She was frustrated with her husband Muthazhagan's drinking habit and frequent quarrels and had committed the deed in the morning.
An inebriated Muthazhagan (41) had quarrelled with her till mid-night yesterday, police said.
The woman doused herself and her children in the age group of one to seven years with kerosene and set herself ablaze.
People, on hearing the cries of children, tried to rescue them but the woman and her two daughters were charred to death. Her one-year-old child succumbed to burns in hospital, police said.