The Cilappatikaram, "the Tale of an Anklet", is the earliest Tamil epic, a poem of 5,730 lines. Tamil tradition attributes it to Ilango Adigal, and Kannaki and other characters are already mentioned in Sangam literature. It is the tragic love story of an ordinary couple, Kannaki and her husband Kovalan. In the Chola seaport of Puhar, Kovalan leaves Kannaki for the courtesan Madhavi and spends lavishly on her; Kannaki waits, and takes him back when he returns. The penniless couple travel to Madurai, the Pandya capital, where Kannaki forgives him and gives him one of her jewelled anklets to sell. A merchant falsely accuses Kovalan of stealing it from the queen, and the king has him executed without due process. Kannaki proves his innocence by throwing down in court the other anklet of the pair. The king admits his error and dies, and through her curse Madurai burns. In the third book the Chera king Chenkuttuvan brings a stone from the Himalayas, carves her image and dedicates a temple to her as the goddess Pattini.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.