Amma Kaaveri Lyrics Translation | Jaya Gopi | Chithoor Nagaiya
“Amma Kaaveri” by Chithoor Nagaiya is from the film Jaya Gopi. Lyricist Kannadasan and composers Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy created this piece. It opens with a father asking the river goddess how she can “play with their very lives.” This question establishes a direct confrontation with a divine being.
Amma Kaaveri
Chithoor Nagaiya • From “Jaya Gopi”
Lyricist
Kannadasan
Composer
Viswanathan – Ramamoorthy
Jaya Gopi’s Amma Kaaveri Lyrics Translation
The argument intensifies when the father asks where to find refuge if a mother despises her child. He then states the river took his son Gopi as a sacrifice, even though the boy committed no sin. These lines turn a prayer into a specific, legalistic complaint against the goddess.
Amma Kaveri DeenargalinMother Kaveri, of the helpless,
Uyirodu VilaiyadalamaHow can you play with their very lives?
Amma Kaveri Un AnbuMother Kaveri, your loving
Ullam EngeHeart, where is it?
Amma Kaveri Un AnbuMother Kaveri, your loving
Ullam EngeHeart, where is it?
Peruntheethu SeithathenoWhy did you commit this great evil?
Ilanjseyai KondathenoWhy did you take this young child?
Amma Kaveri Un AnbuMother Kaveri, your loving
Ullam EngeHeart, where is it?
Thayai Thedum PalanaiA child searching for his mother,
Yen Savidam SerththaiWhy did you deliver him to death?
Thayai Thedum PalanaiA child searching for his mother,
Yen Savidam SerththaiWhy did you deliver him to death?
Thai Veruththal Ulagil VeruIf the mother herself despises him,
Pugalidam YethuWhere else in the world is there refuge?
Amma Kaveri Un AnbuMother Kaveri, your loving
Ullam EngeHeart, where is it?
Ivvinthai SeivathaleBy committing this betrayal,
Perum Vegam KolvathaleBy gathering this great fury,
Udainthu PogumoWon’t it completely break?
Ullam Sithainthu PogumoWon’t the heart just shatter?
Pralaya Kala BayangarameOh, terror of the great deluge,
Kavarnthu Konda PothilumEven though you snatched him away,
Pralaya Kala BayangarameOh, terror of the great deluge,
Kavarnthu Konda PothilumEven though you snatched him away,
Kadanthu Nindru IdhayanthannilHe rises above it and within our hearts,
Nilavum Engal GobiOur Gobi lives on.
Enna KoramammaWhat is this horror, mother?
Yen Intha Theengu SeithaiWhy did you do this evil?
Thennadu Thedi VanthaiYou came seeking the southern lands,
Siru Seigal Kodi KandaiYou saw millions of humble deeds.
Orr Papam SeithidaFor a sin he didn’t commit,
Gopiyai Pali KondaiYou took Gobi as a sacrifice.
Orr Papam SeithidaFor a sin he didn’t commit,
Gopiyai Pali KondaiYou took Gobi as a sacrifice.
Abagaram Seiyum YarkkumEven to those who would do him harm,
Ubakaram Seiyum GobiGobi would only do good.
Engal Palagan Thamizh KavalanOur boy, a guardian of the ‘Tamil’ people,
Uyir Kakka Vendum ThayeYou should have saved his life, Mother.
Unnai Vendi Nindrom ThayeWe stood here and prayed to you, Mother,
Dayai Seiya Vendum NeeyeYou were the one who had to show mercy.
Amma Kaveri Un AnbuMother Kaveri, your loving
Ullam EngeHeart, where is it?
Peruntheethu SeithathenoWhy did you commit this great evil?
Ilanjseyai KondathenoWhy did you take this young child?
The song presents a father’s accusation against the river he once worshipped. His sorrow becomes a direct challenge, questioning the goddess’s maternal love and sense of justice. The piece functions as an interrogation of a deity, using grief as evidence in a spiritual trial.
