TALLAPAKA PEDATIRUMALACHARYULU
271 అనాది జగములు అనాది దేవుఁడు
(anādi jagamulu anādi dēvuṃ̐ḍu)
తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి.
INTRODUCTION
The Tallapaka poets sang the truths that dawned upon them in states of extraordinary consciousness. In their songs, they captured the ineffable — experiences so rare, inconceivable, and inexpressible that human history had not recorded them before. They embodied those unutterable revelations in simple melodies and thus became immortal. Among countless clusters of gems, this kirtana stands as the summit — the very crest of their luminous art.
The greatness of the Annamacharya lineage lies in this: They conveyed the profoundest Vedantic wisdom in a language that was tender, effortless, and intimate to every human heart. Whether Annamacharya or Peda Tirumalacharya — both used the vocabulary of everyday life to express the most extraordinary truths. In their gentle words, they infused a life that mere letters could never hold on their own — they breathed vitality into language, condensing the vastness of the universe into the smallest of syllables. These are not mere devotional songs; they are signposts in the evolution of human consciousness.
Man’s first and
foremost duty — his primal longing — is to seek the world he lives in and its
source, the Creator. Yet, he stumbles in this search, enslaved by his own
imagination and logic. The anxiety of time and the arrogance of knowledge —
these are his greatest enemies. They consume his mind like fire, turning him
away from the inner silence. He can measure a millionth of a millionth of a second and imagine the stretch
of aeons — and yet fails to realize that the Divine cannot be found in any
measure at all.
Man’s journey through action (karma) is equally filled with contradiction. True action does not exist in duty, desire, or regulation; it exists only where the doer and the deed dissolve into one. That is not karma — it is the state beyond action. This is the heartbeat of the Tallapaka philosophy. To understand what these seers revealed is to step into a realm untouched by human history.
Born into this world, man learns from his parents and society, becomes a provider (for his family), believing that to be life itself — and success its crown. In that race, he drowns. He finds no time to contemplate the Divine, yet finds time for politics, wars, banks, and cinemas — even to write hymns about God without living them. This is the very proof of man’s deep-seated instinct to imitate. A mind that has lost its connection with the Self reflects only the outer world — and mistakes that reflection for truth. No misguided action, however strenuous, can bear fruit.
In such a condition, man turns to the scriptures, the priests, and the elders of society — but they too were born and shaped within the same system. Can they show the path to freedom? They cannot. As Chinna Tirumalacharya said: “బందెపసులకు మెడ పన్నించ నేలా” — “How can one bow before those already yoked like cattle in bondage?” Why does man not realize that seeking God is his own supreme duty? Bound by his daily compulsions and the glitter of tomorrow’s ambitions, he cannot walk the path of righteousness.
True devotion
means the courage to reject every design that leads one away from the path of
dharma. That is the essence of this kirtana — “భావములోపల
భక్తి యిదే.” “Bhāvamulopala bhakti
yidē” — when devotion
and one’s inner being become one and the same. Such union is the highest
surrender — and it alone reveals the timeless truth: “this world and the
other world are not two — they are one”.
“Annamacharya and his sacred lineage dwell beyond the reach of imagination — their vision springs not from thought, but from the silence in which truth itself awakens.”
