Goddess Pattini, from Vattapalai Kannaki Amman Kovil

The Life of Kannaki:
Pattini in Tamil and Sinhala Literature

Despite the supernatural elements of the saga, the bulk of the story is a human tale, supposed to have been narrated by one 'adigal' (prince ascetic), believed to be the brother of the deceased Pandyan king, and the author of the text Manimakalai, which deals with the spiritual life of the daughter of Madhavi by Kovalan. But the critical view of the text is that it contains a long exposition of a fallacies, apparently genuine but really illogical, based on the treatise Nyayapravesha of the 5th century AD.

Vyanthimalaya is the first Sinhala treatise written about the goddess. The later works include Pattini-hella, Pattini-sirasapada, Pandinaluwa, Pattini Malawa, Palanga-hella, Salamba-santiya, Ambavidima, etc. All these were written to glorify the goddess among Sinhalese Buddhists.

Goddess Pattini is said to be wrathful towards liars, and specially to married women who betray their husbands and lead immoral lives. The Pattini devale at Nawagamuwa in Sri Lanka stands testimony to the worship of the Pattini cult by Buddhists.