260 వేదవట్టి యిఁక నేమి వెదకేరు చదివేరు
(vēdavaṭṭi yiṃ̐ka nēmi
vedakēru cadivēru)
తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి.
Introduction
Annamacharya did not write poems merely to offer praise. He emerged as a crusader of Dharma (Truth). His words are never ornamental; they are direct, uncompromising. He unsettles us with piercing questions. One such is: Do you truly know Vishnu? A “yes” or “no” may sound sufficient, yet Annamacharya compels us to pause. Can we, with our present knowledge and conditioning, resist the urge to affirm or deny, and simply remain in a state of calm inquiry? In that stillness, the answer is not constructed by us — it is revealed by the Lord himself, if only we listen.
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అధ్యాత్మ సంకీర్తన
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Philosophical
Poem
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రేకు: 292-6 సంపుటము: 3-535
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Copper Plate: 292-6 Vol: 3-535
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వేదవట్టి యిఁక నేమి వెదకేరు చదివేరు
వేదాంతవేద్యుఁడైన విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా ॥పల్లవి॥ తోలె నదె గరుడనిఁ దొడఁగి బాణునిమీఁద
వాలెను కంసునిమీఁద వడి నెగసి
కేలుచాఁచి చక్రమునఁ గెడపె శిశుపాలుని
వేలుపులరాయఁడైన విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా ॥వేద॥ తొక్కెను బలీంద్రునిఁ దొల్లి పాతాళానఁ గుంగ
మొక్కలాన జలధమ్ముమొనకుఁ దెచ్చె
పక్కన బ్రహ్మాండము పగులించెఁ బెనువేల
వెక్కసపుదైవమైన విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా ॥వేద॥ భేదించె రావణాది భీకరదైత్యుల నెల్ల
నాదించె శంఖమున నున్నతజయము
సేదదేర నిపుడును శ్రీవేంకటాద్రిమీఁద
వీదివీది మెరసేటి విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా ॥వేద॥
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vēdavaṭṭi yiṃ̐ka
nēmi vedakēru cadivēru
vēdāṃtavēdyuṃ̐ḍaina
viṣṇuni ne\raṃ̐garā ॥pallavi॥ tōle nade garuḍaniṃ̐
doḍaṃ̐gi bāṇunimīṃ̐da
vālenu kaṃsunimīṃ̐da
vaḍi negasi
kēlucāṃ̐ci
cakramunaṃ̐ geḍape śiśupāluni
vēlupularāyaṃ̐ḍaina
viṣṇuni ne\raṃ̐garā ॥vēda॥ tokkenu balīṃdruniṃ̐
dolli pātāḻānaṃ̐ guṃga
mokkalāna
jaladhammumonakuṃ̐ decce
pakkana brahmāṃḍamu
paguliṃceṃ̐ benuvēla
vekkasapudaivamaina
viṣṇuni ne\raṃ̐garā ॥vēda॥ bhēdiṃce rāvaṇādi
bhīkaradaityula nella
nādiṃce śaṃkhamuna
nunnatajayamu
sēdadēra nipuḍunu
śrīvēṃkaṭādrimīṃ̐da
vīdivīdi merasēṭi viṣṇuni ne\raṃ̐garā ॥vēda॥
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Details and Discussions:
Chorus (Pallavi):
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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వేదవట్టి యిఁక నేమి వెదకేరు చదివేరు
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O People! Why are your propagating the knowledge of the
Vedas and searching everywhere?
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వేదాంతవేద్యుఁడైన విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా
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(The word “Vedantam” means end of the knowledge of this
world – that is the boundary after which the temporal knowledge stops)
O People! Don’t you know VISHNU the Lord of knowledge
beyond the temporal world |
Literal Meaning:
“O people! By giving discourses on the Vedas, by
reading and searching — what exactly are you seeking? Do you not know Vishnu,
the One who is the Lord beyond all temporal knowledge?”
Implied Meaning:
Why are you searching for God through endless
study and rituals? All this effort is unnecessary. What is the use of searching
for the Divine, when He is already present, immediately visible?
Interpretative Notes:
Direct Rebuke: This is Annamacharya’s thunderous awakening call. He seizes man and shakes him — “Wake up and see!” The Vedas, scriptures, debates — these are only milestones. But the true destination is Vishnu. If you stop at the milestones, the journey itself is wasted.
The Core Question: “Do you know Vishnu?” — this is Annamacharya’s piercing question. If the answer is “No,” then all reading, all Vedas, all philosophies are futile. Our habit is to cling only to what comes with ready-made answers. What has no answer, we shelve without pause. But in truth, both Yes and No belong only to the same domain of knowable, cognisable & limited knowledge. To remain un-enticed by either “yes or no”, to stand still in silence without demanding an answer — that is true discipline. That is meditation.
