A young eight-year-old Brahmin boy is accepted as a student under a Vedic scholar. Whilst the teacher is away, his young widowed daughter has an affair with the local schoolmaster and falls pregnant. The scandal shatters the peace of the village, as she becomes the target of their fury.

Set in the India of 1930s, this film offers a keen insight into the orthodox Brahminical society. The ramifications of the Caste system, which prevails to date in India, are explored through the story of a rigid vedic scholar, his young widowed daughter, his head disciple, and a lower caste novice.