- Lyricist
- Subbu Arumugam
- Singer
- Manorama
- Music director
- Shankar Ganesh
- Movie name
- Unakkum Vazhvu Varum
- Movie release year
- 1978
- Lyrics added on
- 10 Jul 2024
Lyrics & meaning
♫ Tanglish lyrics
↻ English translation
Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru
Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru
Idhu mahalakshmi rasi manja kayiru
Idhu mahalakshmi rasi manja kayiru
Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru
Thiruppathi malaiyoram
Sembaruththi panjeduththu
Senja noolil vanthathintha manja kayiru
Idhu srinivasan arulaalae vantha kayiru
Valliyin kannaththilae
Killi killi maalmarugan
Kattiyathu pola intha manja kayiru
Kanji kaamatchi koyil manam konda kayiru
Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru
Gandhimathu mariyamma karumaari karpagammaa
Vadivaampigai aasi petra kayiru
Idhu varalakshmi pooja manja kayiru
Ramar vanam nadakka seedhai pin thodara
Izhuththittu ponathuvum entha kayiru
Oru ramayanam padicha manja kayiru
Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru
Meenatchikku sokkanadhar
Katti vacha thaali pola
Maenmaiyulla thaali
Intha manja kayiru
Madhura melamaasi veedhiyilae senja kayiru
Madhura melamaasi veedhiyilae senja kayiru
Muppathu paisa kayittril
Moonu mudichchu pottu vachaa
Appan ammai
Aakki vidum intha kayiru
Idhu adagu vaikka
Mudiyaatha sintha kayiru
Idhu adagu vaikka
Mudiyaatha sintha kayiru
Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru
Thappaana ennaththilae
Pakkam varum pokkiriya
Thalli nirkka seiyyum
Intha manja kayiru
Idhu thaaikulaththai kaaththu
Varum veli kayiru
Sollaamal odi vantha
Sodigalum ennidaththil
Thuttu thanthu vaangum
Intha manja kayiru avarai
Sattapadi vaazha vaikkum thaali kayiru
Vasukikku valluvaraiyum
Kasthurikku gandhiyaiyum
Paasamodu poottiyathu intha kayiru
Enga paattiyoda paatti thantha manja kayiru
Harichandiran chandramathi
Amponnu nikkaiyilae
Adaiyaalam kaattiyathum intha kayiru
Harichandiran chandramathi
Amponnu nikkaiyilae
Adaiyaalam kaattiyathum intha kayiru
Acham mydhal naalu
Gunamum ulla kayiru
Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru
Thottu thaali kattiyavar
Vittu vittu odivittaal
Court varai pogum
Intha thaali kayiru
Meendum kudumpamaakki vaikkum sakthi kayiru
Yaaro oruththiyaiyum
Yaaro oruvanaiyum
Heroin-u herovaakkum manja kayiru
Intha rasiyil vaangu
Vaanga thottil kayiru
Intha rasiyil vaangu
Vaanga thottil kayiru
Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru
Thottaalae shock adikkum
Electrical-u wire-u
Idha thodaamalae shock adikkum
Ponnu thaali kayiru
Paramasivan kazhuththinilae
Paambum oru kayiru
Antha paambai vida bayangaramaam
Paththiniyin kayiru
Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru
Vaalu paiyan pattam vidura
Noolu kayiru pambara kayiru
Ragasiyamaai thaayaththukku
Avasiyamaam iduppu kayiru
Upaththiravatham thaangikkaama
Ooraivittu kaasi poga
Uththiraatcham pottu kolla
Veluppu kayiru sevappu kayiru
Innum kattukkayiru panthakkayiru
Kaala kazhuththu karuppu kayiru
Antha kayiru intha kayiru
Aasai kayiru anbukkayiru
Entha kayiru kettaalum
Marupathae illai
Intha thaali kayiru mattum
Kadan koduppatheyillai
Entha kayiru kettaalum
Marupathae illai
Intha thaali kayiru mattum
Kadan koduppatheyillai
Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru
Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru
Idhu mahalakshmi rasi manja kayiru…..
Idhu mahalakshmi rasi manja kayiru….
The yellow thread, the sacred thali yellow thread!
The yellow thread, the sacred thali yellow thread!
This is the lucky yellow thread of Goddess Mahalakshmi!
This is the lucky yellow thread of Goddess Mahalakshmi!
The yellow thread, the sacred thali yellow thread!
On the slopes of the Tirupati hills,
gathering cotton from red hibiscus plants,
spun into yarn came this yellow thread!
This thread came by the grace of Lord Srinivasa!
On the lovely cheeks of Valli,
pinching playfully, Lord Murugan
tied a knot just like this yellow thread!
A thread blessed with the fragrance of the Kanchi Kamakshi temple!
