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Isaimozhi
Lyrics & meaning

Muruga Muruga

From Naalu Veli Nilam · 1959

Lyricist
Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyaar
Singer
Seerkazhi Govindarajan
Music director
K. V. Mahadevan
Details
Naalu Veli Nilam1959

Lyrics & meaning

Tanglish lyrics English translation
Male
Muruga muruga murugaMuruga, Muruga, Muruga!
Muruga muruga murugaMuruga, Muruga, Muruga!
Male
Varuvai mayil meedhinileCome riding upon your peacock,
Vadi veludane varuvaiCome with your sharp spear!
Varuvai mayil meedhinileCome riding upon your peacock,
Vadi veludane varuvaiCome with your sharp spear!
Tharuvai nalamum thagavum pugazhumGrant us goodness, dignity, and fame,
Thavamum thiramum dhanamum ganamumPenance, capability, wealth, and honor!
Male
Muruga muruga murugaMuruga, Muruga, Muruga!
Muruga muruga murugaMuruga, Muruga, Muruga!
Male
Suruthi porule varugaO essence of the scriptures, welcome!
Thunive kanale varugaO embodiment of courage, O divine flame, welcome!
Suruthi porule varugaO essence of the scriptures, welcome!
Thunive kanale varugaO embodiment of courage, O divine flame, welcome!
Karuthi karuthi kavalai paduvaarTo those who worry endlessly in their minds,
Kavalai kadalai kadiyum vadivel murugaO sharp-speared Muruga who cuts away their ocean of sorrow!
Male
Muruga muruga murugaMuruga, Muruga, Muruga!
Muruga muruga murugaMuruga, Muruga, Muruga!
Male
Arivagiya koyilileIn the temple that is wisdom,
Arulgayathaiu madi melUpon the lap of divine grace,
Pori veludane valarvaaiFlourish along with your sparkling spear!
Adiyar pudhu vaazhvuraveSo that your devotees may live a renewed life,
Puvi meedhu arulvaaiBestow your grace upon this earth!
Male
Muruga muruga murugaMuruga, Muruga, Muruga!
Muruga muruga murugaMuruga, Muruga, Muruga!
Male
Guruve paraman maganeO Guru, Son of the Supreme Lord Shiva,
Guhayil valarum kanaleO flame growing within the cave of the heart,
Guruve paraman maganeO Guru, Son of the Supreme Lord Shiva,
Guhayil valarum kanaleO flame growing within the cave of the heart,
Tharuvai thozhilum payanumGrant us purposeful work and its beneficial fruits,
Amarar samarathipane saranam saranamO commander-in-chief of the celestial gods, I surrender to you!
Male
Muruga muruga murugaMuruga, Muruga, Muruga!
Muruga muruga murugaMuruga, Muruga, Muruga!
Muruga…….Muruga...

Beyond the translation

Song interpretation

This devotional song is a passionate invocation composed by Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyar, pleading with Lord Murugan to shower his divine grace on humanity. The poet calls upon Murugan to arrive riding his majestic peacock, wielding his sharp spear (Vel) to destroy human anxieties and suffering, which are described as an overwhelming ocean. Bharathiyar addresses Murugan as the ultimate teacher, the son of Shiva, the essence of the Vedas, and the commander of celestial forces, asking him to bless his devotees with physical prosperity, moral courage, noble intellect, and purposeful endeavor on earth.

Writing craft

Poetic devices

Repetition / Invocation (Adukkuthodar)

Muruga muruga muruga

Repeated invocation of the deity's name 'Muruga' creates a rhythmic, meditative, and passionate devotional chant.

Metaphor (Uruvagaim)

Kavalai kadalai kadiyum vadivel muruga

'Kavalai kadal' compares life's anxieties to an endless, drowning ocean that only Murugan's spear can cut through.

Metaphor (Uruvagaim)

Arivagiya koyilile

'Arivagiya koyilile' metaphorically presents true wisdom as a sacred temple where divinity resides.

Assonance and Rhythm (Iyaibu / Monai)

Thavamum thiramum dhanamum ganamum

Rhyming ending suffixes (-am) across multiple virtues creates musicality and emphasis on the blessings sought.

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Trivia

This song features lyrics by the renowned national poet Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyar. Set to music by legendary composer K. V. Mahadevan and rendered in the commanding, resonant voice of Seerkazhi Govindarajan, it remains one of the most celebrated classical devotional compositions in Tamil cinema from the 1959 movie 'Naalu Veli Nilam'.

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