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అధ్యాత్మ కీర్తన
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Philosophical
Poem
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రేకు: 19-3 సంపుటము: 15-107
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Copper Plate: 19-3 Vol: 15-107
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అనాది జగములు అనాది దేవుఁడు వినోదములు గని విసుకదు మాయ॥పల్లవి॥ పుట్టేటి జీవులు పోయిన జీవులు వొట్టిన జీవులు వున్నారు చుట్టేరు దినములు సూర్యచంద్రాదులు తెట్ట దెరువుననె తెగడు కాలము ॥అనాది॥ కలఁడు బ్రహ్మయును కల రింద్రాదులు కల వనేకములు కార్యములు ఫలబోగంబులు పై పై నున్నవి కలియుఁ గర్మముఁ గడవఁగ లేదూ ॥అనాది॥ శ్రీ వేంకటేశుఁడు చిత్తములో వీఁడె భావములోపల భక్తి యిదే భావించి బ్రదుకుట ప్రపన్నులు వీరిదె యేవలఁ జూచిన యిహమే పరము ॥అనాది॥
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anādi jagamulu anādi dēvuṃ̐ḍu
vinōdamulu gani visukadu māya ॥pallavi॥ puṭṭēṭi jīvulu pōyina jīvulu
voṭṭina jīvulu vunnāru
cuṭṭēru dinamulu sūryacaṃdrādulu
teṭṭa deruvunane tegaḍu kālamu ॥anādi॥ kalaṃ̐ḍu brahmayunu kala riṃdrādulu
kala vanēkamulu kāryamulu
phalabōgaṃbulu pai pai nunnavi
kaliyuṃ̐ garmamuṃ̐ gaḍavaṃ̐ga lēdū ॥anādi॥ śrī vēṃkaṭēśuṃ̐ḍu cittamulō vīṃ̐ḍe
bhāvamulōpala bhakti yidē
bhāviṃci bradukuṭa prapannulu vīride
yēvalaṃ̐ jūcina yihamē paramu ॥anādi॥
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Details and Discussions:
Chorus
(Pallavi):
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Telugu
Phrase
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Meaning
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అనాది జగములు అనాది దేవుఁడు
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The world exists beyond the memory of time — so does the
Lord Himself.
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వినోదములు గని విసుకదు మాయ
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The illusion born of His divine delight does not get tired.
Its continues to play the game of light and darkness.
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Literal Meaning:
The poet affirms the
eternity of both creation and the
Creator.
Neither the world nor God has an origin —
both exist as one continuous act of
divine play.
Here, Māyā is not deception; it is the Lord’s joyful will to manifest,
sustain, and withdraw the universe —
tirelessly, eternally.
Interpretative Notes:
Peda Tirumalacharyulu begins with a profound
assertion — that both Nature (ప్రకృతి) and God
are eternal. Any material decays with time; therefore, God is not
material. Nature is cyclic, endlessly recycled. The truth of their existence
lies not in the seen manifestation, but in the hidden mystery that has
escaped man for ages.
Across ages, sages and philosophers have tried to explain creation and the Divine. Yet, none arrived at finality. The topic of God remains the playground of divine sport (వినోదము) — the Lord’s delight in concealing and revealing Himself. Meanwhile, man continues to live under the illusion that reason, ritual, or science can outwit the mystery.
Thus, the poet seems to remind us: we do not truly understand Time, Nature, or God. Though evidence surrounds us, it never suffices. The only remaining avenue is to turn inward — to explore the Divine within. Yet even there arises a paradox: the seeker and the sought are one. When realisation dawns that both are the same, the very act of seeking must cease.
This is where Peda Tirumalacharyulu’s insight becomes distinctive. He does not ask us to escape illusion or time — rather, to accept them wholly. The resistance lies in the “I” — the ego that insists it can “find” or “know.” Despite life’s abundant signs, man continues this futile search, only to realize in the end that the searcher himself was the veil.
In the final stanza, the poet resolves this tension: There are no two worlds — no worldly and divine realms apart. By any search, from any direction, we find only this world as the sacred world. When we exploit the earth without love, when we treat creation with contempt, we separate the sacred from the real. The true test of spirituality lies here — to live with the awareness that the world itself is holy.
I am reminded of a story from the Brothers Grimm. A princess builds roads of gold for her suitors. Most avoid stepping on them, fearing they would tarnish the gold. But the true suitor walks straight upon them — his eyes fixed not on the path, but on the princess.
