TALLAPAKA ANNAMACHARYULU
253 తానేడో మనసేడో తత్తరము లవి యేడో
(tAnEDO
manasEDO tattaramu lavi yEDO)
తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి.
Introduction
Annamacharya naturally envisioned the rare order within this
chaotic world and depicted it as if it were happening before our very eyes. He
emphasized the necessity for humans to continue their actions with devotion and
dedication, as this is more essential than simply seeking divine grace.
Analysis of the Kirtana’s aesthetic experience:
This kirtana may primarily be regarded as a work of dhvani kavya (poetry of suggestion). For nowhere in it is the meaning stated directly—rather, everything is conveyed through subtle resonance. Throughout the work, one senses an undercurrent of unspoken resonance.
If we take the abiding sentiment (sthāyibhāva) here to be vairāgya (detachment), then the principal rasa of this work is revealed as śānta rasa (the aesthetic mood of serenity). The element of śṛṅgāra (love) is present only as an anga-rasa (subsidiary sentiment), adding touches of beauty, wonder, and even a sense of awe.
Because the meaning of such poetry is exceedingly subtle and difficult to grasp, it must be approached like a “ripe coconut”—hard to penetrate from outside, but yielding rich sweetness to those who can reach within.
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శృంగార సంకీర్తన |
Romantic Poem |
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రేకు: 1021-1 సంపుటము: 20-121 |
Copper
Plate: 1021-1
Volume: 20-121 |
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తానేడో
మనసేడో తత్తరము లవి యేడో పానిపట్టి
ఇటువంటి భ్రమ యింత గలదా ॥పల్లవి॥ సుదతి
విభునిమోము చూచె పరాకున అదనఁ గప్రపుభర
ణద్దమంటాఁ జూచీనే పదకము
నడుమఁ బైపైఁ బెట్టి మొలనూలు కదిసి
హారమంటాఁ గటుకొనెఁ జూడవే ॥తానే॥ యేఁటవెట్టి
పతితోడ మాటలాడి వేగిరాన గాఁటపుటందెలు
తనకరములఁ బెట్టీనే పాటియైనవుంగరాలు
పాదపువేళ్ళఁ బెట్టి యీటుగా
మట్టెలు వేళ్ళ నిదియేల పెట్టీనే॥తానే॥ కామిని
శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁ గదిసేటి వేడుకను వేమరు
మాణిక్యములు విడెమంటా నిచ్చీనే ఆమని రతిఁ
దనిసి అంతలో నన్నీఁదెలిసి సామజగమన ఇన్నీఁ జక్కఁ జేసుకొనెనే ॥తానే॥ |
tAnEDO manasEDO tattaramu lavi yEDO pAnipaTTi iTuvaMTi bhrama yiMta galadA ॥pallavi॥ sudati vibhunimOmu chUche parAkuna adana gaprapubhara NaddamaMTA jUchInE padakamu naDuma baipai beTTi molanUlu kadisi hAramaMTA gaTukone jUDavE ॥tAnE॥ yETaveTTi patitODa mATalADi vEgirAna gATapuTaMdelu tanakaramula beTTInE pATiyainavuMgarAlu pAdapuvELLa beTTi yITugA maTTelu vELLa nidiyEla peTTInE ॥tAnE॥ kAmini SrIvEMkaTESu gadisETi vEDukanu vEmaru mANikyamulu viDemaMTA nichchInE Amani rati danisi aMtalO nannIdelisi sAmajagamana innI jakka jEsukonenE ॥tAnE॥ |
Details and Discussions:
Chorus (Pallavi):
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Telugu
Phrase |
Meaning |
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తానేడో |
Where is
she? (indicating she does not know where she stands) |
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మనసేడో |
Where is
the mind gone. (where is it circling?) |
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తత్తరము
లవి యేడో |
“Whence
this flurry, this perplexity?” |
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పానిపట్టి |
“By her own
deliberate acts/efforts.” |
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ఇటువంటి
|
This type |
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భ్రమ |
illusion |
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యింత గలదా |
“How has it
grown so much?” |
Literal Meaning:
Romantic / Literal Layer:
(At the surface, the scene is intimate and tender. A young woman, in a state of sudden frenzy, prepares herself to meet her beloved. Perhaps she has received a late, unexpected message of his arrival. She is doing her best to adorn herself, yet her haste reveals more than her actions: it reveals her heart.) The observer, standing close by, seems to know her inner turbulence well. He wonders:
“Where
is she? Where has her mind gone?”
