- Lyricist
- Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass
- Singer
- T. M. Soundararajan
- Music director
- K. V. Mahadevan
- Movie name
- Harichandra – 1968 Film
- Movie release year
- 1968
- Lyrics added on
- 28 Jan 2021
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
This poignant song depicts the immense grief and irony in the life of Queen Chandramathi from the legendary story of King Harichandra. Stripped of royalty and wealth, she is forced into a public market to sell herself, her body, and soul into servitude to pay off an immense debt to Sage Vishwamitra. She laments her helpless condition, comparing her life to a piece of straw tossed around by ocean waves or sugarcane crushed in an elephant's mouth. The lyrics emphasize that fate makes no distinction between a king and a beggar, reducing even royalty to extreme suffering, while affirming that a woman's true nobility lies in safeguarding her dignity through all adversity.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Simile (Upamai)
“Thurumbadhai polae / Yaanai vaayin karumbadhai polae”
Compares her helpless and crushed state to a piece of straw tossed in ocean waves and sugarcane in an elephant's mouth using the word 'polae'.
Antithesis / Contrast
“Arasanum aandiyum vidhiyin munnalae”
Contrasts the two extremes of human social hierarchy (King and Beggar) to show the leveling power of fate.
Rhyme / Assonance (Iyaibu & Rhyme)
“Than maanam ennalum / San maanam endrae / Pen maanam kakkavae piranthaval andro”
Repetition of ending rhyming words 'Than maanam', 'San maanam', and 'Pen maanam' to emphasize honor.
Did you know?
Trivia
This song belongs to the 1968 Tamil mythological film 'Harichandra' starring Sivaji Ganesan and K. R. Vijaya. The scene portrays the tragic climax of Harichandra's ordeal where Queen Chandramathi is auctioned off in public to uphold truth and pay Vishwamitra's ritual fee.
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