- Lyricist
- Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyaar
- Singer
- Bombay Jayashree
- Music director
- Ilayaraja
- Movie name
- Bharathi
- Movie release year
- 2000
- Lyrics added on
- 13 May 2019
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
Ninnai Charanadaindhen is an iconic devotional hymn composed by Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyaar, centered on the concept of absolute surrender (Sharanagati) to the Divine Mother, personified as Kannamma. The poet expresses his desire to free himself from material greed (wealth, status, fame), psychological burdens (fear, poverty of mind), and self-centered anxieties. By surrendering his individual ego and personal agency to the divine will, he finds ultimate liberation, strength, and immunity to defeat and sorrow.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Ethugai (Second Letter Rhyme)
“Than seyal enni / Nin seyal seidhu”
The second letter 'n' (ன்) matches in 'Than' and 'Nin', forming a classic Tamil ethugai rhyme structure across contrasting ideas.
Monai (First Letter Alliteration)
“Ponnai uyarvai pugazhai virumbidum”
The 'p' sound repeats in 'Ponnai' and 'pugazhai', creating rhythmic flow through monai.
Personification
“Ennai kavalaigal thinna thagaadhendru”
Worries (kavalaigal) are personified as predatory creatures capable of eating or consuming the speaker.
Anaphora / Refrain
“Ninnai charanadaindhen / Kannammaa ninnai charanadaindhen”
The continuous repetition of 'Ninnai charanadaindhen' emphasizes the core spiritual refrain of complete surrender throughout the poem.
Did you know?
Trivia
This poem is part of Subramanya Bharathiyaar's famous 'Kannamma' series, where Kannamma is addressed variously as a child, lover, master, and supreme deity. In the movie Bharathi (2000), directed by Gnana Rajasekaran, this immortal poem was set to music by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja and sung soulfully by Bombay Jayashri.
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