299 గతులన్ని ఖిలమైన కలియుగమందును
(gatulanni
khilamaina kaliyugamaṃdunu)
INTRODUCTION
This
kīrtana may be understood as Annamacharya’s expression of gratitude toward
Rāmānuja Ācārya. In this time of Kali Yuga—when it appears as though all paths
have collapsed and meaning itself has eroded—this song arises from the lived
realization that not everything is lost.
Annamacharya
seems to recognize that the direction shown by Rāmānuja was not merely
doctrinal or institutional, but one that naturally aligned with the truth he
himself later came to know through experience. What is expressed here,
therefore, is not praise in the conventional sense, but an acknowledgment born
of lived recognition that a light had already been kindled along the very path
he discovered inwardly.
This
kīrtana stands as a voice of experiential gratitude, where reverence and
understanding merge without exaggeration or theological insistence.
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అధ్యాత్మ
కీర్తన
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రేకు: 175-4
సంపుటము: 2-372
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గతులన్ని ఖిలమైన కలియుగమందును గతి యీతఁడే చూపె ఘనగురుదైవము ॥పల్లవి॥ యీతనికరుణనేకా యిల వైష్ణవులమైతి- మీతనివల్లనే కంటి మీతిరుమణి యీతఁడేకా వుపదేశ మిచ్చె నష్టాక్షరిమంత్ర- మీతఁడే రామానుజులు యిహపరదైవము ॥గతు॥ వెలయించె నీతఁడేకా వేదపు రహస్యములు చలిమి నీతఁడే చూపె శరణాగతి నిలిపినాఁ డీతఁడేకా నిజముద్రధారణము మలసి రామానుజులే మాటలాడే దైవము ॥గతు॥ నియమము లీతఁడేకా నిలిపెఁ బ్రపన్నులకు దయతో మోక్షము చూపెఁ దగ నీతఁడే నయమై శ్రీవేంకటేశు నగ మెక్కేవాకిటను దయఁజూచీ మమ్ము నిట్టే తల్లితండ్రి దైవము ॥గతు॥
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PHILOSOPHICAL POEM
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Copper Plate: 175-4 Volume: 2-372
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gatulanni khilamaina
kaliyugamaṃdunu gati yītaṃ̐ḍē cūpe ghanagurudaivamu ॥pallavi॥ yītanikaruṇanēkā yila vaiṣṇavulamaiti- mītanivallanē kaṃṭi mītirumaṇi yītaṃ̐ḍēkā vupadēśa micce naṣṭākṣarimaṃtra- mītaṃ̐ḍē rāmānujulu yihaparadaivamu ॥gatu॥ velayiṃce nītaṃ̐ḍēkā vēdapu rahasyamulu calimi nītaṃ̐ḍē cūpe śaraṇāgati nilipināṃ̐ ḍītaṃ̐ḍēkā nijamudradhāraṇamu malasi rāmānujulē māṭalāḍē daivamu ॥gatu॥ niyamamu lītaṃ̐ḍēkā nilipeṃ̐ brapannulaku dayatō mōkṣamu cūpeṃ̐ daga nītaṃ̐ḍē nayamai śrīvēṃkaṭēśu naga mekkēvākiṭanu dayaṃ̐jūcī mammu niṭṭē tallitaṃḍri daivamu ॥gatu॥
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Details
and Discussions:
Chorus (Pallavi):
గతులన్ని
ఖిలమైన కలియుగమందును
గతి యీతఁడే
చూపె ఘనగురుదైవము ॥పల్లవి॥
gatulanni khilamaina
kaliyugamaṃdunu
gati yītaṃ̐ḍē cūpe
ghanagurudaivamu ॥pallavi॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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గతులన్ని
ఖిలమైన కలియుగమందును
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In this
Kali Yuga, where every recognized path seems to have collapsed,
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గతి యీతఁడే
చూపె ఘనగురుదైవము
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it is he alone who indicated that not everything is lost —
Rāmānuja, the guiding teacher.
