is scared to go near the woman, and instead salutes her. Ilanchezhiyan learns from Hippalaas that the woman is of royal origin after seeing the royal emblem of a

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

on her golden

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...

. Meanwhile, the Yavana chief of the fort hears of the queen's presence in Poompuhar. He sets out to capture Ilanchezhiyan and Hippalaas for taking the queen. Ilanchezhiyan escapes the Yavana soldiers, using the queen as a hostage. With his

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

on her back, he rides away into the thick forest on his white Arabic horse. Tiberius, a great naval commander of the time, who had arrived with the Greek queen to the shores of Poompuhar, chases Ilanchezhiyan in an attempt to rescue the queen. The queen falls in love with Ilanchezhiyan, however, and helps him escape from Tiberius. Illanchezhiyan flees with the queen and Hippalaas. Brahmananda, a monk and politician, helps them escape through a

secret tunnel Secret passages, also commonly referred to as hidden passages or secret tunnels, are hidden routes used for stealthy travel, escape, or movement of people and goods. They are sometimes inside buildings leading to secret rooms. Others allow peop ...

into a temple. They disguise themselves as

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s performing

bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

s, and emerge from the temple's

sanctum sanctorum The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, which generally refers in Latin texts to the holiest place of th ...

. Ilanchezhiyan learns from Brahmananda of the murder of Ilanchetchenni, the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

of the

Chola kingdom The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

, by his enemies. He agrees to spy for Brahmananda in Uraiyur, the capital of the ancient Cholas. During the mission, Ilanchezhiyan is captured and imprisoned in a cave by Irungovel, the slayer of the king. Ilanchezhiyan escapes to see a palace burning on the other side of Amaravathi river. He rescues a handsome teenage youth (except for his charred legs) from seven armed soldiers. Ilanchezhiyan helps the youth to a palace, where his lover, Poovazhagi, was imprisoned. It is revealed that the youth is the prince of the Chola kingdom. With the help of Ilanchezhiyan, the prince escapes into the forest. Ilanchezhiyan and the Yavana queen run in the opposite direction, straight into Tiberius. Tiberius poisons Illanchezhiyan and crowns the Yavana as the Queen of Poompuhar on the day of Venus festival. The queen knows the ancient Venus festival occurs on the date of Indrathiruvizha of Poompuhar. Meanwhile, Ilanchezhiyan finds himself in a ship en route to Greece and learns that he was drugged and will be thrown to the lions. Hippalaas rescues him from the ship by throwing him into sea. They survive a

shark attack A shark attack is an attack on a human by a shark. Every year, around 80 unprovoked attacks are reported worldwide. Despite their rarity, many people fear shark attacks after occasional serial attacks, such as the Jersey Shore shark attacks of ...

, and a powerful wave takes them to shore. When Ilanchezhiyan opens his eyes, he finds himself being sold as a slave along with Hippalaas. Ilanchezhiyan and Hippalaas return to sea as slaves to be sold in Greece. The slave ship is then attacked and captured by

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

Erythraean sea The Erythraean Sea ( grc-gre, Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα, ''Erythrà Thálassa'', ."Red Sea") was a former maritime designation that always included the Gulf of Aden and at times other seas between Arabia Felix and the Horn of Africa. Original ...

. The pirate captain is persuaded by Illanchezhiyan to invade Ghana (present day

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

). The pirates are taken as prisoners by Iliasu, referred to in the ''

Periplus of the Erythraean Sea The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...

'' as

Eleazus Eleazus, also Eleazar or Iliazz Yalit I was the Hadramaut king of the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula, the "Frankincense kingdom", in the 1st century CE. The main harbour of the kingdom was Cana (Kanê). His capital was the city of Sabat. It ...

, the King of Ghana. The king forces Ilanchezhiyan to become a disciple of the head

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. Ilanchezhiyan lures the priest on board the slave ship for a religious debate. With the help of Alima, the adopted daughter of the lady commander Iliyasu, and his slave friends, Ilanchezhiyan travels back to Tamil Nadu. The political situation becomes tense when Illanchezhiyan arrives. Tiberius builds a

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

impregnable to anyone from sea or land. The fort has two mechanical towers which can throw spears for several miles. Illanchezhiyan is in the dense forest of Guna Nadu, when he sees a huge army disguised as farmers. The army destroys tanks, ponds, farmlands and buildings under the orders of Illanchezhiyan. Irungovel, the assassin of the emperor, wages war with them but is defeated. Illanchezhiyan and the army enter the fortress of Poompuhar on the day of the Venus festival, and capture the signposts and mechanical towers. The key to the mechanical towers is given to Illanchezhiyan by the queen. Tiberius, his dreams of a Greek empire in Tamil Nadu shattered and now surrounded by the enemy army, stabs her before Illanchezhiyan can run to her rescue. Illanchezhiyan's spear throwing expert commander kills Tiberius, but a second too late. Illanchezhiyan cries for his beloved dead queen. The novel ends with the rightful ownership of the Chola Empire being given to the prince (whom Illanchezhiyan had saved earlier) known later as the legendary Karikala Chola. Illanchezhiyan marries his lover Poovazhagi and then assumes his post as the commander for the Chola Empire. Tamil novels Indian historical novels Novels by Sandilyan Indian historical novels in Tamil Novels set in Tamil Nadu