265 paramātma ninnu golci bradikēmu (పరమాత్మ నిన్ను గొల్చి బ్రదికేము)

   TALLAPAKA ANNAMACHARYULU

265  పరమాత్మ నిన్ను గొల్చి బ్రదికేము

(paramātma ninnu golci bradikēmu)

తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి.

Introduction 

Time and again, Annamacharya poured into his keertanas the truths born of his own lived experience. Each one unveils, from a fresh angle, some hidden aspect of human nature. What makes him unique is that, even as he soared to the loftiest spiritual heights, he did not overlook the tiniest details—he observed them with piercing subtlety. His insights into the society of his time, though voiced five hundred years ago, still ring true today; with confidence, we may even say they belong to eternity. 

This keertana tickles us with playful humour, yet at the same time confronts us with a reality we cannot deny. And within the ocean of thousands of his songs, each one shines forth as wondrous, rare, and unmatched—such is the distinctive genius of Annamacharya. 

In the times to come, these immortal poems will continue to bear witness to truth and affirm the greatness of the legendary Annamacharya. 

Poetic Features in this Composition:

In this keertana, Annamacharya fuses meaning (social critique + devotional surrender) and sound (rhyme, repetition, alliteration), each reinforcing the other with strength. 

Distinctiveness of the Keertana

Annamacharya was not merely writing verses;
Through sound, rhythm, and rhyme, he drove meaning straight into the listener’s heart.
The repeated “ḍu / ḍa / ḍu” sounds lend the song gravity,
while phrases like rēru / nēru / buḍibuḍi create a lively rhythmic pulse. 

Here, he presents people’s restless curiosity with a blend of humour and satire, and through these poetic devices, he conveys not just ritualistic instruction but a deep inner vision that pierces directly into the mind. 

అధ్యాత్మ​ కీర్తన	Philosophical Poem
రేకు: 238-5 సంపుటము: 3-220	Copper Plate: 238-5 Vol: 3-220
పరమాత్మ నిన్ను గొల్చి బ్రదికేము విరసపు జాలిఁ జిక్కి వెతఁబడ నోపము ॥పల్లవి॥   మగఁడు విడిచినా మామ విడువనియట్లు నగి నామనసు రోసినా లోకులు మానరు తగిలేరు పొగిలేరు దైన్యమే చూపేరు మొగమోటలను నేను మోసపోవనోపను ॥పర॥   పొసఁగ దేవుఁడిచ్చినా పూజరి వరమీఁడు విసిగి నే విడిచినా విడువరు లోకులు కొసరేరు ముసరేరు కోరిక దీర్చుమనేరు పసలేని పనులకు బడల నేనోపను    ॥పర॥   నుడుగులు దప్పినా నోముఫల మిచ్చినట్టు కడఁగి వేఁడుకొన్నాఁ గానిమ్మనరు లోకులు తడవేరు తగిలేరు తామే శ్రీవేంకటేశ బుడిబుడి సంగాతాలఁ బొరల నేనోపను ॥పర॥	paramātma ninnu golci bradikēmu virasapu jāliṃ̐ jikki vetaṃ̐baḍa nōpamu ॥pallavi॥   magaṃ̐ḍu viḍicinā māma viḍuvaniyaṭlu nagi nāmanasu rōsinā lōkulu mānaru tagilēru pogilēru dainyamē cūpēru mogamōṭalanu nēnu mōsapōvanōpanu ॥para॥   posaṃ̐ga dēvuṃ̐ḍiccinā pūjari varamīṃ̐ḍu visigi nē viḍicinā viḍuvaru lōkulu kosarēru musarēru kōrika dīrcumanēru pasalēni panulaku baḍala nēnōpanu ॥para॥   nuḍugulu dappinā nōmuphala miccinaṭṭu kaḍaṃ̐gi vēṃ̐ḍukonnāṃ̐ gānimmanaru lōkulu taḍavēru tagilēru tāmē śrīvēṃkaṭēśa buḍibuḍi saṃgātālaṃ̐ borala nēnōpanu ॥para॥

Details and Discussions:

Chorus (Pallavi):

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పరమాత్మ నిన్ను గొల్చి బ్రదికేము

విరసపు జాలిఁ జిక్కి వెతఁబడ నోపము ॥పల్లవి॥

paramātma ninnu golci bradikēmu

virasapu jāliṃ̐ jikki vetaṃ̐baḍa nōpamu ॥pallavi॥ 

Telugu Phrase	Meaning
పరమాత్మ నిన్ను గొల్చి బ్రదికేము	O Paramatma! We live to stay in your service.  .
విరసపు జాలిఁ జిక్కి వెతఁబడ నోపము	Virasapu jaali = self-pity. We avoid self-pity not to get caught in their self-indulgent schemes and petty struggles (like Ordinary people), accumulate fatigue and suffering.

