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Lyrics & meaning

Deivam Neethana

From Kalaivanan · 1959

Lyricist
A. Maruthakasi
Singers
T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela
Music director
Pendyala Nageswara Rao
Details
Kalaivanan1959

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
Deivam nee thaanaAre you truly God?
Dharmam nee thaanaAre you truly righteousness?
Deivamum dharmamumBoth God and righteousness,
Neeyenbadhu meiyaanalIf it is true that you are them,
Urudhi seiyavaWill you prove it?
Unnai ulagam kaana vaaCome so that the world can see you!
Urudhi seiyavaaWill you prove it?
Unnai ulagam kaana vaaCome so that the world can see you!
Deivam nee dhaanaAre you truly God?
Male
Uruvai pola unadhuJust like your stone idol,
Nenjam karungal aandhaHas your heart also turned into hard stone?
Unaiyae silar poyienbadhuHas the claim by some that you are a lie,
Unmaiyaaghi ponadhaaNow become the ultimate truth?
Female :Karunai manam illaFemale: Without a compassionate heart,
Unai kadavul enbadhaShould you even be called God?
Both :Urudhi seiyavaaBoth: Will you prove it?
Unnai ulagam kaana vaaCome so that the world can see you!
Female
Maanida bali vaangida manamDoes your heart desire
Aasai kondathaTo take human sacrifice?
Aanava amdha peigalin veriHas the fury of those blind, arrogant demons
Unnai kooda vendrathaConquered even you?
Male
Un thanmai un unmaiHas your true nature and your truth
Uyirattrae ponadhaBecome completely lifeless?
Idhu unakkae avamaanamThis is a disgrace to you yourself;
Yen innum veen maunamWhy this continuous, futile silence?
Urudhi seiyavaaWill you prove it?
Unnai ulagam kaana vaaCome so that the world can see you!
Deivam nee dhaanaAre you truly God?
Female
Neeyum indha paapam thannaiWill you not stop this sin,
Niruthaayoo jeghadheesaO Lord of the Universe?
Male :Netri kannain oozhitheeyilMale: In the cosmic fire of your third eye,
Suttu adhai posikkiduBurn it and reduce it to ashes!
Neelakanda aalakaala vishathai engum sidhariduO Blue-throated one, scatter the deadly poison everywhere,
Aniyaayam thunmaargam nirmoolam aagavaeSo that injustice and evil are completely eradicated!

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This powerful song from Kalaivanan (1959) is a dramatic rhetorical challenge directed at the Almighty. The singers question God's existence, compassion, and silence in the presence of evil, tyranny, and unjust human suffering. They mock the idea of a stone idol possessing a stone heart and demand that the divine power manifest itself to protect righteousness.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Upamai)

Uruvai pola unadhu Nenjam karungal aandha

Compares God's heart turning to cold black stone with His inanimate stone idol (Uruvai pola unadhu Nenjam karungal aandha).

Rhetorical Questioning (Vinaa)

Deivam nee thaana / Dharmam nee thaana

Uses a series of sharp questions challenging God's presence, mercy, and silence to evoke strong emotion.

Alliteration / Monai

Un thanmai un unmai

Repetition of starting sounds like 'Un' in 'Un thanmai un unmai' and 'Urudhi / Unnai'.

Mythological Allusion (Apostrophe)

Netri kannain oozhitheeyil Suttu adhai posikkidu

Directly invokes Shiva's attributes—Netrikkan (third eye fire) and Neelakanda (blue-throated eater of poison)—to destroy evil.

Did you know?

Trivia

Kalaivanan (1959) was a famous Tamil film starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao and P. Bhanumathi, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao. The song vividly combines classical devotional metaphors with dramatic social commentary written by legendary lyricist A. Maruthakasi.

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