- Lyricist
- Udumalai Narayanakavi
- Music director
- Alandur Sivasubramaniyam
- Movie name
- Ashok Kumar
- Movie release year
- 1941
- Lyrics added on
- 27 Feb 2020
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This song is a deeply emotional prayer of repentance and surrender. The character laments their past misdeeds and sins committed due to uncontrolled desires and a confused mind. Burdened by guilt, the protagonist questions the purpose of their existence on earth and turns to the Divine as the sole refuge. The speaker pleads for mercy, requesting solace, emotional liberation, and spiritual protection both in this life and in the life to come.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Moonaai (Initial Alliteration)
“Panjamaa paadhagham pala purindhenae”
Repetition of initial consonant sound 'P' in words across the line.
Etukai (Second Letter Rhyme)
“Thanjam nee gadhiyae / Anjael ena abhayam arul nidhiyae”
Consonance of the second letter 'nja' in 'Thanjam' and 'Anjael'.
Rhetorical Question (Vinaa Ani)
“Paavi naan yaen pirandhen puvi meedhae”
The speaker asks a sorrowful rhetorical question about their birth to express extreme remorse.
Anaphora (Repetition for Emphasis)
“Thanjam nee gadhiyae”
The refrain 'Thanjam nee gadhiyae' is repeated multiple times to emphasize utter surrender.
Did you know?
Trivia
Ashok Kumar (1941) is a landmark Tamil historical film starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar (MKT). Written by Udumalai Narayanakavi, this song exemplifies the emotional penitential songs popular in early Tamil cinema, rendered in MKT's signature high-pitched Carnatic vocal style.
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