List of characters
Some descriptions might give away important plot points
Anāmaka.
See Ripunjaya.
Andal.
Daughter of Meenakshi and Siva Kannanār.
Aralai.
Daughter of Chieftain Velan, wife of Kumudhan, mother of Aranvendhan.
Aranvendhan
Son of Aralai and Kumudhan. Father of Piraivalli.
Arulan
Cart driver to Nambi.
Brahma
The Supreme Creator, one of the Gods of the Holy Trinity.
Chenniyan
A corrupt baron who imprisons Senthālan.
Chitragupta
The divine scribe of Yama. Tasked with recording the actions of all sentient beings, which Yama then uses to judge the soul upon death.
Chokkan
A captain in Velan’s tribe.
Esakki
A fisherman at Nīrmukku who Semmālvarayan chances upon.
Hemachandra
Alleged father of Ripunjaya, husband of Pramathi.
Hiranyakashipu
Emperor of the three worlds in the First Age, Satya yuga.
Ilarāyan
A captain in the ūsipadai, trained by Mārthandan.
Jayan
Right-hand man of Semmālvarāyan
Kalikāman
Royal priest of at Karkottai, member of the War Council of the Thattān dynasty.
Kodi
Kuravar tribesman with Velan.
Krūra
One of Naruksha’s acolytes.
Kumudhan
Emperor of Nākalam, husband of Aralai, father of Aranvendhan.
Kuppan
One of Mārthandan’s agents.
Malasūra/Malasāra
An asura turned yamadūta. Brother of Vakrāsura.
Mārthandan
The Commander-in-Chief of the Nākalam armies. Close friend of the Thattān family.
Meenakshi
Wife of Siva Kannanār, mother of Andal.
Mukhilan
Son of Meenakshi and Siva Kannanār. Elder brother of Andal.
Nambi
Village headman of Malaivāsal, the hometown of Siva Kannanār.
Nandan
Son of Veni Ammāl and a Thattān general, during the time of Thanmaya Thattān’s rule.
Nangai
Wife of Aranvendhan, mother of Piraivalli.
Naruksha
One of Yama’s captains.
Neelan
A dacoit hired by Semmālvarayan.
Nerivānan
Prime Minister of the Nākalam empire, close friend to Kumudhan.
Nikandhan
Husband of Umayāl Devi.
Nithilan
Son of Seeralan.
Pāri
A hunter.
Piraivalli
Daughter of Nangai and Aranvendhan.
Pramathi
Alleged mother of Ripunjaya.
Pulithevan
A forest bandit initially under the employ of Semmālvarayan.
Ripunjaya
The protagonist, who soul does not accrue karma.
Seeralan
Father of Nithilan, vassal king and ally of the Thattān dynasty.
Semmālvarayan
Warlord of the Verumvayal plains.
Senthālan
Father of Umayāl Devi, founder of the Thattān dynasty.
Shanthamma
A rebel leader during Karkottai’s civil war.
Siva Kannanār
A temple priest. Working with Malasāra.
Tanvaroka
A yamadūta. One of Malasāra’s agents.
Thanmayan
Father of Kumudhan, Emperor of Nākalam.
Thiruvasagan
Chancellor at the Thattān court.
Umayāl Devi
Daughter of Senthālan, mother of Thanmayan. Queen of Nākalam.
Vagaimāran
One of the generals of the Thattān army.
Vakrasūra
An asura from the First age, brother of Malāsura.
Velan
Chieftain of the Kuravar tribe, ally of the Thattān dynasty.
Veni Ammāl
The wife of a Thattān general, during the time of Thanmaya Thattān’s rule. Mother of Nandan.
Yama
The God of Death.