- Lyricist
- Kannadasan
- Singer
- T. M. Soundararajan
- Music director
- M. S. Vishwanathan
- Movie name
- Lakshmi Kalyanam
- Movie release year
- 1968
- Lyrics added on
- 25 Feb 2019
Lyrics & meaning
Beyond the translation
Overall song meaning
‘Yaaradaa Manidhan Ingae’ from the 1968 film 'Lakshmi Kalyanam' is a philosophical and cynical song that reflects on the decline of human morality and true character in society. The narrator questions whether a genuine human being—one guided by honor, moral virtue, and wisdom—even exists anymore. Instead, he laments that people carry animalistic traits under human disguises: the subservience of dogs, the cunning of foxes, the ferocity of tigers, and the deceit of snakes.
Writing craft
Poetic devices
Metaphor (உருவகம்)
“Manidharil naaigal undu / Manadhinil narigal undu”
Human traits and mindsets are directly compared to animals (dogs and foxes) to highlight moral degradation without using explicit comparative words.
Antithesis / Muran (முரண்)
“Vaazhum mirugam thoongum dheivam”
Contrasts 'living beast' (mirugam) with 'sleeping deity' (dheivam) to define the dual nature of man caught between primal urges and divine virtues.
Monai (மோனை - Alliteration)
“Maanam panbu nyaanam konda / Manidhanai kaanavillai”
Repetition of the initial 'M' sound in 'Maanam' and 'Manidhanai' provides rhythmic alliteration across lines.
Did you know?
Trivia
The song from 'Lakshmi Kalyanam' (1968) features lyrics by poet Kannadasan and music composed by M. S. Viswanathan. It was sung with powerful emotive resonance by T. M. Soundararajan. Kannadasan's lyrics famously blend deep Vedantic philosophy with accessible everyday metaphors, critiquing human pretension and artificiality.
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