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Literal Meaning:
At a time
when all established means of approaching truth appear fractured or
ineffective, Rāmānuja stands as the one who confirmed that the possibility of
truth has not vanished. His presence reassures that even in Kali Yuga, the way
is not closed.
Interpretative Notes:
Kali Yuga
is traditionally described essentially as an age of darkness. Its dominated by inertia, conflict,
restlessness, moral confusion, and suffering. Yet this Pallavi does not merely
repeat that diagnosis. Instead, it introduces a counter-assertion: even in
such a time, access to the Divine has not disappeared.
Rāmānuja is
remembered here not as a redeemer or saviour, but as one who restored
confidence in the very possibility of the path itself.
First Stanza:
యీతనికరుణనేకా
యిల వైష్ణవులమైతి-
మీతనివల్లనే
కంటి మీతిరుమణి
యీతఁడేకా
వుపదేశ మిచ్చె నష్టాక్షరిమంత్ర-
మీతఁడే రామానుజులు
యిహపరదైవము ॥గతు॥
ītanikaruṇanēkā yila
vaiṣṇavulamaiti-
mītanivallanē kaṃṭi mītirumaṇi
yītaṃ̐ḍēkā vupadēśa
micce naṣṭākṣarimaṃtra-
mītaṃ̐ḍē rāmānujulu
yihaparadaivamu ॥gatu॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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యీతనికరుణనేకా యిల వైష్ణవులమైతి-
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Through his
compassion, the possibility of living the Vaishnava path became accessible to
us.
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మీతనివల్లనే కంటి మీతిరుమణి
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Through
him, the sacred marks were no longer mere observances, but became something
truly seen and understood.
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యీతఁడేకా వుపదేశ మిచ్చె నష్టాక్షరిమంత్ర-
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It was he alone who offered guidance through
the aṣṭākṣarī mantra, pointing the direction rather than enforcing a
belief.
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మీతఁడే
రామానుజులు యిహపరదైవము
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This Rāmānuja is the grounding reference through whom the highest
order is revealed within worldly life itself.
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Literal
Meaning:
Annamacharya
recognizes that Rāmānuja grasped the inner meaning of equanimity and
conveyed it through living forms rather than abstraction. Practices such as the
aṣṭākṣarī mantra and the wearing of sacred marks are not treated here as
religious obligations, but as supports that dissolve inner divisions and
allow one to stand on the ground of balance.
What
Annamacharya encountered through his own lived realization, he recognizes as
having already found clear expression in Rāmānuja’s direction. This stanza is
thus not praise in the ordinary sense, but an expression of experiential
gratitude—a recognition of an earlier light that aligned naturally with the
truth he himself came to know.
Rāmānuja
is therefore not seen as a bridge between the worldly and the transcendent, but
as a continuous current of truth, flowing through life itself.
Second
Stanza:
వెలయించె
నీతఁడేకా వేదపు రహస్యములు
చలిమి నీతఁడే
చూపె శరణాగతి
నిలిపినాఁ
డీతఁడేకా నిజముద్రధారణము
మలసి రామానుజులే
మాటలాడే దైవము ॥గతు॥
velayiṃce nītaṃ̐ḍēkā vēdapu
rahasyamulu
calimi nītaṃ̐ḍē cūpe śaraṇāgati
nilipināṃ̐ ḍītaṃ̐ḍēkā
nijamudradhāraṇamu
malasi rāmānujulē māṭalāḍē
daivamu ॥gatu॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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వెలయించె నీతఁడేకా వేదపు రహస్యములు
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He alone revealed the truths hidden within the Vedas, not
as guarded secrets, but as something meant for all.
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చలిమి నీతఁడే చూపె శరణాగతి
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He showed surrender not as a ritual obligation, but as an
intimate way of living in alignment.
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నిలిపినాఁ డీతఁడేకా నిజముద్రధారణము
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He established within us a true inner marking—an inward
grounding rather than an external sign.
