- Lyricist
- Udumalai Narayanakavi
- Singers
- S. Janaki, T. M. Soundararajan
- Music director
- R. Sudharsanam
- Movie name
- Poompuhar
- Movie release year
- 1964
- Lyrics added on
- 5 Feb 2020
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
Pon naal idhu polae varumaa is a classic romantic duet from the film Poompuhar (1964) based on the epic Silappatikaram. In this song, Kovalan praises his bride Kannagi's celestial beauty, supreme virtue, and sweet nature, wondering if any future day could ever match the joy of their union. He compares her to Goddess Lakshmi on a lotus and states that her noble character surpasses the teachings of ancient Tamil scriptures. The lyricist Udumalai Narayanakavi seamlessly weaves Ilango Adigal's famous literary lines into the song, where Kovalan addresses Kannagi with terms of endearment like pure gold, right-whorled conch pearl, rich fragrance, sugarcane, honey, mountain-less gem, and ocean-less nectar.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Metaphor (Uruvagam)
“Maasaru ponnae valamburi muthae”
Directly compares Kannagi to precious substances such as flawless gold (Maasaru ponnae), a right-whorled pearl (Valamburi muthae), sugarcane (Karumbae), and honey (Thaenae).
Anaphora & Structural Parallelism (Emoni/Edhukai)
“Malaiyidai piravaa maniyae enbom... Alaiyidai piravaa amilthae enbom”
Parallel sentence structures used for poetic rhythm directly adapted from Sangam literature style ('Malaiyidai piravaa maniyae' / 'Alaiyidai piravaa amilthae').
Alliteration (Moni)
“Nalla pon naal idhu polae varumaa in melae”
Repetition of initial consonants like 'N' sound across adjacent words in the verse.
Did you know?
Trivia
The lines starting from 'Maasaru ponnae valamburi muthae' to 'Alaiyidai piravaa amilthae' are direct verbatim quotes from the ancient Tamil epic 'Silappatikaram' (specifically from 'Kanaathiram Uraitha Kaadhai'), where Kovalan eulogizes Kannagi's divine purity after their wedding. The film Poompuhar (1964) was written by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and features music composed by R. Sudarsanam, sung by T. M. Soundararajan and P. Susheela.
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