So too must we walk upon this world — not worshiping it as an idol, nor fearing
to touch it, but meeting the Divine through it. When a person stands rooted in
truth, the perception and the perceived become one. In that unity, a
primordial secret reveals itself. He enters a timeless awareness where the
world and the self are one fabric of being. From such awareness arise these
poems — not as compositions of intellect, but as offerings of realization —
the speech of the soul, not of the scholar.
The word anādi denies not just “a beginning,” but the very idea of cause and effect. Creation is not a chronological event but a continuous presence — an ever-happening. To say “anādi” twice is to silence the intellect. It’s as if the poet says: “We cannot speak of origins without falsifying truth.” This prepares the listener for the insight that follows — that the search must end, for the beginning and the end are one.
A very deep insight given is what we understand of time. For any activity there is beginning and there is an end. Therefore, అనాది is not belonging to the scale of time.
We people have
definite start point of life and an end point. We are like an arrow of time.
Transient time. what Annamacharya calls “వొడ్డిన భవము దన్ను వొడ కమ్ముఁ గాక” (= “this body, a loosely bound arrow made of pebbles.”) makes
perfect sense.
Therefore, the verse from the Bhagavad Gita
resounds as eternal truth: विनश्यत्स्वविनश्यन्तं य: पश्यति स पश्यति (13-28)— He who sees the imperishable within the perishing, he alone
truly sees.
First
Stanza:
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Telugu
Phrase
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Meaning
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పుట్టేటి జీవులు పోయిన జీవులు
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Continuously beings are born, beings are passing away
(since time immemorial)
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వొట్టిన జీవులు వున్నారు
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There, few people, who
remained nameless, but Pure in hearts exists to this date.
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చుట్టేరు దినములు సూర్యచంద్రాదులు
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The sun, the
moon keeps circling (forever)
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తెట్ట దెరువుననె తెగడు కాలము
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{తెట్ట దెరువుననె
= open, in the middle of the road); తెగడు = disregarded
or neglected} man openly disregards the time
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Beings are being born, beings are passing away; There, few people, who remained nameless, but Pure in hearts exists to this date. Days revolve, the Sun and Moon keep turning. Man, foolishly and openly disregards the time.
Interpretative Notes:
The Tallapaka poets were not philosophers in the academic sense; they were seers who sang what touched them in states of profound samādhi. Each composition reveals a distinct facet of their inner realization.
Perhaps this is among the earliest known formulations in the world where the Divine, Time, and Life are perceived as one continuum. Such original and direct insights into reality are a matter of deep pride for the Telugu tradition. Other philosophers may have intellectually proposed the interrelation of God, Time, and Life — but Peda Tirumalacharya saw it, not as a thought but as a living experience. In that state, these three are not separate entities but waves of a single consciousness. This insight deserves to be inscribed in golden letters in the history of humankind.
In contrast, we humans tend to rely
heavily on memory, inscriptions, and written scriptures. Because of this very
reason, Peda Tirumalacharya said "తెట్ట దెరువుననె తెగడు కాలము”, implying that we people foolishly waste time. Yet,
in the Tallapaka hymns, one finds many such luminous statements — each a living
testimony to experiential inquiry. This very verse is a branch one may hold
onto to enter that stream of realization.
In this context, the reference to the “ఒట్టిన జీవులు ottina jīvulu” (=the pure beings) is both appropriate
and profound. These are the ones who live depending solely on divine awareness
— whose very sustenance is accepted only by the Lord’s sanction. They exercise
no personal authority over their body, offering every act as a reflection of
the Divine.
This stanza is composed in the present tense, indicating that these truths are eternal and ever relevant.
This Stanza must be carefully connected with the pallavi, which speaks of God and the worlds. The Divine has no material form; the world has no divine essence of its own — yet each stands upon the other.
Thus, the “pure being” mentioned here can
be seen as one whose body belongs to the world, but whose soul belongs to the
Divine. That is why the Pallavi unites God and the worlds
as inseparable aspects of the same truth.
