- Lyricist
- Kannadasan
- Singer
- P. Susheela
- Music director
- Sankar Ganesh
- Movie name
- Kamatchiyin Karunai
- Movie release year
- 1978
- Lyrics added on
- 7 Nov 2025
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This song is a deeply moving devotional prayer addressed to Goddess Kamatchi by a distressed woman fighting for justice and the life of her innocent husband. Expressing her total surrender, she questions if divine justice has vanished from the Goddess's reign, arguing that a mother never turns her back on her suffering child. She pleads for the protection of her marital symbols—turmeric, kumkum, and the sacred mangalsutra (thali). In the second half, the song builds up intensity through rhetorical questions, challenging the divine power to open the temple doors and prove her husband's innocence if truth and righteousness still hold power in the universe. In a climax of devotion, she invokes the Goddess under her grand names—Tripurasundari, Akhilandeshwari, Rajeswari, and Bhuvaneswari—demanding a divine manifestation to restore her honor and save her life.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Metonymy (Aagupeyar)
“Manjal mugathukku undhan varam vendum”
Terms like 'Manjal mugam' (turmeric face) and 'Kungumam' (vermilion) represent 'Mangalyam' or the status and sanctity of married womanhood.
Rhetorical Questioning (Vinna Vani)
“Sangu mulangaadhoo”
Repeated use of challenging rhetorical questions ending with '-oo' (mulangaadhoo, vilangaadhoo, thirakkadhoo) to express anguish and invoke divine justice.
Emonai / Second Letter Rhyme (Ethukai)
“Sathiyam enbadhu ulagil irundhaal”
Rhyming of the second syllable across consecutive lines ('Sathiyam' and 'Thathuvam').
Anaphora / Polyptoton
“Agilaandeeswari arulvaayae”
Enumeration of the Goddess's holy names in succession (Akhilandeshwari, Rajeswari, Bhuvaneswari) to intensify the devotional appeal.
Did you know?
Trivia
The song from 'Kamatchiyin Karunai' (1978) highlights Kannadasan's expertise in Tamil devotional poetry, blending classical temple worship idioms with theatrical pathos. Set to music by Sankar-Ganesh and voiced by P. Susheela, it stands as a memorable devotional song evoking the power of a woman's devotion ('Karpukkarasi') pleading to Goddess Kamatchi of Kanchipuram.
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