[6] Sivagami hates the royal family of Mahishmati because their king, Somadeva, executed her father, Devaraya.

She was informed that her father had left behind a book which held certain secrets, upon which she retrieved it from her father's house accompanied by her foster brother Raghava, who reveals that the book is written in Paisachi, an ancient language of Mahishmati.

Her foster father, Thimma, who raised her for 12 years after Devaraya's death, drops her off at the royal orphanage for a grave reason.

On the way, Sivagami attempts to run away, but is followed by her foster sister Akhila who gets into a scuffle with a man for her pouch of pebbles.

Bijjaladeva, being the eldest, shows bravery but is corrupt, rude, brutal and heartless towards people who worked in Mahishmati.

Kattappa saves him and is promoted by Somadeva to the position of the Sevaka (English: servant) of Bijjala.

Parameshwara, the Mahapradhana (English: prime minister), is informed by the head blacksmith Dhamaka that they were short of Gaurikanta, a special stone derived from the volcano Gauriparvat, which is used to obtain the alloy Gauridhooli.

Later, Parameshwara secretly tells his assistant Roopaka that the leak should be fixed for security, and that a blacksmith was missing, along with six Gaurikanta stones.

Pattaraya, the Bhoomipathi (English: executioner), a corrupt official, receives a message from Rudra Bhatta, the Rajguru (English: royal advisor), that the blacksmith Nagayya, who stole the stones and went missing was making a lot of demands, including safe passage to Kadarimandalam with his wife and son.

Parameshwara reports to the king that the blacksmith was found dead with another man and the stones were still missing.

Parameshwara says that he was admitting the daughter of Devaraya into the royal orphanage and demanded an audience with the king.

He retires to the Antapura, where Senapati Hiranya informs him that Mahadeva was beaten by Shivappa and his performance was unsatisfactory.

Shivappa is scolded and beaten by Malayappa for defeating Mahadeva and says that slaves should know their place and not challenge princes.

He warns Sivagami that the book was gone missing twelve years back from the Royal library.

But, the dreadful fate of Mahishmathi leads him to take an extra step and he fights with Shivappa who was one of the Vaithailis.

This shocks her to the core and she realises that it was not only her father but, all the honest people in Mahishmati get assassinated for some reason or the other.

She later gets chased by Dandanayaka Pratapa and ends up reaching the second floor of Antapura - the Royal Harem.

The Indian Express wrote, "Despite its flaws, the book cobbles together enough good elements by the end for readers and especially for fans of the movie to await the next installment.

"[7] The Hindu wrote, "Matching the film, the book too has grand portrayal of the era, places, people, culture and customs it depicts.