Patacara was described as the beautiful daughter of a very wealthy merchant of Savatthi, in the Kosala Kingdom. When she was sixteen years old, her parents locked her on the top floor of a seven-story tower and surrounded her with guards to prevent her from meeting any of the many young men who desired to meet her. Despite this, she was able to become involved in a love affair with one of her parents' servants. When her parents arranged her marriage to a young man of equal social standing, she decided to elope with her lover, who was from a lower social background. She disguised herself to escape from the tower, and the young couple went to live in a village far away. Her husband farmed, and the young wife had to do all the menial chores which formerly had been performed by her parents' servants.