 Written in the traditional "champu" metre and in the "Pauma charia" tradition of Vimalasuri, it is the earliest extant version of the epic in the Kannada language.The work contains 16 sections and deviates significantly from the original epic by Valmiki.Nagachandra represents King Ravana, the villain of the Hindu epic, as a tragic hero, who in a moment of weakness commits the sin of abducting Sita (wife of the Hindu god Rama) but is eventually purified by her devotion to Rama.