Chapter 2

The Wedding at Puhar

Puhar, the harbour city at the mouth of the Kaveri — where a twelve-year-old merchant's daughter was married to a sixteen-year-old merchant's son

The city of Puhar

Puhar — also called Kaveripattinam — stood at the point where the river Kaveri meets the sea, capital of the Chola kingdom, famed for its prosperous harbour.

Kannagi was the daughter of Manaikan, a wealthy merchant connected with the sea trade, and was about twelve years old. Kovalan was the son of the prosperous merchant Masattuvan, whose trade also ran along the overland routes — Kovalan was about sixteen. Both families were wealthy and respected, and the two children were married with the full Vedic fire ritual.

The years after the wedding

In the years after the wedding Kovalan and Kannagi lived happily. Kovalan even composed poetry for his wife, praising her beauty, her modesty, her quiet dignity. Kannagi was an ideal wife — sparing of words, self-restrained, devoted to her husband.

Their married life looked simple and happy. But Puhar held another world as well — the world of dance and music, in which lived a dancer named Madhavi. Her story comes in the next chapter, and with it the first turn in the lives of Kovalan and Kannagi.

Source: Tamil epic — the Silappadikaram (traditionally by Ilango Adigal), The Wedding at Puhar

Now — how much stayed with you?

Fact

At the mouth of which river did the city of Puhar stand?

  • The Ganga
  • The Godavari
  • The Kaveri
  • The Narmada
Read the whole story — The harbour of the Kaveri

Puhar stood where the river Kaveri meets the sea.

It is also called Kaveripattinam, and was the Chola capital.

Who said it?

What did Kovalan compose in praise of his wife's beauty and modesty?

  • Love poetry
  • War songs
  • Trade accounts
  • Religious mantras
Read the whole story — Poetry for a wife

In the years after the wedding, Kovalan composed love poetry for Kannagi.

It praised her beauty, her modesty and her quiet dignity.

Fact

About how old were Kannagi and Kovalan at the time of the wedding?

  • Both about twenty
  • Kannagi sixteen, Kovalan twelve
  • Both about eight
  • Kannagi about twelve, Kovalan about sixteen
Read the whole story — Married very young

Kannagi was about twelve at the wedding, Kovalan about sixteen.

This was according to the custom of that age, not the standards of today.

Fact

Whose daughter was Kannagi?

  • A royal goldsmith
  • Manaikan, a wealthy merchant connected with the sea trade
  • A Brahmin priest
  • The king
Read the whole story — Kannagi's father

Kannagi was the daughter of Manaikan, a wealthy merchant connected with the sea trade.

Kovalan's father Masattuvan's trade also ran along overland routes.

Fact

What was the name of Kovalan's father?

  • Masattuvan
  • Nedunjeliyan
  • Senguttuvan
  • Madalan
Read the whole story — The father's name

Kovalan's father was Masattuvan, a prosperous and respected merchant.

Later in Madurai too, Kovalan is identified by his father's name.

What happened?

In what manner was the wedding performed?

  • Only by family consent, with no rites
  • With a special ceremony in the king's presence
  • In secret, without the families' knowledge
  • With the full Vedic fire ritual
Read the whole story — A Vedic wedding

The wedding of Kovalan and Kannagi was performed with the full Vedic fire ritual.

It shows that Tamil merchant families of that time also followed Vedic custom.

Fact

How is Kannagi described as a wife?

  • Harsh and quarrelsome
  • Sparing of words, self-restrained, devoted to her husband
  • Always busy with festivals
  • Occupied with her father's trade
Read the whole story — An ideal wife

Kannagi was sparing of words, self-restrained and devoted to her husband.

The years after the wedding passed happily in married life.

Interpretation

How does the account of both families' prosperity help us understand the story that follows?

  • It only shows the wealth of Puhar
  • It does not appear in the original story
  • It helps us see that Kovalan began with great wealth, which he later spends on his life with Madhavi
  • It was meant to impress the king
Read the whole story — A reading

The text describes both families as wealthy — that is a fact.

This detail helps us understand Kovalan's later spending on Madhavi — that is our interpretation, not a declaration of the text.

Fact

Which other world, mentioned at the end of this chapter, existed in Puhar besides marriage?

  • The world of war
  • The world of agriculture
  • The politics of the royal court
  • The world of dance and music, where the dancer Madhavi lived
Read the whole story — Another world

Puhar held another world, in which the dancer Madhavi lived.

In the next chapter her story brings a turn in the lives of Kovalan and Kannagi.

Fact

Of which kingdom was Puhar the capital?

  • The Chola kingdom
  • The Pandya kingdom
  • The Chera kingdom
  • The Magadha kingdom
Read the whole story — The Chola capital

Puhar was the capital of the Chola kingdom, famed for its prosperous harbour.

The first book of the poem begins here.