“From where did all this confusion, this whirlwind of feelings arise?”
The
word పానిపట్టి (pānipaṭṭi)
here signifies that she is entirely seized, overtaken by love’s feverish
urgency. To the observer, her state borders on a sweet delusion — the kind of
frenzy only deep love can produce.
Philosophical / Devotional Layer
Beneath
this romantic picture lies Annamacharya’s deeper intent. The young woman is
none other than the devotee — or in the poet’s vision, himself imagining as
young lady (later will be referred as Alamelumanga) awaiting the Lord. The
beloved is Venkateswara.
The poet marvels at the devotee’s own mind:
“What has happened to her? Her mind is unsettled, agitated, utterly restless.”
“What tricks does the mind play by its own conscious acts? Look — the more it prepares, the deeper the illusion grows.”
Here, illusion (భ్రమ) points to the assumptions or deliberate actions (= పానిపట్టి (pānipaṭṭi) we make in trying to “invite” God into our inner house — this body. We busy ourselves with preparations, with rituals, with imagined readiness. But Annamacharya gently questions:
What tool do we really have to know God? None, except keeping the conscience pure.
Can we erase the errors of the past by acts of will? No.
Then why the frantic bustle? Why the agitation?
Thus, the
poet’s voice urges silence: to remain where one is, without feverish
preparation. The very impulse to “do something” to reach God is itself the
disturbance.
Summary
The Pallavi introduces the poem’s central paradox: the heart’s frenzy when anticipating union, whether with the human beloved or with God. At one level, it is a relatable portrait of love’s anxiety; at another, it is a critique of our restless efforts to “bring” God nearby.
Annamacharya
turns the mirror back on us — reminding that the more we prepare, the farther
we slip into illusion. True readiness lies not in anxious action but in
stillness, in a conscience cleansed of past entanglements.
First Stanza:
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Meaning in
English |
|
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సుదతి విభునిమోము చూచె పరాకున |
The young lady, by chance, beheld the Lord’s face. |
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అదనఁ గప్రపుభర ణద్దమంటాఁ జూచీనే |
(Here “కప్రపుభరణ” – the lady’s mind is
likened to a vessel of camphor, quick to ignite, suggesting volatility of her
emotions.) She saw His reflection in the mirror in an instant. |
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పదకము నడుమఁ బైపైఁ బెట్టి మొలనూలు |
In her flurry, she misplaced the golden pendant on waist; and the
waist ornament. |
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కదిసి హారమంటాఁ గటుకొనెఁ జూడవే |
She took and adorned it as necklace. |
Plain Prose Meaning:
As the maiden stood before the mirror adorning herself, she suddenly caught a glimpse of the Lord’s face reflected back. Overcome with excitement, she lost awareness of her actions. In that confusion, the ornament meant for her waist found its way around her neck, worn as a necklace instead. Her emotions, like camphor quick to catch fire, flared up in an instant—ready to seize upon anything that resembled her beloved.
Philosophical / Devotional Meaning
This
incident is not simply a romantic image; it symbolizes the restless state of
the devotee.
Just
as the maiden mistakes and misplaces ornaments in her eagerness, spiritual
aspirants too rush in their pursuit of the Lord.
In
their anxiety to “see” Him, they begin to imagine the Lord even in fleeting
mental reflections.
In
agitation, they misplace priorities, mistaking shadows for reality, outward
glimpses for true vision.
