229 gaDDapAra miMgitE nAkali dIrInA (గడ్డపార మింగితే నాఁకలి దీరీనా)

 ANNAMACHARYULU

229. గడ్డపార మింగితే నాఁకలి దీరీనా

gaDDapAra miMgitE nAkali dIrInA 

తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి.

Introduction

Tie strings to parrots,
and dream of flying through the skies —
but even if they lift you,
can you make them obey?
Can you wrap a flame
and tuck it safely inside your home?

Such wild images,
simple on the surface,
hide truths too deep for doctrine.
Annamacharya speaks in riddles of earth,
his metaphors rooted in dust and breath.

No philosopher cuts so sharp.
He doesn’t merely question —
he strikes at the very ground
on which our lives are built.
His silence roars,
his signs revolt,
his depths do not fade.

He speaks not of heavens to come,
nor of distant realms of salvation —
he shows us a crowbar,
and asks us to look.
What we chase as meaning
might itself be the mask.

He needs no scripture, no system,
no towering theory.
A crowbar. A parrot.
Stones, ashes, a snake —
with these alone,
he sets the soul on fire.

 

అధ్యాత్మ కీర్తన​
రేకు: 29-2 సంపుటము: 1-177	Copper Leaf: 29-2 Volume: 1-177
గడ్డపార మింగితే నాఁకలి దీరీనా యీ వొడ్డిన భవము దన్ను వొడ కమ్ముఁ గాక ॥పల్లవి॥   చించుక మిన్నులఁ బారేచిలకలను బండిఁ గట్టి వంచుకొనేమన్న నవి వసమయ్యీనా యెంచరాని యింద్రియము లెవ్వరికి నేల చిక్కు పొంచి పొంచి వలపులు బొండఁబెట్టుఁ గాక ॥గడ్డపార॥   మంటమండే యగ్గి దెచ్చి మసిపాఁత మూఁట గట్టి యింటిలోన దాఁచుకొన్న నితవయ్యీనా దంటమమకార మిట్టే తన్నునేల సాగనిచ్చు బంటుఁ జేసి ఆసలనే పారఁదోసుఁ గాక ॥గడ్డపార॥   పట్టరాని విషముల పాముఁ దెచ్చి తలకిందఁ బెట్టుకొన్నా నది మందపిలి వుండీనా వెట్టసంసార మిది వేంకటేశుఁ గొలువని వట్టిమనుజుల పెడవాడఁ బెట్టుఁ గాక ॥గడ్డపార॥	gaDDapAra miMgitE nAkali dIrInA yI voDDina bhavamu dannu voDa kammu gAka ॥Pallavi॥   chiMchuka minnula bArEchilakalanu baMDi gaTTi vaMchukonEmanna navi vasamayyInA yeMcharAni yiMdriyamu levvariki nEla chikku poMchi poMchi valapulu boMDabeTTu gAka ॥gaDDapAra॥   maMTamaMDE yaggi dechchi masipAta mUTa gaTTi yiMTilOna dAchukonna nitavayyInA daMTamamakAra miTTE tannunEla sAganichchu baMTu jEsi AsalanE pAradOsu gAka ॥gaDDapAra॥   paTTarAni vishamula pAmu dechchi talakiMda beTTukonnA nadi maMdapili vuMDInA veTTasaMsAra midi vEMkaTESu goluvani vaTTimanujula peDavADa beTTu gAka ॥gaDDapAra॥

 

Details and Explanation:

గడ్డపార మింగితే నాఁకలి దీరీనా యీ

వొడ్డిన భవము దన్ను వొడ కమ్ముఁ గాక ॥పల్లవి॥

gaDDapAra miMgitE nAkali dIrInA yI

voDDina bhavamu dannu voDa kammu gAka॥Pallavi॥

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Word-by-word meaning:

Telugu Word/Phrase	Meaning in English
గడ్డపార	Crowbar, heavy iron tool (also used metaphorically for something useless to eat)
మింగితే	If one eats / swallows
నాఁకలి దీరీనా	Will my hunger be satisfied?
ఈ వొడ్డిన	This newly begun (refers to the body or worldly life)
భవము	Life, birth (conditioned existence)
దన్ను	Support, strength, something to rely on (like a base or scaffold)
వొడ కమ్ముఁ గాక = ఇటుక తుంపుల బాణము గాక	Like an arrow made of broken bricks, loosely arranged (i.e., an unstable, awkward construction) =Don’t fasten to your side / Don’t rely on it as support

 

Meaning & Derivation: 

If you eat a crowbar, will your hunger be satisfied? This life we are in is like a loose scattering of stones — unstable, unanchored. 

