King Okkaka, Ravindra Randeniya, is the emperor of India who rules from Kusawathie city, surrounded by his queen Seelawathie, Veena Jayakody, and two sons, Prince Kusa, Jackson Anthony, and Prince Jayampathi, Roshan Ranawana. Kusa is a formidable, multi-talented heir—skilled in crafts, warfare, and leadership—yet he bears an ugly, oil-cake-shaped face. Because of his appearance, he is openly disinterested in marriage, a stance that troubles his parents, especially his mother. In a bid to secure a match for him, Kusa crafts a golden sculpture in a woman’s form and challenges his mother to find a real likeness. The queen commissions two royal servants, Mahinda Pathirage and Mahendra Perera, to take the statue to distant lands until they discover a bride who resembles her.
Their search leads them to Madura city, the spring festival adding color to the landscape, a realm under Okkaka’s expansive rule. They set the statue by the river, where the Madura royal nanny, Kudi, Chandani Seneviratne, recognizes the sculpture for what it is: Princess Pabawathie, daughter of King Madu, Palitha Silva, and his queen, Kusum Renu. Realizing that the woman who resembles the statue has been found, the marriage is arranged swiftly. Pabawathie is brought to Kusawathie, and the wedding proceeds even though there is no groom present.
From Kusawathie’s side, Seelawathie explains a caste tradition: the wife shall not see her husband until she becomes pregnant. In disguise, Kusa becomes a workman and observes Pabawathie at the palace’s horse and elephant stables, sharing a light-hearted moment with her. Pabawathie, however, asks Seelawathie to reveal the groom to her, and Seelawathie obliges by presenting both brothers on an elephant. Pabawathie mistakes the handsome Jayampathi for her husband Kusa, and when Kusa later hauls himself to visibility by catching her hand beneath waterlily leaves, she recognizes him as the man she was meant to marry and realizes she has been deceived. Heartbroken, she returns to Madura. Meanwhile, Kusa travels to Madura and reinvents himself as a cook, a potter, and a florist within the royal service. He crafts delicious meals, exquisite pottery, and fragrant garlands for Pabawathie, who discards them, unable to reconcile her feelings after the revelation.
News of a supposed divorce between Kusa and Pabawathie spreads across the land, prompting seven state kings to assemble for war against King Madu. Okkaka pleads for Pabawathie to return to Kusawathie, but she refuses. In a drastic decree, Okkaka orders that she be cut into seven pieces and distributed to the seven kings as a grim punishment. In the nick of time, Kusa returns, fights to protect his wife, and proclaims that she is his wife and should be spared. A rainstorm follows, and with the downpour washing away the ugliness that once defined his face, the couple is reunited. They return to Kusawathie, where Okkaka ultimately cedes the crown to Kusa, recognizing him as the rightful emperor and bestower of a new era.