The
waist-ornament adorning the neck becomes a metaphor for this misdirected
preparation—external actions rearranged without the stability of inner
stillness.
The camphor vessel (కప్రపుభరణ) becomes a striking image of the human mind—flammable, unstable, quick to flare up with desire and anticipation.
As Annamacharya emphasizes elsewhere, the divine cannot be perceived in a restless, anxious, “I must see” state. Restlessness breeds error, and illusions are mistaken for darshan. True vision requires calmness and clarity, not frenzy.
Interpretative notes:
At the philosophical level, the condition of the
maiden can be compared to Milton’s oxymoron “darkness visible” in Paradise
Lost. The phrase jolts the reader into perceiving reality differently.
Likewise, Annamacharya employs such paradoxical imagery—where eagerness to see
the Lord actually obscures true vision. His strategy forces the seeker of truth
to pause, and re-examine the very state of his seeking.
Second Stanza:
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పదబంధం (Phrase) |
అర్థం (Telugu) |
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యేఁటవెట్టి
పతితోడ మాటలాడి వేగిరాన |
(యేఁట = goat, sheep; యేఁటవెట్టి = move
like goat / sheep) With
urgency driving her to talk to lover |
|
గాఁటపుటందెలు
తనకరములఁ బెట్టీనే |
(గాఁటపు = కాఁటపు =
mischievous; అందెలు = a sort of anklets, peculiarly
curved, worn by women) The maid in her eagerness had put the anklets on her hands. |
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పాటియైనవుంగరాలు
పాదపువేళ్ళఁ బెట్టి |
She had put
the suitable rings (for hands) on her toes. |
|
యీటుగా
మట్టెలు వేళ్ళ నిదియేల పెట్టీనే |
(యీటు = useless; మట్టెలు = normally a
silver ring worn on the toes) Why did she
put silver rings meant for toes on her fingers? Useless venture. |
Plain Prose Meaning: (Annamacharya
deepening the troubles faced by the lover. It continues the comical and tender
portrayal of a woman in a state of feverish anticipation, using her action to
reflect her inner turmoil.).
Romantic/Literal
Layer
With a restless, sheepish fervour, driven by an urgent desire to speak with her beloved, her mind worked mischievously on her. In her haste, she put her beautiful anklets on her hands like bracelets. She then placed the proper rings for her fingers on her toes, and the silver rings meant for her toes on her fingers. "Why did she do this useless exercise?" the narrator asks, bewildered by her complete and utter confusion.
This layer showcases how love can completely overwhelm a person, causing them to act in ways that defy all logic and order. The series of mixed-up ornaments serves as a powerful, visual metaphor for her inner disarray.
Philosophical / Devotional Meaning:
The inversion of ornaments here is more than a playful accident; it is a metaphor for the spiritual aspirant’s misplaced priorities in the frenzy of devotion. Just as the maiden, in her eagerness, wears anklets on her wrists and rings on her toes, so too seekers often mistake means for ends—ritual for essence, symbol for substance, shadow for reality.
This is not merely a personal lapse; it mirrors the wider human condition. The world itself, in its restlessness, confuses values—while many lack the most basic needs, human effort and ingenuity are spent on the trivial and the ornate. The order of Truth exists beyond this confusion, but it is not captured by restless thought nor seized by feverish effort. It reveals itself only when agitation ceases.
Annamacharya is, in effect, painting the inner landscape of this confused state.
Bhagavad Gītā 2.52: “When your intellect crosses the quagmire of
delusion, then you shall attain indifference to what has been heard and what is
yet to be heard.” Here too, only when the fog of misplaced perception
clears does true vision emerge.
Taoism (Dao De Jing, Ch. 64): “Rushing into action, you fail. Trying to grasp, you lose.” Laozi echoes the same truth—haste and craving only entangle.
Thus,
through the maiden’s confusion, Annamacharya drives the nail directly into the
human mind: restlessness breeds error, while serenity alone opens the way to
Truth.