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 From Literal Meaning the sentence below follows

"Just as eating a crowbar cannot satisfy hunger, trying to shape life the way you want by taking this birth as a firm base is of no real use."

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 from the above, below follows

A crowbar may help in earning a living, but it doesn’t feed you by itself.
Likewise, this birth may serve as a means toward liberation, but it doesn’t guarantee you’ll reach it.

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 from the above, below follows

Implied Meaning: Avoid what must not be done. Let life take its own course.
Don’t expect everything to align with your wishes.

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from the above, below follows

"Trying to fit a square peg in a round hole — don’t expect life to bend to your wishes. Let it flow in its own rhythm."

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Commentary: 

"Take a look at this piece of art — it seems as though the artist has absorbed and expressed the spirit of this Chorus (Pallavi)." 

"You are not the Archer.
You are an Arrow —
Formed by a Greater Force,
Granted the Grace to Move."

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An Arrow Pieced Together 

“This fragmented life is not something to lean on.”
This birth — what we call life — is not a complete or lasting support.
It is like an arrow loosely pieced together from broken bricks —
A construction of scattered, fragile elements lacking coherence. 

It resembles an arrow that has already been released.
It keeps moving forward on its own.
To an outside observer, that movement appears as time.
But the one who travels with the arrow —
is unaware of time altogether. 

This arrow has no real stability, no clear direction, no strength of its own.
To depend on it is to be misled.
What we cling to is not life itself —
but a distorted reflection of it.

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The Real Twist

Life and Living — Worlds Apart. 

Life is a journey assigned to the body —
a directionless movement unfolding in time. 

Living means
becoming one with that movement,
without stepping aside,
without trying to direct it or escape it. 

This isn’t about riding on the arrow —
because the very moment you try to climb on,
you either distort its shape or change its direction.
The attempt collapses. 

One must dissolve into the movement —
flowing with its course,
without interference,
without resistance. 

This is near impossible.
To touch
the Rarest Truth,
to see the Sacred,
the Effort must be Extraordinary.

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A Humble Crowbar Philosophy

That’s what Annamacharya seems to be asking.

A surreal question.

If what you’re trying to swallow is a crowbar —

a symbol of effort and craving —

then the path you’ve chosen,

the path toward the Divine,

cannot succeed. 

This points to a deeper illusion we carry:
the belief that through striving,
we can shape or mend life as we wish.
But that very belief becomes our crutch —
offering the illusion of control,
while quietly pulling us off course. 

What, then, can a human being truly do?

Perhaps only this:

Wait — silently, without interference.

And yet,

the moment you try to cultivate silence,

you’ve already stepped away from it. 

You cannot hold silence.
But when the truth of futility is fully digested,
silence arrives — naturally, unasked, unforced.

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First Stanza: 

చించుక మిన్నులఁ బారేచిలకలను బండిఁ గట్టి

వంచుకొనేమన్న నవి వసమయ్యీనా

యెంచరాని యింద్రియము లెవ్వరికి నేల చిక్కు

పొంచి పొంచి వలపులు బొండఁబెట్టుఁ గాక ॥గడ్డపార॥

 

chiMchuka minnula bArEchilakalanu baMDi gaTTi

vaMchukonEmanna navi vasamayyInA

yeMcharAni yiMdriyamu levvariki nEla chikku

poMchi poMchi valapulu boMDabeTTu gAka          ॥gaDDapAra॥ 

Word-by-word meanings:

Telugu phrase	English meaning
చించుక	slicing through (the air); darting or flashing swiftly
మిన్నులఁ	in the skies
బారేచిలకలను	streaking parrots; fast-moving, vividly-colored birds
బండిఁ గట్టి	tied down like a cart; bound like a vehicle
వంచుకొనేమన్న	trying to steer, direct, or lead
నవి వసమయ్యీనా	can they ever be brought under control? (they won’t be)
యెంచరాని	ungraspable, unimaginable
యింద్రియము	sense organs; the instruments of experience
లెవ్వరికి నేల చిక్కు	do they ever submit to anyone’s grasp on earth? (rhetorical – they do not)
పొంచి పొంచి	watching and waiting; lingering gaze
వలపులు	desires, cravings
బొండఁబెట్టుఁ గాక	ultimately render one helpless (lit. make hands and feet numb/useless) see the picture below

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Literal Meaning:

As if you could tie down parrots flashing across the skies

and steer them like bullock-carts —

Can they ever come under your control?