The Boat Parable: A Brahmin once travelling in a boat. He asked the boatman, “Do you know the Vedas?” “No,” replied the boatman. “Then your life is wasted,” declared the Brahmin. Soon, the boat sprang a leak and water rushed in. The boatman asked, “Can you swim?” “No,” replied the Brahmin. The boatman jumped into the river and saved himself. The Brahmin drowned.
Our life is a leaking boat. Our proud knowledge is like the Brahmin’s arrogance. And the nature of the surrounding waters is like Vishnu Himself — the very power that can save is also the power that drowns.
Empty Defences: Later stanzas name mighty asuras — Kamsa, Shishupala, Ravana. They believed their strength to be their armour, but it did not save them. Likewise, the fortresses we build of books, rituals, and scholarship cannot protect us.
The Illusion of the Future: We spend our lives preparing for the
next moment, the next day, the next year, the next birth. Relationships,
wealth, merit — all are constructions of imagination about the future. Yet life
always moves at the edge of danger. However much we prepare, something always
remains uncertain.
The Unlit Lamp: The Vedas and Vedanta are like
lamp-posts. But they are not self-luminous. They do not shine by themselves.
The only flame that illumines is Vishnu, glowing in the Self. Without Him, the
Vedas remain mere words.
O people! Know the essence of Vishnu. He
is subtler than what can be affirmed or denied. He pervades all. Without Him,
we are not; yet without us, He still is. He is beyond the manifest and the
unmanifest. He cannot be reached through effort or accumulation, but only
through stillness of mind. If you truly realize this, would you continue
with all these outward pursuits?
First
Stanza:
తోలె నదె గరుడనిఁ దొడఁగి బాణునిమీఁద
వాలెను కంసునిమీఁద వడి నెగసి
కేలుచాఁచి చక్రమునఁ గెడపె శిశుపాలుని
వేలుపులరాయఁడైన విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా ॥వేద॥
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Telugu phrase
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Meaning in English
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తోలె నదె గరుడనిఁ దొడఁగి
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Quickly mounted on Garuda
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బాణునిమీఁద వాలెను
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Struck down mighty Banasura
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కంసునిమీఁద వడి నెగసి
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Fiercely rose against Kamsa and destroyed him
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కేలుచాఁచి చక్రమునఁ గెడపె శిశుపాలుని
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Playfully cast the Sudarshana Chakra and felled
Shishupala
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వేలుపులరాయఁడైన విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా
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O people! Don’t you know Vishnu, the Lord of Lords?
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Literal Meaning;
Mounted on Garuda, Vishnu struck down
Banasura, rose in fury to slay Kamsa, and with playful ease cast His Sudarshana
Chakra to destroy Shishupala. Don’t you know this Vishnu, the God of the Gods?
Interpretative Notes:
All these great powers, Banasura, Kamsa, Shishupala once thought unshakable, fell in moments. Their strength blinded them to take on the truth. Annamacharya is not merely recounting stories. He is asking: When even the mightiest powers collapse before the Lord, what security do you cling to? Be it physical power, wealth, status, or bookish pride — all are facades.
Now consider this Pallavi (of another poem): విజాతులన్నియు వృథా వృథా / అజామిళా దుల కది యేజాతి ॥పల్లవి॥ This is stating that opposing truth is a vain effort. The demonic actions of the above characters are simply to oppose the truth.
As mentioned in the commentary Yes or No
belong to the limited knowledge/understanding. Therefore, NO by these demonic
characters end in their fall.
Second Stanza:
తొక్కెను బలీంద్రునిఁ దొల్లి పాతాళానఁ గుంగ
మొక్కలాన జలధమ్ముమొనకుఁ దెచ్చె
పక్కన బ్రహ్మాండము పగులించెఁ బెనువేల
వెక్కసపుదైవమైన విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా ॥వేద॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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తొక్కెను బలీంద్రునిఁ దొల్లి పాతాళానఁ గుంగ
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In Vamana Avatar, Lord has pushed Bali Chakravarti to PATALA,
the seventh world below earth
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మొక్కలాన జలధమ్ముమొనకుఁ దెచ్చె
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In Varaha Avatar, fought with foolish Hiranyaksha, yet
balanced the earth to stay afloat.
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పక్కన బ్రహ్మాండము పగులించెఁ బెనువేల
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Yet, the same time he decimated thousands of galaxies.
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వెక్కసపుదైవమైన విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా
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The one appearing in millions of forms, don’t you know
VISHNU?
