- Lyricist
- Udumalai Narayanakavi
- Singer
- M. L. Vasanthakumari
- Music director
- G. Ramanathan
- Movie name
- Madurai Veeran
- Movie release year
- 1956
- Lyrics added on
- 20 Feb 2019
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This celebrated classical dance song from the 1956 film 'Madurai Veeran' serves as an invocation and tribute to Lord Sundareswarar (Shiva), the presiding deity of Madurai. Written by Udumalai Narayanakavi, the song vividly narrates several episodes from the 'Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam'—the 64 divine sports of Lord Shiva in Madurai. The lyrics highlight sacred stories such as Shiva arriving as a hired laborer to carry mud for the childless devotee Vandhi in exchange for 'pittu' (steamed rice cake), receiving a cane blow from the Pandya king that reverberated across all living beings, transforming jackals into horses and back, feeding sugarcane to a stone elephant, providing salvation to a crane, and advising the poet Nakkeerar. Through magnificent rhythm and classical Tamil phrasing, the song invites all to behold these divine plays of Lord Sundareswarar.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Antimetabole / Chiasmus (Ethukai Pattern)
“Nari thanai pariyaakki / Pari thanai nariyaakki”
Reversal of words across consecutive lines paired with second-letter rhyming ('ari' in Nari/Pari).
Ethukai (Second-Letter Rhyming)
“Ootru perukkaalae / Aattru vellam thadukkavae”
Rhyming of the second consonant sound 'tt' across consecutive lines.
Anaphora / Refrain
“Aadal kaaneero ... Thiruvilaiyaadal kaaneero”
Repeated rhetorical invitation 'kaaneero' (Won't you behold/see?) establishing a thematic rhythm throughout the song.
Alliteration (Monai)
“Vaira valai muthu valai rathna valai”
Repetition of initial consonant sounds ('v') in close succession.
Did you know?
Trivia
This iconic song from 'Madurai Veeran' (1956) was composed by G. Ramanathan and sung by Carnatic legends M. L. Vasanthakumari and P. Leela. It features a famous classical Bharatanatyam dance sequence performed on screen by the Travancore Sisters, Lalitha and Padmini. Udumalai Narayanakavi condensed major chapters of the medieval Tamil text 'Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam' into this single, highly acclaimed dance composition.
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