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Solaiyamma album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Bannari Maariamma

From Solaiyamma · 1992

Lyricist
Kasthuri Raja
Singer
S. Janaki
Music director
Deva
Movie name
Solaiyamma
Movie release year
1992
Lyrics added on
23 Feb 2021

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Lululululululu…….
Lululululululu…….
Pannaari maariyammaa
Paadi vanthaa solaiyammaa
Yaendi en vedhanai theerkkala
Pennthaanae neeyum ammaa
Penn maanam poganumaa
Thaandi nee vanthu yaen kaakkala
Pannaari maariyammaa
Paadi vanthaa solaiyammaa
Yaendi en vedhanai theerkkala
Pennthaanae neeyum ammaa
Penn maanam poganumaa
Thaandi nee vanthu yaen kaakkala
Senja paavamenna solladi en aaththaa
Entha kaayamumae aarumae nee paaththaa
Chorus :Senja paavamenna solladi en aaththaa
Entha kaayamumae aarumae nee paaththaa
Pannaari maariyammaa
Paadi vanthaa solaiyammaa
Yaendi en vedhanai theerkkala
Pennthaanae neeyum ammaa
Penn maanam poganumaa
Thaandi nee vanthu yaen kaakkala
{Seethai theekkulichchu
Raamanaiththaan namba vaichchaa
Raamaayanam sonna saethithaan
Kovam kondezhunthu kannagithaan
Oor erichchaa naanumkooda antha saathithaan}(2)
Megam karukkanum may kaaththu adikkanum
Mummaari saernthu peiyanum
Ooru maththiyila en peru suththamunnu
Saathi sanam ninnu pesanum
Senja paavamenna solladi en aaththaa
Entha kaayamumae aarumae nee paaththaa
Senja paavamenna solladi en aaththaa
Entha kaayamumae aarumae nee paaththaa
Pannaari maariyammaa
Paadi vanthaa solaiyammaa
Yaendi en vedhanai theerkkala
Pennthaanae neeyum ammaa
Penn maanam poganumaa
Thaandi nee vanthu yaen kaakkala
{Paadhai maaraladi paayeduththu podaladi
paththiniya padhara vaichchae
Saami sannathikku saththiyamaa sera vantha poovu
Onna karuga vaichchae} (2)
Ooru sirichchathum ooyaama yaesinathum
Un kaadhil ketkavillaiyaa
Naadhiyattru ippa naanaaga thavikkiraen
Nee kannil paarkkavillaiyaa
Senja paavamenna solladi en aaththaa
Entha kaayamumae aarumae nee paaththaa
Senja paavamenna solladi en aaththaa
Entha kaayamumae aarumae nee paaththaa
Pannaari maariyammaa
Paadi vanthaa solaiyammaa
Yaendi en vedhanai theerkkala
Chorus :Pennthaanae neeyum ammaa
Penn maanam poganumaa
Thaandi nee vanthu yaen kaakkala
Lulululululu...
Lulululululu...
Oh Bannari Mariyamma,
Solaiyamma has come singing to you.
Why haven't you relieved my pain?
Aren't you a woman too, Mother?
Should a woman lose her dignity?
Why didn't you step forth and protect me?
Oh Bannari Mariyamma,
Solaiyamma has come singing to you.
Why haven't you relieved my pain?
Aren't you a woman too, Mother?
Should a woman lose her dignity?
Why didn't you step forth and protect me?
Tell me, my Mother, what sin did I commit?
If you just look at me, any wound would heal.
Chorus: Tell me, my Mother, what sin did I commit?
If you just look at me, any wound would heal.
Oh Bannari Mariyamma,
Solaiyamma has come singing to you.
Why haven't you relieved my pain?
Aren't you a woman too, Mother?
Should a woman lose her dignity?
Why didn't you step forth and protect me?
Sita entered the fire
to make Rama believe her;
that is the story told in the Ramayana.
Filled with rage, Kannagi arose
and burned down the town—I belong to that very same kind!
The clouds must darken, the western wind must blow,
and the three seasonal rains must pour down together.
In the middle of the village, that my name is pure,
our kinsfolk and community must stand and declare.
Tell me, my Mother, what sin did I commit?
If you just look at me, any wound would heal.
Tell me, my Mother, what sin did I commit?
If you just look at me, any wound would heal.
Oh Bannari Mariyamma,
Solaiyamma has come singing to you.
Why haven't you relieved my pain?
Aren't you a woman too, Mother?
Should a woman lose her dignity?
Why didn't you step forth and protect me?
I never went astray, I laid down no mat for anyone,
yet you made a chaste woman tremble in distress!
The flower that truly came to reach God's shrine,
you let it scorch and wither away!
The village laughing and endlessly cursing me,
did it not reach your ears?
Helpless and abandoned, I suffer alone now;
do your eyes not see it?
Tell me, my Mother, what sin did I commit?
If you just look at me, any wound would heal.
Tell me, my Mother, what sin did I commit?
If you just look at me, any wound would heal.
Oh Bannari Mariyamma,
Solaiyamma has come singing to you.
Why haven't you relieved my pain?
Chorus: Aren't you a woman too, Mother?
Should a woman lose her dignity?
Why didn't you step forth and protect me?
Chorus
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Chorus
Female
Female
Female
Chorus
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Pannari Maariyamma is a soul-stirring devotional lament from the movie Solaiyamma (1992). The female protagonist, tormented by social slander and injustice, addresses the village deity Mariyamma of Bannari. She appeals to the divine mother on the grounds of shared womanhood, questioning why her innocence and modesty were allowed to be tainted. Evoking legendary figures of virtue such as Sita and Kannagi, she demands divine intervention to prove her purity to her community.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Monai (Initial Alliteration)

Pannaari maariyammaa / Paadi vanthaa solaiyammaa

Repetition of the initial 'Pa' sound creating a rhythmic musicality in folk songs.

Rhetorical Question (Vinaa)

Pennthaanae neeyum ammaa / Penn maanam poganumaa

Interrogating the goddess to appeal to empathy and common womanhood.

Mythological Allusion (Ilakkiya Kurippu)

Seethai theekkulichchu... Kovam kondezhunthu kannagithaan

References to Sita's fire ordeal in Ramayana and Kannagi burning Madurai from Silappatikaram to establish chastity and virtue.

Metaphor (Uruvagamm)

Saami sannathikku saththiyamaa sera vantha poovu / Onna karuga vaichchae

Comparing an innocent woman's life to a sacred flower meant for deity worship that was left to wither.

Did you know?

Trivia

Solaiyamma (1992) was written and directed by Kasthuri Raja, featuring music composed by Deva. The song powerfully blends folk melody with devotional grief.

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