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Literal Meaning:
Vishnu, in the form of Vāmana, pressed down Emperor Bali into Pātāla, the
nether world. As Varāha, He slew the foolish Hiranyakṣa in the ocean and lifted
the Earth upon His tusks to keep it afloat. At the same time, He shattered
countless universes. The one who appears in millions of forms — do you not know
that, Vishnu?
Interpretative
notes:
Bali is remembered as a noble and generous emperor. Yet even he was not spared. Why? Because his valour and vast conquests made him believe he could momentarily outwit the Lord, even donate Him. In that very thought lay his downfall. His wife Vindhyāvali saw this clearly, rebuking him and all rulers who forget:
श्लोकः क्रीडार्थमात्मन इदं
त्रिजगत्कृतं ते
स्वाम्यं तु तत्र कुधियोऽपर ईश कुर्वुः ।
कर्तुः प्रभोस्तव किमस्यत आवहन्ति
त्यक्ताह्रियस्त्वदवरोपितकर्तृवादाः ॥
She says — O Lord! You created these worlds for the play of Your divine sport. Yet the deluded ones imagine themselves to be the rulers of this universe (she even includes her own husband, King Bali, in this rebuke). When You alone are the Creator, Sustainer, and Dissolver of the worlds, the arrogant—blinded by Your māyā—shamelessly assume they are the doers. What, then, can such people truly offer You?
Annamacharya and Vindhyāvali echo the same truth: When we don’t understand, we are expected to be calm and bearing. When man forgets his place, mistaking God’s work for his own, arrogance overtakes wisdom.
The second and third lines remind us that Vishnu is both sustainer and destroyer. He saves the Earth as Varāha, yet He also dissolves universes. His ways are beyond speculation. To predict, to rationalize His acts is foolish.
Thus, the fourth line strikes: “Do you
not know Vishnu, the One who appears in countless forms?” It is not a
question of stories but of vision. To recognize Him is to see through illusion
— to stop being deceived by power, action, or conformity.
Third Stanza:
భేదించె రావణాది భీకరదైత్యుల నెల్ల
నాదించె శంఖమున నున్నతజయము
సేదదేర నిపుడును శ్రీవేంకటాద్రిమీఁద
వీదివీది మెరసేటి విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా ॥వేద॥
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Telugu phrase
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Meaning
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భేదించె రావణాది భీకర దైత్యుల నెల్ల
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He
destroyed the entire clan of terrifying demons such as Ravana.
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నాదించె శంఖమున నున్నత జయము
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He
sounded his conch, a sign of supreme victory.
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సేదదేర నిపుడును శ్రీవేంకటాద్రిమీఁద
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Now
he is resting peacefully on the sacred Tirumala hill.
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వీది వీది మెరసేటి విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా
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Can
you truly know (recognize) this Vishnu, who shines magnificently in every
street?
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Plain Prose Meaning:
Vishnu destroyed the terrible demons like Ravana.
He blew the conch that proclaimed his eternal victory. Having completed those
cosmic battles, he now resides in serene repose upon the sacred hill of
Venkata. Do you recognize this Vishnu, who appears resplendent in every street?
Interpretative
notes:
The Conch of Victory: Here, the shankha (conch) blast is not a mere war cry. Annamacharya is saying that Vishnu’s victory is not temporary. It is the eternal resonance of truth and righteousness, reverberating across time.
Rest on Tirumala: After cosmic battles and acts of protection, that
Supreme Vishnu now abides on Tirumala — close to the people, accessible
to all. He is near to the pilgrims, intimate to the hearts of the devotees.
Shining in Every Street: The phrase “వీది
వీది మెరసేటి” “veedi veedi meraseti” is an invitation. Vishnu is not confined to
Tirumala alone. He shines in every street, every home, every heart. One can
realize him not only in distant pilgrimage, but in the very fabric of daily
life — within one’s own household, within one’s own inner being.
The Refrain – “Do you recognize Vishnu?” (విష్ణుని నెఱఁగరా?) As in earlier stanzas, Annamacharya once again challenges: Do you recognize Vishnu around you? This knowing is not gained through hymns, scriptures, rituals, or penances. It requires eyes that can pierce the palaces of illusion and behold truth directly. It is available to everyone, but it demands discipline even amidst the ordinary flow of life.
The Message of this Poem
When we
realize that knowing the Lord is beyond human effort, the only action left is
surrender. His splendour, which drenches the streets, the millions of beings,
the worlds and the galaxies, is not to be grasped through hypothetical action
or imagination, but through direct, lived experience.
X-X-The
END-X-X
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