The tale of the Anklets- Page 2

zeezee- well- kannagi demands justice from the king as he is said to be very fair and just. she asks him how he could possibly have put to death her husband without proving him guilty. To prove her point she tells the king that her anklets were filled with rubies and asks the queen what hers were filled with to which the queen replies that they were filled with pearls. (Anklets are thick hollow metallic cylinders that had stones inside that made a jingling sound when rattled- they are not your standard payals that are a rope or chain with tinkling bells attached to them). SO kannagi throws her 2nd anklet that she had kept with her (she had sent one with Kovalan to the goldsmith's) the rubies scatter. She demands that the queen break open the anklet that kovalan had supposedly stolen and tried to sell- the queen breaks it open by throwing it on the floor of the palace and rubies scatter. The queen is shocked as is the king. The king is beyond shocked that he had sent an innocent man to the gallows and in repenting dies on the spot. The queen seeing her husband dead, dies too of grief after seeking Kannagi's forgiveness. Kannagi is still on a roll. She is beyond grief on losing her husband and curses the entire city for having such an unjust king to rule them. She seeks the purity of fire to cleanse the city of its impurities and thus it is said the entire city went up in flames. The city Goddess comes and calms Kannagi down and tells her to now bless the city as it has paid for the sins of its king. Kannagi cools down and blesses the city and departs to heaven. She is later worshipped as a goddess herself, for her purity and chastity of being a faithful wife.

Thank you very much for the explanation blokes - most appreciated. Now i understand - its a beautiful story.