Second
Stanza:
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Telugu
Phrase
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Meaning
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కలఁడు బ్రహ్మయును కల రింద్రాదులు
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There exists a
creator, there exist Indra the chief of other world
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కల వనేకములు కార్యములు
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There many
actions pending to be done
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ఫలబోగంబులు పై పై నున్నవి
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The enjoyment
of the fruits of work (action) is superficial
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కలియుఁ గర్మముఁ గడవఁగ లేదూ
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(కలియుఁ
= to join, గర్మముఁ
= action; గడవఁగ లేదూ
= you cannot cross) By Joining the action you can never cross.
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Literal Meaning:
In this world, Brahma and Indra indeed exist. Numerous actions too appear to be urging man to perform. (Yet, as the Gita declares, man is not the doer, nor is he bound by any command to perform them.) The very thought, “Let me do this,” arises only from the desire for the enjoyment of results. The pleasure that comes from the fruits of action is external — merely superficial. There is no real gain in becoming entangled in action. Once immersed in it, one can never cross the wall that leads to truth.
Interpretative Notes:
When we say “Brahma and Indra exist,” someone might ask — “Then show them to us!” Ah, but such questions arise only from the limited mind. What Pedda Tirumalacharyulu spoke of was not imagined, but seen in a state beyond the ordinary human reach. Those who question may themselves decide how meaningful such questions are.
Even the longing to see Brahma or Indra is
itself a desire — and therefore, it falls into the same category as the
enjoyment of results. The impulse to act and to intervene in everything has
taken root in every nerve of man. This is like losing faith in Dharma
itself — every person sets up his own court of justice, passing sentences and
rewards according to personal whims. Such weakness arises only when we lose
trust that Dharma works by itself.
The present human consciousness is driven by a
hidden disbelief — the inability to surrender wholly to the Divine, who alone
stands beyond action, beyond desire, beyond every trace of craving.
Third Stanza:
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తెలుగు
పదబంధం
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భావము
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శ్రీ వేంకటేశుఁడు చిత్తములో వీఁడె
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This Lord Venkateswara
is there in the inner word of the beings
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భావములోపల భక్తి
యిదే
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When your feeling and
the devotion become singular (i.e they are one and the same, not two
different entities)
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భావించి బ్రదుకుట ప్రపన్నులు వీరిదె
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Living a life like is saranagati
(taking refuge)
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యేవలఁ జూచిన
యిహమే పరము
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In such a state, from
any direction, this world will be seen a Divine. They are not two different
things.
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Plain Prose Meaning:
Sri
Venkatesha Himself abides within the beings. When feelings and devotion become
so united that there is hardly any difference, that is taking the refuge of
God. The great ones, who live not by
self-deliberation but by divine impulse, see the same truth everywhere — in
whatever way they behold, this very world appears to them as the Supreme.
Interpretative
notes:
All human restlessness arises from a relative state of being. Man is constantly comparing — “Am I ahead or behind? Better or worse than the other?” His sense of self thrives on this measure; thus, he lives entirely within relativity, knowing nothing of the absolute.
Every human inquiry — his search, reasoning, or
reform — unfolds inside this circle of comparison. To step beyond it demands
immense courage. That courage is devotion.
Here, devotion is not an ideology, nor a doctrine to hide behind — it is an act of total daring, the courage to dissolve oneself. And because of this, man trembles: “What will become of me?”
Those who have Śrī Vēṅkaṭēśwara as their sole centre of being become free from matter and its philosophical bondage. For one whose mind is firmly anchored in that relationship, the question “What will happen to me or to my body?” no longer arises. He stands liberated — untouched, unpossessed.
For such souls, the material world holds no
claim. Thus, in this world there are only two realities — the Divine and the
material. The choice — to live as the Divine or as the material — rests
with man. Even the slightest doubt tilts him toward matter. Freedom from
doubt is the pathless state — the ineffable awareness the poet calls Anādi
— the beginningless.
The Message of
this Poem
X-X-The
END-X-X
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