- Lyricist
- Udumalai Narayanakavi
- Music director
- Alandur Sivasubramaniyam
- Movie name
- Ashok Kumar
- Movie release year
- 1941
- Lyrics added on
- 23 Feb 2020
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This classic musical sequence from 'Ashok Kumar' (1941) depicts Prince Kunala accepting his tragic loss of vision with profound spiritual resignation and faith. Blinded due to royal court intrigue, Kunala refuses to let despair overwhelm his mind. He reminds his companion that the Divine Lord who provides food for a toad trapped inside a rock and sustains a fetus in the womb will certainly look after them as well. In the poignant central dialogue, Kunala reflects on his drastic change of fortune—the hand destined to hold a royal scepter must now hold a blind man's walking stick. Realizing the truths spoken earlier by the Buddhist monk Upagupta, he finds inner peace, reasoning that even if his physical eyes are gone, the merciful divine protector who guards all beings remains all-seeing.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Antithesis / Contrast (Muran)
“Sengolai pidikka vaendiya kai / Verungolai pidippadhaa”
Contrasting 'Sengol' (the royal scepter of power) with 'Verungol' (a plain walking stick of a helpless blind man) to vividly highlight the dramatic downfall caused by fate.
Rhetorical Question (Vinaa Aani)
“Kannillaiyo nammaik kaakkum dhayaalan”
Uses dramatic rhetorical questions to assert that God remains vigilant and divine grace is ever-present despite physical loss.
Traditional Metaphor / Imagery (Uvamaani)
“Kallinul thaeraikkum karuppai uyirkkum / Pullunavae thandhu pottrum nam naadhan”
Employs the ancient Tamil devotional motif of God feeding the toad inside a rock ('Kallinul Thaerai') to represent divine providence and omnipresent protection.
Did you know?
Trivia
'Ashok Kumar' (1941) was a landmark Tamil film starring the celebrated Carnatic singer and superstar M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar (MKT) alongside Chittor V. Nagaiah. Based on the Buddhist legend of Prince Kunala from Ashoka's empire, MKT's emotive performance and soulful vocal renditions contributed greatly to the film's massive box-office success.
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