History of kannagi

Kannagi went where after she burned Madurai Kannagi burned Madurai for her husband Kovalan's death. But no one knows where she went after that. Here is the answer for that question Kannagi (Kannaki) a legendary Tamil woman is the central character of the South Indian epic Silapathikaram. Legend has it that Kannagi took revenge on the King of Madurai, for a mistaken death penalty imposed on her husband Kovalan, by cursing the city with disaster. What happened after Kannagi burnt Madurai?
Kovalan, the son of a wealthy merchant in Kaveripattinam, married Kannagi, a young woman of legendary beauty. They lived together happily in the city of Kaveripattinam, until Kovalan met the dancer Madhavi and fell in love with her. In his infatuation he forgot Kannagi and gradually spent all his wealth on the dancer. At last, penniless, Kovalan realised his mistake, and returned back to Kannagi. Their only asset was a precious pair of anklets (Chilambu - hence the name of the epic), filled with gems, which she gave to him willingly. With these as their capital they went to the city of Madurai, where Kovalan hoped to recoup his fortunes by trade.
The city of Madurai was ruled by the Pandya King Nedunj Cheliyan - 1. Kovalan's objective was to sell the anklets in this kingdom so that he and his wife would be able to start their lives over. Unfortunately, around the time he set out to sell the anklets, one anklet (out of a pair) was stolen from the queen, by a greedy court member. This anklet looked very similar to Kannagi's. The only difference was that Kannagi's were filled with rubies and the queen's filled with pearls, but this was not a visible fact. When Kovalan went to the market, he was accused of having stolen the anklet. He was immediately beheaded by the King's guards, without trial. When Kannagi was informed of this, she became furious, and set out to prove her husband's innocence to the King.
After setting fire to Madurai City, Kannagi on her way to Kodungalloor in Kerala, gave "Darsan" to the natives at Attukal in Thiruvananthapuram. They constructed a Temple at Attukal. It is also believed that Devi finally reached Kodungalloor and settled at Kodungalloor Devi Temple south of Guruvayoor. The events related to Kannagi have high influence in the traditions and culture of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZySAFfZ9SGE

Introduction of the Film Poompukar by Dr. Kalaignar

View the introductory speech on Poompukar by Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanithi.

Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and the 3rd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the President of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. He is also known for his writing works in the Tamil film industry. During the play “Thooku Medai”, M. R. Radha gave him the title “Kalaignar”. Kalaignar is known for his contributions to Tamil literature. His contributions cover a wide range: poems, letters, screenplays, novels, biographies, historical novels, stage-plays, dialogues and movie songs.

Poompuhar is a Tamil epic film directed by P. Neelakantan based on one of The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature Silapadhigaram.

SS. Rajendran, C. R. Vijayakumari, Rajasree and K. B. Sundarambal played the lead roles. Song lyrics by Mayavanathan, A. Somu, Mu Karunanidhi, Radha Manickam and Udumalai Narayana Kavi and music by R. Sudarsanam.

Plot

Kovalan, the son of a wealthy merchant in Kavirippoompattinam (Poompukar), married Kannagi, the lovely daughter of another merchant. They lived together happily until Kovalan met the courtesan Madhavi and fell in love with her. In his infatuation, he left his wife Kannagi and gradually spent all his wealth on the dancer. At last, penniless, Kovalan realised his mistake, and returned to Kannagi after a year. Their only asset was a precious pair of anklets (Silambu), filled with gems, which she gave to him willingly. With these as their capital they went to the great city of Madurai, where Kovalan hoped to recoup his fortunes by trade.

The city of Madurai was ruled by the Pandya king Neduncheziyan. Upon arrival to Madurai, Kovalan set out to sell Kannagi's anklets. While on his way to sell the anklet, he was held by the king's guards for the alleged theft of one of the queen's anklets. Upon the king's orders, he was beheaded without trial. When Kannagi was informed of this, she became furious, and set out to prove her husband's innocence to the king, by showing him the anklets.

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 pearls. Realizing their fault, the king and the queen died. Unsatisfied, Kannagi tore out a breast and flung it on the city, uttering a curse that the entire city be burnt. Due to her utmost chastity, her curse became a reality.

Cast

S. S. Rajendran as Kovalan, C. R. Vijayakumari as Kannagi, Rajasree as Madhavi, K. B. Sundarambal as kavunthi adikal, Nagesh and Manorama.