"Pisirandaiyar" (1959) is about the Sangam poet who seems to have been youthful-looking even at an advanced age because of his balanced view of life and a loving family. The theme leads to the sterling friendship of the poet with King Kopperunchozhan. Building a world of imagination on the hints found in the lyrics of Pisirandaiyar, Bharatidasan presents a tale of love, hate, betrayal, murder and dark humour as when the child Ponnu speaks about his mother's death. The aim throughout is to announce aloud the greatness of Tamil culture. As when we note that the ancient Tamil artisans could make life-like images in wax. Bharatidasan's favourite word-play gives pep to the dialogue.
The rivalry of the Pandya and Chola kingdoms is ignited by the murder of the Pandyan girl Pachaikili by her husband due to a ruse engineered by the Chola youth Thooyan. Taking advantage of this case, the Chola Princes try to wrest power from their father.
The king seeks to kill his sons, but the poet Pullatrur Eyitranar calms him down and advises him not to stain the greatness of Tamil culture by fratricide. The king accepts the admonition and decides to quit the world by withdrawing from sustenance in the time-tested tradition of "vadakkiruthal.'' His bosom friend Pisirandaiyar of Pandyan kingdom hears of this and hurries to his side and so does another poet, Pothiyar. Both of them join the King in his resolve to die.
Death cannot be proud in the face of such incandescent friendship between the emperors of land and the emperors of poesy.
Bharatidasan's tribute to the Sangam poet speaks of him as "Paa Vendhar" since poets were the acknowledged legislators of Moral Law in ancient Tamil land. Bharatidasan's admirers have given the same sobriquet to their idol and call him Paa Vendhar Bharatidasan.
......another version
Kopperunchozhan was a chozhar king (c.375-345 B.C.E.) He was a modest, just, and a poet king who had great poets of his time as his loyal friends. Pisir Andhaiyaar was the greatest Tamil poet of that time.He lived at a village called "Pisir" in the Pandyan Empire, near the city of Poandhai in pesent Kanyakumari district. He had been a great fan of Kopperunchozhan without even having seen him ever.He had considered himself a great fiend of the Chozha king owing to the latter's vast knowledge in Tamizh, being a good poet and a great patron of Tamil scholars. One day, (around 345 B.C.E.)after having a contradiction in administrative principles with his son the crown prince Mudiththalaikko perunarkilli, and after the latter having called him unfit to continue as king, the Chozhar king decided to observe fasting unto death-the ritual called as "vadakkiruththal"-a way of ending one's life with esteem, after having finished all his social duties and in all gratitude for the almighty God Sivaperumanaar. The problem was that the father did not agree to the prince's wish to attack the Pandyan king of that time Pandyan Arivudai Nambi, just to establish the Chozhar supremacy over him.The prince had earlier been provoked by- the Pandyan Nambi's historic victory over invading North Indian Emperor, a king of the Nanda dynasty at a huge battle (c. 345 B.C.E.) near south Kalinga on the banks of the Krishna River, the then northern border of Thamizhagam and Nambi declared himself "the Emperor of South India". Kopperunchozhan didnot agree for an invasion on Madurai because it was not righteous to wage an unnecessary war for no reason, to kill innocent soldiers and people when both countries enjoyed peace and prosperity and were in their respective golden age of fertility and flourishing wealth.And afterall, the Pandyan Emperor had just done his duty on behalf of all Tamizh people to prevent the invading Nanda Emperor from entering South India and one has to pay him with gratitude for establishing Tamizh supremacy over North Indian Empire; if not showing enemity towards Nambi Pandyan, But the crown prince Mudiththalaikko perunarkilli unfortunately couldnot understand the king's righteousness because of his pumped up youth and called him unfit to continue as king, So, When the king sat down for the ritual, his dear friends who could not bear the separation, and in support for their king's righteousness also sat along with him to lay down their lives too. Hearing this news, Pisirandhaiyaar hurried to Uraiyur, in order to join the ritual to die along with his dearest friend the King. On meeting the great poet for the first time, the king embraced Pisirandhaiyaar, with tears in his eyes, still unable to believe this extraordinary true and loyal heart-melting friend willing to accompany him through the path of death to the land of golden garden - the Heaven. Then both the king and his beloved friend Pisirandhaiyaar and other poets sat on the South banks of River Ponni fasting unto death and reached the high Heavens together.