But this growing romance between the prince and the sculptor's daughter does not have the approval of the king. Narasimhavarman continues visiting his lover, Sivagami who has mastered the ancient Indian dance form, Bharathanatyam.
Accordingly, Paranjothi is sent with a note written by Naganandhi ( which actually contains letter to Pulikesi which Paranjothi thinks it is a letter to the monk in the Ajanta regarding coming quickly to coming to Kanchipuram for invading as the current pallava army is weak and scattered)y. Naganandhi, who has promised Aayannar that he would get him the secret behind the dyes used in the Ajanta paintings under Chalukyas, asks Aayannar to send Paranjothi on a trip to the Vindhyas to meet a monk who Naganandhi says, should give Paranjothi the secret formula for the dyes. Paranjothi plans to join the sculptor as a student and believes that should be possible since his uncle, a friend of Aayannar, has provided a letter asking Aayannar to take care of his nephew. Naganandhi takes him out of the Kanchi fort through a secret tunnel to meet the master sculptor Aayannar, who stays outside the fort in a small settlement. But Paranjothi manages to escape from the prison with help from Naganandhi, the Buddhist monk who accompanied him to Kanchipuram. That night Paranjothi is arrested by the guards and is kept in a cell since Mahendravarman wants to see and jail the young man who saved the life of his most important artists. There is considerable unease in the town since the Chalukya king Pulikesi is on his way to attack Kanchi. But he ends up saving the damsel Sivagami and her father Aayannar from a mad elephant by throwing a spear at it, almost by reflex. The novel begins with the arrival of Paranjothi in the city of Kanchi to attain tutelage under the Tamil saint Thirunavukkarasar. The plot revolves around the historical events of the Chalukya king, Pulakeshin II, laying a siege of Kanchi, and Narasimhavarman avenging this by attacking Vatapi, the capital of the Chalukyas. Mahendravarman I, the Pallava emperor, plays an important role in the first half of the story while his son Narasimhavarman comes into his own as the novel progresses. It would be difficult to point out who the real hero of the novel is.