Literal Meaning:

O Paramatma! We live through your service. We do not let self-pity mislead us into futile pursuits.

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Interpretative Notes: 

Life vs. Living

Jeevanamu (LIVING) = being fully present and alive, where body, breath, and awareness meet in immediacy.

Jeevitam (LIFE) = a shadow of living, built through planning, projection, and concepts of “how life should be.” 

 “బ్రదికేము (Bradikemu)” = Jeevanamu (LIVING)

Points to a state of constant renewal, where the self transforms moment by moment in alignment with the unmanifest, ever-renewing truth. 

Such Living dissolves the grip of past experiences and avoids rigid projection into the future. 

The Thin Border: If we extend this insight, there is only a thin veil between life and death. On one side lies death; on the other side lies Living. Saints like Tyagaraja, Annamacharya, and Ramadasu have described this veil as a “curtain (తెర)” that separates the temporal from the eternal. 

Parallel with Matthew 16:24–26 Jesus said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

• Jesus distinguishes between clinging to life (Jeevitam) and surrendering it in order to find true Living (Jeevanamu).
• True Living is found in surrender, renewal, and freedom from the burden of self.
• This resonates deeply with Annamacharya’s “బ్రదికేము.”

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Now let us concentrate on the second line: విరసపు జాలిఁ జిక్కి వెతఁబడ నోపము 

Annamacharya refers many times in his kīrtanas to the self-pity. We human beings harbours it unknowingly. The important point to understand here is that this self-pity does not appear directly. It always works from the side, quietly nudging us, diverting us. Because of that, we usually cannot recognize its presence. It has an intimate connection with the notions of protection and security. 

The phrase “bradikēmu” (“we live…”) mentioned above suggests a condition of life that is caught in doubts, a life weighed down by the lack of security and protection. Such a life is never desirable — everyone wants their life to move smoothly, comfortably.

Now consider René Magritte’s painting The Territory. In that picture, we see a landmass appearing to float in the air. From below and around the sides, layers of cloud seem to cover it, enclosing it. In the same way, our mind too is enclosed, wrapped up by the concerns of protection and security, and thus confined like an island.

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First Stanza:

మగఁడు విడిచినా మామ విడువనియట్లు

నగి నామనసు రోసినా లోకులు మానరు

తగిలేరు పొగిలేరు దైన్యమే చూపేరు

మొగమోటలను నేను మోసపోవనోపను          ॥పర॥

 

magaṃ̐ḍu viḍicinā māma viḍuvaniyaṭlu

nagi nāmanasu rōsinā lōkulu mānaru

tagilēru pogilēru dainyamē cūpēru

mogamōṭalanu nēnu mōsapōvanōpanu ॥para॥              

Telugu Phrase	Meaning
మగఁడు విడిచినా మామ విడువనియట్లు	Even if my husband leaves me, my father-in-law does not let go.
నగి నామనసు రోసినా లోకులు మానరు	Even if I laugh it off and let my mind rise above, the world does not stop criticizing me.
తగిలేరు పొగిలేరు దైన్యమే చూపేరు	They cling to me, expose my weaknesses, show pity or scorn, and keep pricking me.
మొగమోటలను నేను మోసపోవనోపను	Yet, I will not be deceived by their words, nor lose myself in their expectations.

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Literal Meaning:

(Annamacharya composed this poem while envisioning himself as a woman.) “Even if a husband abandons his claim, the meddling father-in-law will not let go. In the same way, though I may resolve to renounce something, the world clings to me still seeing me as before, exposing my frailties, needlessly mocking and pricking me at every turn. Yet, O Lord! I plead that I may not be deceived by such words, nor ensnared by the false shame they try to impose. I shall not waver from Your remembrance.” 

For truly, no seeker ever became a philosopher by bowing to the world’s chatter. Only by standing steady through its taunts and trials does one arrive at the vision of Truth.

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Interpretative Notes: 

“తగిలేరు పొగిలేరు దైన్యమే చూపేరు” shows Annamacharya’s sharp observation of human society: Even if one wishes to change, society won’t let them go. It keeps poking at weaknesses, forcing them back into the old frame. Here the fight is not with actions, but with others’ perceptions and words.

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Parallels with Magritte’s The Fanatics

The painting shows:

A raging flame rising upward.

An isolated black bird hovering above, seemingly trying to drop something (like stones) to quell the fire.

A dark, ominous background that emphasizes the impossibility of the task.

Interpretive Link:

The flames = the cruel words, criticisms, and piercing glances of society.

The lonely bird = the individual human, desperately attempting to fight or douse this consuming fire.

The struggle looks noble but nearly impossible—society’s fire of judgment cannot be put out by an individual’s solitary effort. 