Third
Stanza:
|
Telugu Phrase |
Meaning |
|
కామిని
శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁ గదిసేటి వేడుకను |
The young lady imagining the festivity of
joining with Lord |
|
వేమరు
మాణిక్యములు విడెమంటా నిచ్చీనే |
Offered rubies as instead of beetle leaf,
assuming she is actually offering beetle leaf (to consume) |
|
ఆమని రతిఁ
దనిసి అంతలో నన్నీఁదెలిసి |
After joining the Lord, the dissatisfaction
diapered. she having understood here (follies) |
|
సామజగమన
ఇన్నీఁ జక్కఁ జేసుకొనెనే |
That beauty (Alamelumanga) has corrected her
mind. (actually became orderly) |
Plain Prose Meaning: (The maiden, still overwhelmed by the fervour of devotion, imagines the grand festivity of union with Lord Venkatesha.)
Romantic/Literal
Meaning
In
that state of rapture, she forgets herself and, instead of offering betel
leaves, presents rubies to the Lord—again and again.
Yet, the Lord, knowing her state, accepts her mistake with compassion.
In the union that follows, all her dissatisfaction and confusion dissolve.
At that very moment, her mind becomes జక్కఁ జేసుకొనెనే (jakkajēsukonene)—naturally
ordered, tranquil, at peace.
Philosophical
Meaning
Her mind had reached the peak of turbulence. She repeatedly gave rubies in place of betel leaves. This was not a trivial lapse—it is a stark metaphor of human reality.
Placing pomp in the place of simplicity, deception in the place of necessity, shadow in the place of truth—this is the condition of the human mind. This is our condition, the emblem of our fundamental inner disarray.
And yet, the Lord does not reject her. For in devotion, not the ritual but the purity of heart that matters most. In the moment of union with the Divine, all her inner chaos vanishes.
“సామజగమన ఇన్నీఁ జక్కఁ జేసుకొనెనే” (Sāmajagamana inni jakkajēsukonene) — the very mind that had made mistakes, that same mind suddenly set itself right. It discovered within itself a natural order. Very few in human history reached such heights. This is the glimpse of Annamacharya’s primal vision of truth.
The striking feature here is the suddenness of this transformation. In an instant, she moved from turmoil to serenity. The maiden’s mind became the Lord’s mind; her individual consciousness merged into the Universal. One may say: her mind shifted from the personal to the cosmic. In that state alone, the mind has the strength to transform itself. In every other condition, it remains caught in trivialities, restless and entangled like the ordinary.
In
Hindu philosophy, explicit references to the mind moving from disorder to natural
order are rare. But here, Annamacharya expresses it directly, with
startling originality.
Centuries
later, in the 20th century, Jiddu Krishnamurti would echo the same truth: true
order does not come by discipline or regulation; it arises naturally when
confusion subsides.
Interpretative notes:
The act of offering rubies in place of betel leaves is a symbol of the human mind’s confusion and disorder. Yet, the Lord accepted her — a striking example of divine compassion.
The sudden transformation from turmoil to natural order is the very heart of this song. It continues to inspire and uplift people for centuries to come.
The young
maiden, at first a personal figure, suddenly becomes the embodiment of the
universal human mind. Annamacharya, who gave us this vision, remains ever
memorable.
This keertana proves that bhakti (meditation, devotion) is not an empty pursuit. On the path of meditation, if one gets entangled in rituals and ceremonies, confusion is inevitable. But, as shown by the maiden in this poem, when one sets aside external distractions and follows devotion with a whole heart, it leads to the well-being of humanity.
The poems
of Annamacharya reveal the immense possibilities of the human mind. An orderly
mind is not a goal to be achieved; it is our natural state. Bhakti (or
meditation) is simply the removal of the unnatural. When this truth is
realized, infinite possibilities unfold. Everything else is merely time spent
within our own self-created world, watching its consequences play out.
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