- Lyricist
- Papanasam Sivan
- Singer
- U. R. Jeevarathinam
- Music directors
- S. M. Subbaiah Naidu, S. V. Venkatraman
- Movie name
- Sri Murugan
- Movie release year
- 1946
- Lyrics added on
- 4 Jan 2021
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This song depicts 'Viraha Thapam' (the agony of separation in divine love) experienced by a devotee/heroine yearning for Lord Murugan. Overwhelmed by love-sickness, she loses interest in worldly delights such as adornments, flowers, and fine clothing. Sensory pleasures turn into painful torments: the sweet song of a cuckoo sounds like a demon's shriek, a soothing breeze feels like a hissing serpent, and cool moonlight scorches her like the hot sun. She wanders the hill slopes, forgetting sleep and food, calling out Lord Murugan's sacred names. The song concludes with a passionate plea from her companion (sakhi) to Lord Murugan. She urges the deity to ride his sacred peacock and arrive swiftly to marry the tormented maiden, saving her from her suffering before the sin of harming a devoted young woman falls upon him.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Simile / Metaphor (Upamai)
“Pei oliyena aruveruppaal”
Compares the delightful sound of a cuckoo to the terrifying shriek of a ghost (Pei oli) to highlight the distorting effect of extreme grief and longing.
Metaphor / Imagery (Uruvam)
“Veesum thendral seerum aravamendru”
Compares the soothing gentle breeze (thendral) to a hissing serpent (seerum aravam) to convey how pleasant sensations become unbearable agony in viraha.
Oxymoron / Hyperbole
“Veiyal vayalandri niraimadhi neelaavin”
Describes the cool, soothing full moonlight as burning like relentless daylight sun (veiyal), emphasizing the intense heat of love-sickness.
Second-Letter Rhyme (Etukai)
“Osai iniya kuyinoli seviyura / Maasil kaadhal vasamaai nedunaalaai”
The second consonant 's' / 'sh' repeats in consecutive lines ('Osai', 'Maasil'), creating auditory harmony in classic Tamil prosody.
Did you know?
Trivia
Sri Murugan (1946) was a landmark mythological film produced by Jupiter Pictures. The lyrics were penned by Papanasam Sivan, renowned as the 'Tamil Tyagaraja' for his divine classical Carnatic compositions. The film is also noted for featuring M. G. Ramachandran (MGR) early in his career in the role of Lord Shiva.
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