Maveli Nadu Vanidum Kalam
മാവേലി നാടു വാണീടും കാലം
Maveli Nadu Vanidum Kalam is the best-known song of Onam, Kerala's harvest festival. Its opening lines, describing a time when all people were equal under King Maveli, are recited by children and adults across Kerala every year.
- Written by
- Traditional
- Music
- Traditional
- Context
- Traditional Onam song (Onappattu) on the golden age of King Mahabali
- Year
- traditional
- Language
- Malayalam
Maveli Nadu Vanidum Kalam lyrics with English translation
The famous section only, as transcribed from the Gundert manuscript (page 106, second version of the passage, and the opening of the next section on page 107: https://ml.wikisource.org/wiki/താൾ:13E3287.pdf/107). The manuscript spelling is kept; versions sung today differ slightly in wording.
മാവേലി നാടു വാണീടും കാലം മാനുഷരെല്ലാരുമൊന്നുപോലെ ആമോദത്തോടെ വസിക്കും കാലം ആപത്തങ്ങാർക്കുമൊട്ടില്ല താനും ആധികൾ വ്യാധികളൊന്നുമില്ല ബാലമരണങ്ങൾ കേൾപ്പാനില്ല പത്തായിരമങ്ങിരിപ്പതുണ്ട് എല്ലാ കൃഷികളുമൊന്നുപോലെ നെല്ലിനു നൂറുവിളവതുണ്ട് ദുഷ്ടരെകൺകൊണ്ടു കാണാനില്ല നല്ലവരല്ലാതെയില്ല പാരിൽ ഭൂലോകമൊക്കെയുമൊന്നുപോലെ ആലയമൊക്കെയുമൊന്നുപോലെ നല്ലകനകം കൊണ്ടെല്ലാപേരും ആഭരണങ്ങളണിഞ്ഞുകൊണ്ട് നാരിമാർ ബാലന്മാർ മറ്റുള്ളോരും ആമോദത്തോടെ വസിക്കും കാലം
Maveli nadu vaneedum kalam Manusharellarumonnupole Amodathode vasikkum kalam Apathangarkkumottilla thanum Adhikal vyadhikalonnumilla Balamaranangal kelppanilla Pathayiramangirippathundu Ella krishikalumonnupole Nellinu nooruvilavathundu Dushtarekankondu kananilla Nallavarallatheyilla paril Bhoolokamokkeyumonnupole Alayamokkeyumonnupole Nallakanakam kondellaperum Abharanangalaninjukondu Narimar balanmar mattullorum Amodathode vasikkum kalam
When Maveli ruled the land, all people were equal and lived together in joy; no danger came to anyone at all. There were no worries and no diseases, no word was heard of children dying; people lived to ten thousand years. All crops flourished alike, and rice gave a hundredfold harvest. No wicked person was to be seen, there was no one on earth but the good. The whole world was as one, and every home was alike; adorned with ornaments of fine gold, everyone - women, children and all the rest - lived together in joy.
കള്ളവുമില്ല ചതിവുമില്ല എളേളാളമില്ല പൊളിവചനം വെള്ളിക്കോലാദികൾ നാഴികളും എല്ലാം കണക്കതിൻ തുല്യമായി കള്ളപ്പറയും ചെറുനാഴിയും കള്ളത്തരങ്ങൾ മറ്റൊന്നുമില്ല നല്ല മഴപെയ്യും വേണ്ടും കാലം വേദികൾ വേദവും സംഗീതവും യാഗങ്ങൾ കർമ്മങ്ങൾ മുടങ്ങിടാതെ രക്ഷിച്ചു വാഴുന്ന കാലത്തിങ്കൽ
Kallavumilla chathivumilla Ellolamilla polivachanam Vellikkoladikal nazhikalum Ellam kanakkathin thulyamayi Kallapparayum cherunazhiyum Kallatharangal mattonnumilla Nalla mazhapeyyum vendum kalam Vedikal vedavum sangeethavum Yagangal karmmangal mudangidathe Rakshichu vazhunna kalathinkal
There was no falsehood and no deceit, not a sesame seed's worth of lies. The steelyards and the measures were all true and exact; no false para, no short nazhi, no trickery of any kind. Good rain fell whenever it was needed; the learned kept up the Vedas and music, and sacrifices and rites went on without fail, in the age when he ruled and protected all.
Translation: Lyriccs (original translation). Transliteration: Lyriccs.
The story behind Maveli Nadu Vanidum Kalam
Onam celebrates the legend of Mahabali, affectionately called Maveli, a benevolent asura king who is believed to have ruled Kerala in an age of plenty before being sent to the netherworld by Vishnu in his Vamana form. According to the legend he returns once a year to visit his people, and Onam is the festival that welcomes him.
The song belongs to the old genre of Onappattu, Onam songs passed down orally. The text given here comes from a manuscript collection preserved in the Hermann Gundert collection at the University of Tubingen and transcribed on Malayalam Wikisource by the Gundert Legacy project. The manuscript records more than one version of the famous lines, a sign of how long the song circulated in oral tradition before it was written down.
What Maveli Nadu Vanidum Kalam means
The song paints a picture of an ideal society. Under Maveli everyone was equal and lived in happiness, there was no illness, no child died young, the fields gave a hundredfold harvest, and the wicked were nowhere to be found. Homes were alike and everyone wore gold ornaments, a vivid way of saying that wealth was shared.
The second part turns to honesty in daily life: there were no lies and no cheating, and the weights and measures used in the market were true. Rain came on time and learning and ritual flourished. For many Malayalis the song is less a historical claim than a statement of values - equality, honesty and shared prosperity - which explains why it remains the anthem of Onam across communities.
Quick facts
- Sung every year during Onam, Kerala's harvest festival.
- Describes the legendary reign of King Mahabali (Maveli) as an age of equality and plenty.
- A version of the text survives in a manuscript from the Hermann Gundert collection.
- Onam was declared Kerala's state festival in 1961.