King Okkaka is the emperor of India. He rules from Kusawathie city, with his queen Seelawathie and two sons, Kusa and Jayampathi. Kusa is strong and competent in all crafts, including warfare, but he has an ugly, oil-cake-shaped face. Since he realizes that no woman is likely to marry him, he is not interested in marriage. Nonetheless, his parents, especially mother, urge him to marry. Kusa makes a golden sculpture in a woman's shape and tells his mother that he will marry if she can find a woman who looks like the sculpture. The queen orders two royal servants to take the statue to all other countries and find a woman who looks like the statue.