The yellow thread, the sacred thali yellow thread!
Gandhimathi, Mariyamma, Karumari, Karpagamma,
a thread blessed by Goddess Vadivambigai!
This is the sacred yellow thread of the Varalakshmi puja!
When Rama walked into the forest and Sita followed behind,
what thread was it that drew her along?
The sacred yellow thread that lived through the Ramayana!
The yellow thread, the sacred thali yellow thread!
Just like the sacred thali
Lord Chokkanathar tied
for Goddess Meenakshi, so noble a thali
is this yellow thread!
A thread made on Madurai's West Masi Street!
A thread made on Madurai's West Masi Street!
On a thirty-paise thread,
if three sacred knots are tied,
a father and a mother
it will make of you, this thread!
This is a precious thread
that can never be pawned away!
This is a precious thread
that can never be pawned away!
The yellow thread, the sacred thali yellow thread!
With wicked intentions,
any rogue who comes near
will be forced to stay far away by
this yellow thread!
Protecting womankind,
it stands as a protective fence!
Couples who eloped in secret
also come to me,
pay their coins and buy
this yellow thread, which
lets them live lawfully as husband and wife!
Binding Vasuki to her Valluvar,
and Kasturba to her Gandhi,
this thread locked them together in love!
The yellow thread handed down by our great-grandmothers!
When Harishchandra and Chandramathi
stood in helpless misery,
this was the thread that revealed her true identity!
When Harishchandra and Chandramathi
stood in helpless misery,
this was the thread that revealed her true identity!
Fear, modesty, and all four virtues
of womanhood are woven into this thread!
The yellow thread, the sacred thali yellow thread!
If the man who tied this sacred thali
abandons her and runs away,
it will drag him all the way to court,
this sacred thali thread,
with the power to unite the family once again!
Just an ordinary girl
and just an ordinary boy,
it turns into a heroine and hero, this yellow thread!
Buy this lucky thread,
and soon you will buy a cradle cord!
Buy this lucky thread,
and soon you will buy a cradle cord!
The yellow thread, the sacred thali yellow thread!
Only when you touch it does it shock you,
an electric wire!
Without even being touched, it gives a shock—
a married woman's sacred thali thread!
Around the neck of Lord Shiva,
even the serpent rests like a cord!
Yet far more formidable than that snake
is the sacred thread of a faithful wife!
The yellow thread, the sacred thali yellow thread!
Kite strings for mischievous boys,
thread cords, spinning-top strings,
the waist cord that is needed
in secret to tie an amulet,
unable to bear life's troubles,
when someone leaves town for Kasi (Varanasi),
to wear holy rudraksha beads,
white cords, red cords,
and packaging ropes, canopy ropes,
black cords for a bullock's neck,
that cord, this cord,
cords of desire, cords of love—
whichever cord you ask for,
I will never refuse you!
But this sacred thali thread alone,
I will never give on credit!
Whichever cord you ask for,
I will never refuse you!
But this sacred thali thread alone,
I will never give on credit!
The yellow thread, the sacred thali yellow thread!
The yellow thread, the sacred thali yellow thread!
This is the lucky yellow thread of Goddess Mahalakshmi!
This is the lucky yellow thread of Goddess Mahalakshmi!
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Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This iconic folk-style song from 'Unakkum Vazhvu Varum' (1978) celebrates the immense spiritual, social, moral, and legal significance of the 'Manja Kayiru' (the yellow sacred thread used for the Mangalsutra in Tamil tradition). Delivered in a street-vendor storytelling format by Manorama, the song cataloging various mythical and historical couples—such as Rama-Sita, Shiva-Meenakshi, Murugan-Valli, Thiruvalluvar-Vasuki, and Gandhi-Kasturba—illustrates how a simple thirty-paise yellow string carries the profound power to unite two souls into a family.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Refrain / Anaphora
“Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru”
The recurring line 'Manja kayiru thaali manja kayiru' acts as an anchoring chorus throughout the song, creating an authentic folk vendor melody.
Metaphor & Contrast
“Thottaalae shock adikkum Electrical-u wire-u / Idha thodaamalae shock adikkum Ponnu thaali kayiru”
Compares an electric wire that shocks on physical contact with a marital thread that commands respect and shocks suitors even without physical contact.
Alliteration (Ethukai / Munaiput)
“Vasukikku valluvaraiyum / Kasthurikku gandhiyaiyum”
Uses rhyming structural patterns across historical pairs to create lyrical symmetry.
Did you know?
Trivia
Written by renowned Villupattu master Subbu Arumugam, the lyrics blend classical Tamil mythologies with modern social commentary. Sung onscreen by legendary actress Manorama, who was celebrated for her flawless delivery of regional Tamil dialects, this track became one of the most recognizable cultural odes to the sacred Tamil wedding thread.
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