Just as Magritte conveys the futility of one bird against an overwhelming blaze, Annamacharya conveys that the soul cannot resist worldly ridicule alone. Hence his prayer: not to be trapped in the fire of social crowd, but to stay turned toward God.

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Second Stanza:

పొసఁగ దేవుఁడిచ్చినా పూజరి వరమీఁడు

విసిగి నే విడిచినా విడువరు లోకులు

కొసరేరు ముసరేరు కోరిక దీర్చుమనేరు

పసలేని పనులకు బడల నేనోపను      ॥పర॥

posaṃ̐ga dēvuṃ̐ḍiccinā pūjari varamīṃ̐ḍu

visigi nē viḍicinā viḍuvaru lōkulu

kosarēru musarēru kōrika dīrcumanēru

pasalēni panulaku baḍala nēnōpanu ॥para॥

Telugu Phrase	Meaning
పొసఁగ దేవుఁడిచ్చినా పూజరి వరమీఁడు	Even if God grants a boon, the priest obstructs it.
విసిగి నే విడిచినా విడువరు లోకులు	Even if I, exhausted, earnestly seek Him, the world does not let me go.
కొసరేరు ముసరేరు కోరిక దీర్చుమనేరు	They reproach and scold me, asking me to fulfil their own desires.
పసలేని పనులకు బడల నేనోపను	O Divine! I cannot forget You, even while entangled in fruitless, powerless pursuits.

Literal Meaning: 

(Annamacharya is addressing God) — “It is as if, even when You grant Your grace, the priest blocks it. Though I am weary and earnestly call out to You, this world refuses to release me. People constantly prod and trouble me, demanding answers to their own queries. O Lord, even amidst futile and sapless activities, I cannot forget You.”

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Interpretative Notes: 

కొసరేరు ముసరేరు కోరిక దీర్చుమనేరు:  (=“"They repeatedly approaching and crowd over Annamacharya asking answers for their queries about YOU") Annamacharya’s laments that, despite repeatedly instructing people to approach God directly, his words often fall on deaf ears. He refuses to act as a mediator between devotees and the Divine.

 

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Third Stanza:

నుడుగులు దప్పినా నోముఫల మిచ్చినట్టు

కడఁగి వేఁడుకొన్నాఁ గానిమ్మనరు లోకులు

తడవేరు తగిలేరు తామే శ్రీవేంకటేశ

బుడిబుడి సంగాతాలఁ బొరల నేనోపను         ॥పర॥

 

nuḍugulu dappinā nōmuphala miccinaṭṭu

kaḍaṃ̐gi vēṃ̐ḍukonnāṃ̐ gānimmanaru lōkulu

taḍavēru tagilēru tāmē śrīvēṃkaṭēśa

buḍibuḍi saṃgātālaṃ̐ borala nēnōpanu ॥para॥        

Telugu Phrase	Meaning
నుడుగులు దప్పినా నోముఫల మిచ్చినట్టు	A slight misstep might not forfeit the fruit of my vows,
కడఁగి వేఁడుకొన్నాఁ గానిమ్మనరు లోకులు	Yet no matter how earnestly I seek, this world refuses to believe.
తడవేరు తగిలేరు తామే శ్రీవేంకటేశ	O Lord Venkateshwara! They test and question, wanting to see how You are, Unaware of Your true nature, they try to grasp You.
బుడిబుడి సంగాతాలఁ బొరల నేనోపను	Even amid immature words and fragile friendships, I remain steadfast in my devotion.

Plain Prose Meaning:

(Annamacharya is addressing God) — “Even a small error, YOU might lenient and  my vows yield result. Yet this world does not trust me, no matter how sincerely I call out to You. They demand more words about You. O Lord Venkateshwara, no matter how much I try to explain, they try to scrutinize You, unaware of Your true nature. Even in immature conversations and fragile friendships, I should not be swayed—this is my humble plea to You.”.

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Interpretative notes: 

తడవేరు తగిలేరు తామే శ్రీవేంకటేశ "They test and question, wanting to see how You are" reflects the idea immature mind.  The great saints or wise individuals refuse to present the Divine to others. Ordinary people, driven only by curiosity about God, rarely prepare themselves to experience Him fully. They waste time in unnecessary efforts and superficial attempts. 

As the Bhagavad Gita (6.5) reminds us, ultimately, even Krishna emphasizes self-effort in realizing the Divine: उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं  (uddhared ātmanātmānaṁ) “One must uplift oneself through the power of one’s own mind.”

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The Message of this Poem 

“As a true teacher, Annamacharya urged people to believe with thought, word, and deed that God is one, and to set aside everything else. He repeatedly reminded them to break free from the web of self-pity they had spun around themselves and to see with clarity.”

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