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Isaimozhi
Thodarum album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Kanavanukkaaga

From Thodarum · 1999

Lyricist
Pulamaipithan
Singer
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Music director
Ilayaraja
Movie name
Thodarum
Movie release year
1999
Lyrics added on
27 Jun 2019

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Kanavanukkaaga
Edhaiyum seivaal pathini
Uyiraiyum kooda tharuvaal
Andha uththami
Boomi idhai penn endru
Pottrum ulagam ho
Boomiyinum melammaa
Pennin idhayam
Anbai valarppaal thyaaga neruppil
Thannai erippaal
Kanavanukkaaga
Edhaiyum seivaal pathini
Uyiraiyum kooda tharuvaal
Andha uththami
Dheiva veenai idhai ingu veedhiyinil
Pottadhu vidhi thaanaa
Thaedi vandha thunai veru maalai ida
Seidhadhu vidhi thaanaa
Enna jenmamadi
Pennin jenmam idhu
Solladi sivasakthi
Endha naaliladi
Indha vedhanaigal
Theervadhu sivasakthi
Thodakkam edhu mudivum edhuvo
Edhuvum ingu theriyaadhu
Nadappadhenna kadhaiyaa kanavaa
Adhuvum ingu puriyaadhu
Maavilai thoranam aadudhu
Angoru vaasalilae
Mangaiyin aaruyir aadudhu
Ingoru oosalilae…ae……
Kanavanukkaaga
Edhaiyum seivaal pathini
Uyiraiyum kooda tharuvaal
Andha uththami
Naayana osaiyil angae or
Vaazhtholi kekkudhammaa
Paedhaiyin paadhaiyil ingae or
Gaanam nerungudhammaa
Agini saatchiyil or vaazhkkai
Aarambam aagudhammaa
Andhima theeyinil or vaazhkkai
Payanam oindhidumaa
Kanavanadhu vaazhvukkaaga
Nondhu nondhu noolaanaal
Than thalaiyil theeyai thaangum
Mezhuguvarthi pol aanaal
Vaazhkkaiyin kanakkinil
Aandugal maadhangal aagudhammaa
Maadhamum thaeindhoru
Naal ena nodi ena pogudhammaa
Vidhi idhuvaa avan ezhudhum
Kanakkidhuvaa…
For the sake of her husband,
a devoted wife will do anything.
She would even give her life,
that noble woman.
The world praises this earth
by calling it a woman, oh...
Yet greater than the earth
is a woman's heart.
She nurtures love, and in the fire of sacrifice,
she burns herself away.
For the sake of her husband,
a devoted wife will do anything.
She would even give her life,
that noble woman.
Did fate throw this divine veena (stringed instrument)
out onto the street?
Did fate make the partner she sought
garland someone else?
What kind of existence is this,
this life of a woman?
Tell me, O Shiva-Shakti!
On which day
will all this suffering
finally end, O Shiva-Shakti?
Where is the beginning, and where is the end?
Nothing is known here.
What is happening—is it a story or a dream?
Even that is not understood here.
Garlands of mango leaves sway
at a doorway over there,
while this woman's precious life swings
in painful uncertainty here...
For the sake of her husband,
a devoted wife will do anything.
She would even give her life,
that noble woman.
In the music of the nadaswaram (wedding pipe),
auspicious blessings are heard over there.
On this helpless woman's path here,
a mournful song draws near.
Before the sacred fire, one life
begins over there.
In the funeral flames, will another life's
journey come to an end?
For the sake of her husband's life,
she suffered endlessly and wore away like thread.
Bearing fire upon her head,
she became like a melting candle.
In the count of life,
years turn into months,
and months wear away,
passing like a day, like a single second.
Is this fate? Is this the calculation
written by Him?
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male
Male

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

Kanavanukkaaga from the movie Thodarum (1999) is a deeply emotional song praising the selflessness, endurance, and ultimate sacrifice of a devoted wife. Lyricist Pulamaipithan exalts a woman's heart as greater than Mother Earth itself, emphasizing how she endures pain and consumes herself in sacrifice for her husband's life and well-being. The song reflects on fate, questioning why a noble life is subjected to immense suffering while wedding celebrations occur elsewhere. Through vivid imagery of candles and divine veenas, the song encapsulates grief, marital devotion, and helplessness against destiny.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Simile (Upamai)

“Mezhuguvarthi pol aanaal”

Compares the self-sacrificing wife to a burning candle carrying fire on its head.

Metaphor (Uruvagam)

“Dheiva veenai idhai ingu veedhiyinil”

Metaphorically refers to the innocent woman as a divine veena thrown into the street by fate.

Juxtaposition / Antithesis

“Maavilai thoranam aadudhu... Mangaiyin aaruyir aadudhu”

Contrasts the joyful auspicious sounds of a wedding at one entrance with the tragic uncertainty of a woman's life at another.

Did you know?

Trivia

Thodarum (1999) is a Tamil drama directed by Ramesh Khanna, starring Ajith Kumar, Devayani, and Heera Rajgopal. The film's soundtrack was composed by Deva, and this particular song highlights classic late-90s melodrama themes written by Pulamaipithan.

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