The sense-organs — elusive and ungraspable —

have never submitted to anyone on earth.

By repeatedly gazing, longing, desiring —

you are rendered utterly helpless.

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Commentary:

An image of futility:

A vivid metaphor:

parrots darting across the sky, vibrant and untamed.

Trying to tie them down and steer them

like a cart is not only absurd but impossible.

 

An attempt to control life —our senses.

We want to tether the wild energy of our perceptions.

But like air-borne birds, they refuse domestication.

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Indulgence to paralysis: 

By repeated "watching and watching (పొంచి పొంచి)",

the mind entangles in desire. 

“బొండఁబెట్టుఁ గాక” — literally meaning that

you become incapable of movement,

A Spiritual Paralysis.
caused by
the internal burden of

wanting, controlling, and reaching.

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Core Insight:

Life unlike a bullock-cart.

Sense-experiences

inherently free, ungraspable, and fleeting.

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A deep yogic truth:

 
Spiritual clarity arises not through control or suppression,
but through freedom from grasping.

 

Annamacharya, like a radical seer,
shocks us into attention

with his metaphors —
the very tools we use to master life
— our senses, desires, concepts —
turn against us.

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Second Stanza:

మంటమండే యగ్గి దెచ్చి మసిపాఁత మూఁట గట్టి

యింటిలోన దాఁచుకొన్న నితవయ్యీనా

దంటమమకార మిట్టే తన్నునేల సాగనిచ్చు

బంటుఁ జేసి ఆసలనే పారఁదోసుఁ గాక ॥గడ్డపార॥

 

maMTamaMDE yaggi dechchi masipAta mUTa gaTTi

yiMTilOna dAchukonna nitavayyInA

daMTamamakAra miTTE tannunEla sAganichchu

baMTu jEsi AsalanE pAradOsu gAka  ॥gaDDapAra॥

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Word-by-Word Meaning:

Telugu phrase	English meaning
మంటమండే	fiercely burning
యగ్గి	fire
దెచ్చి	bringing (it)
మసిపాఁత మూఁట గట్టి	wrapping in a bundle of old, sooty rags
యింటిలోన దాఁచుకొన్న	hidden inside the house
నితవయ్యీనా	will it become beneficial? (will it help?)
దంట	by strategy, cleverness
మమకార మిట్టే	to tame attachment easily
తన్నునేల సాగనిచ్చు	will it let things go as desired?
బంటుఁ జేసి	making you its servant
ఆసలనే పారఁదోసుఁ గాక	throws desires back upon you (like a burden)

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Literal Meaning:

“Bringing in a blazing fire
and tying it up in a bundle of old rags —
can hiding it inside your house make it safe or useful?
Even if you try to subdue attachment cleverly,
will it allow your life to move as you intend?
It will enslave you —
and hurl the weight of your own desires back at you.”

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Commentary:

This stanza is a poetic explosion —
a cascade of imagery that is both visual and philosophical.

 

“Would it ever be appropriate?” (హితవయ్యీనా)

The first image is a sharp irony:
You bring home a blazing fire,
wrap it in dirty, tattered rags,
and hide it inside your house —
thinking you’ve kept it under control!
This isn’t just foolish —
it’s profoundly dangerous.

 

“Will it let you move as you wish?” (తన్నునేల సాగనిచ్చు)

The second insight goes deeper:
It’s not just a useless act —
you sharpen your intellect
in hopes of keeping that fire —

attachment (మమకారం) — under control.

 

But attachment strikes back.
It returns in new, subtle forms.
You think it’s under your power —
but in truth, this obsession with control
only consumes your time and energy.

Caught in the illusion that you can manage it,
you slowly become its servant,
walking ever further from what you truly seek.

