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Isaimozhi
Sankari album cover
Lyrics & meaning

Kunguma Nadhiyil Moozhgi

From Sankari · 1984

Lyricist
Aalangudi Somu
Singer
Vani Jairam
Music director
V. Kumar
Movie name
Sankari
Movie release year
1984
Lyrics added on
8 Dec 2022

Lyrics & meaning

♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Kunguma nadhiyil moozhgi ezhuntha
Kovai niraththu pon meni
Kunguma nadhiyil moozhgi ezhuntha
Kovai niraththu pon meni
Sangamamaagum mangaiyarkellaam
Thaththuvam koorum vinggani
Kongai mugaththil amirtha ganeshan
Konjidum kadhal magarani
Sengathir kaattum vanna mugaththil
Chiththira sakthi abhirami
Kunguma nadhiyil moozhgi ezhuntha
Kovai niraththu pon meni
Thamizhai eduththu kavithai thoduththu
Thalaiyadiyaaga panthaadi
Amutha mazhaiththaen vattar koduththaar
Avalathu peril anthaadhi
Kumutha mugaththu komalavalli
Kurunagai sinthum maharani
Mamathai aruththu manathinai kaakkum
Manthira sakthi abhirami manthira sakthi abhirami
Emerging from a bath in a river of kumkum,
Her golden form glows with the red of a kovai fruit,
Emerging from a bath in a river of kumkum,
Her golden form glows with the red of a kovai fruit,
To all women who unite in love,
She is the wise guide who reveals life's truth...
Holding sweet little Ganesha close to her heart,
She is the queen of loving tenderness,
With a radiant face glowing like the morning sun,
She is Abhirami, the divine picture of sacred power...
Emerging from a bath in a river of kumkum,
Her golden form glows with the red of a kovai fruit,
Gathering sweet Tamil and weaving it into poetry,
Linking each verse to the next like a bouncing ball,
Bhattar (the poet-saint) poured out a rain of sweet nectar,
Composing an Andhadhi poem in her honor,
The tender goddess with a face like a blooming lily,
The queen who shares a gentle smile,
Destroying pride and protecting the mind,
Abhirami, the mystical power of sacred chants, divine Abhirami...
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female

Beyond the translation

Overall song meaning

This song is a sublime devotional and poetic tribute celebrating the divine beauty and supreme grace of Goddess Abhirami (and symbolically praising the ideal womanhood). The lyrics describe her glowing complexion, comparing her golden skin to a body washed in a vermilion river and tinted like the ripe kovai fruit. She represents both philosophical wisdom and motherly affection, embodying artistic energy and divine protection.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Monai (Initial Rhyme / Alliteration)

Thamizhai eduththu kavithai thoduththu / Thalaiyadiyaaga panthaadi

Matching first letters in words within the same line, such as 'Kunguma' and 'Kovai', or 'Thamizhai' and 'Thalaiyadiyaaga'.

Etukai (Second-letter Rhyme)

Kumutha mugaththu komalavalli / Kurunagai sinthum maharani

Repetition of the second consonant across consecutive lines, such as the 'm' sound in 'Kumutha', 'Kurunagai', and 'Mamathai'.

Uruvagam (Metaphor)

Kunguma nadhiyil moozhgi ezhuntha

Describing the red hues metaphorically as a 'Kunguma nadhi' (river of vermilion) and sweet blessings as 'Amutha mazhaiththaen' (nectar rain honey).

Upamai (Simile / Imagery)

Kovai niraththu pon meni

Comparing her radiant reddish complexion to the 'Kovai' fruit and her face to a blooming lotus ('Kumutha mugaththu').

Did you know?

Trivia

The lyricist Aalangudi Somu invokes the classic Tamil literary genre 'Anthadhi' in line 16, referencing Abhirami Pattar's famous 18th-century Tamil devotional work 'Abhirami Anthadhi'. The song beautifully merges classical Tamil poetic traditions with film music under V. Kumar's composition.

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