Based on the story of the Hindu sage Valmiki who starts as a bandit and eventually undergoes spiritual transformation into a religious mendicant. Valmiki falls in love with a princess,who is kidnapped by the villain

After losing his entire wealth to a courtesan, Kovalan returns to his wife, Kannagi. She offers him her last piece of jewellery to help him but he is falsely accused of theft and beheaded by the king.