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In essence:

This stanza connects powerfully with the Pallavi.
You cannot shape life.
You cannot wrap a fire with old cloth and expect it to rest.

You must let it be.
Simply observe.
Do not interfere.

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3rd Stanza:

పట్టరాని విషముల పాముఁ దెచ్చి తలకిందఁ

బెట్టుకొన్నా నది మందపిలి వుండీనా

వెట్టసంసార మిది వేంకటేశుఁ గొలువని

వట్టిమనుజుల పెడవాడఁ బెట్టుఁ గాక ॥గడ్డపార॥

paTTarAni vishamula pAmu dechchi talakiMda

beTTukonnA nadi maMdapili vuMDInA

veTTasaMsAra midi vEMkaTESu goluvani

vaTTimanujula peDavADa beTTu gAka          ॥gaDDapAra॥

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Word-by-Word Meaning:

Telugu phrase	English meaning
పట్టరాని	uncontrollable
విషముల	full of poison
పాముఁ దెచ్చి	bringing a snake
తలకిందఁ బెట్టుకొన్నా	placing it under your head (like a pillow)
నది మందపిలి వుండీనా	will it stay calmly like a gentle cushion?
వెట్ట సంసార మిది	this seemingly warm and comforting worldly life
వేంకటేశుఁ గొలువని	one who does not worship Venkatesha
వట్టిమనుజుల	hollow, fruitless men
పెడవాడఁ బెట్టుఁ గాక	will be discarded, cast aside

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Literal English Translation:

“If you bring a venomous and uncontrollable snake
and place it under your head like a pillow —
will it behave like a soft, gentle cushion? (Of course not.)
This worldly life may seem warm and pleasant,
but the one who does not worship Venkatesha —
such hollow men will be rejected, cast away.”

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Commentary:

Life is not something we can imagine or define.
It is not good, nor bad.
Not beautiful, nor ugly.
All such judgments are merely our opinions —
distortions born from past memories, ideals, and desires.

 

When we see life just as it is —
without naming it,
without trying to change it —
it reveals itself in its natural state.

 

And in that reality —
there is freshness, a quiet flow, and a living intelligence.
There is no conflict.
No distortion.
There is only pure living.

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In Essence:

You cannot domesticate poison.
You cannot control danger by calling it “comfortable.”
Without clarity, devotion, and surrender, even the comforts of life become a trap.
Life demands awareness, not assumption.

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Would you like all three stanzas now combined into one sequence with aligned themes?

X-X-The End-X-X

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Critical Observations on Chorus:

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A Critical Observation

 

The world into which we are born —
this life, this movement —
is not separate from us.

We are not dropped into life as outsiders.
We are life. We arise with it.

 

The environment and the individual are interwoven,
but loosely, like shifting sands, or a murmuration of birds.
They move together — not with control, but with subtle coordination.

Any attempt to “shape” life,
to fix it, design it, or bend it to one’s pattern,
is a distortion of that living relationship.

 

It turns movement into architecture,
flow into furniture,
breath into machinery.

That distortion is not just wrong —
it is the very reason why man feels disconnected from the world,
why he feels hungry, alienated, out of place.

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Unity of Truth

 

Jiddu Krishnamurti’s deep point:

“The moment you try to become something, you are in conflict.”
“To observe without distortion is the highest intelligence.”

 

Taoist thought (Tao Te Ching):

“Can you let the world be as it is and still love it?”

 

Annamacharya:

ఆకాశ పాకాశ మరుదైన కూటంబు /

లోకరంజకము తమలోనిసమ్మతము:

This Seeming World of Anarchy

Is a Fantastic Assembly

World of Joy

Is Accepting this Whole-heartedly

 

Bhagavad Gita:

यस्मान्नोद्विजते लोको लोकान्नोद्विजते च य: (12-15)

Those do not Annoy the World

Neither Annoyed by the World

 

मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव || 7-7||

Everything in this Universe

Like a Garland of Beads Strung on a Thread.

Separate Beads.

Kept together

 

 

Unity of Truth

It isn’t the world that needs to change —
it’s the way we see it.

A fundamental shift.
An inner transformation.

And the moment that shift happens,
peace, love, and wisdom arise effortlessly.

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