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మలసి రామానుజులే మాటలాడే దైవము
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Rāmānuja thus appears as one through whom truth
continues to speak, again and again.
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Literal Meaning:
Rāmānujācārya
brought forth the truths concealed in the Vedas, not as esoteric doctrines
reserved for a few, but as truths that human beings can actually live by. He
presented surrender not as a rule to be followed, but as a form of
companionship with truth—a way of standing in life without inner division.
By doing
so, he removed the illusion that the Divine lies elsewhere or beyond reach, and
showed that the bond with truth can settle firmly within the human heart
itself.
Rāmānuja is
therefore seen not merely as a teacher of ideas, but as one who embodied truth
as lived speech. He is not invoked here as an object of worship, but as a
living current of truth—something to be returned to, reflected upon, and
re-encountered through words and life alike.
Interpretative Notes:
వెలయించె
నీతఁడేకా వేదపు రహస్యములు
(The secret
of Vedas made public)
By
proclaiming that every human being has an equal right to truth and liberation,
Rāmānuja rejected all exclusions based on caste, status, or qualification. His
public transmission of the aṣṭākṣarī mantra—despite personal risk—stands as a
concrete expression of this conviction.
నిజముద్రధారణము (True
imprint)
The phrase “true
imprint” (నిజముద్రధారణము) points not
to an outward religious mark, but to the inward establishment of truth itself.
Annamacharya offers his gratitude to Rāmānuja for making this inner grounding
possible—not by command, but by example.
Third Stanza:
నియమము లీతఁడేకా
నిలిపెఁ బ్రపన్నులకు
దయతో మోక్షము
చూపెఁ దగ నీతఁడే
నయమై శ్రీవేంకటేశు
నగ మెక్కేవాకిటను
దయఁజూచీ
మమ్ము నిట్టే తల్లితండ్రి దైవము ॥గతు॥
niyamamu lītaṃ̐ḍēkā
nilipeṃ̐ brapannulaku
dayatō mōkṣamu cūpeṃ̐ daga
nītaṃ̐ḍē
nayamai śrīvēṃkaṭēśu naga
mekkēvākiṭanu
dayaṃ̐jūcī mammu
niṭṭē tallitaṃḍri
daivamu ॥gatu॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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నియమము లీతఁడేకా నిలిపెఁ బ్రపన్నులకు
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For those who wish to surrender, he established the
principles that allow one to remain steady in equanimity.
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దయతో మోక్షము చూపెఁ దగ నీతఁడే
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With deep compassion, he showed liberation—not as a distant
goal, but as a lived state.
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నయమై శ్రీవేంకటేశు నగ మెక్కేవాకిటను
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He softened and made accessible the entryway to the
towering height of Mountain called Śrī Veṅkaṭeśa,
adjusting it to human capacity.
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దయఁజూచీ మమ్ము నిట్టే తల్లితండ్రి దైవము
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He appears as one who protects us with tenderness and care,
like both mother and father—not as an object of worship, but as a source of
assurance and refuge.
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Literal Meaning:
For
those who seek refuge, Rāmānujācārya established not rigid rules, but a stable
grounding of equanimity—a way of standing balanced within the flow of life
itself. Through that grounding alone, he revealed liberation with compassion,
not as an afterlife promise, but as clarity available while living.
What
appears impossibly high—symbolized by the ascent to Mountain Śrī Veṅkaṭeśa—was
not lowered by force, nor reached by extraordinary effort. Instead, Rāmānuja
made the approach gentle and human, turning the climb into an accessible
doorway rather than an intimidating summit.
Thus,
he is seen here not as one who pulls others upward from a height, but as one
who stands as the threshold itself—a compassionate presence that reassures,
sustains, and protects. The phrase “mother-and-father-like” does not elevate
him to divinity, but expresses the depth of care, reliability, and trust that
his presence evokes.
Interpretative Notes:
నియమము
లీతఁడేకా నిలిపెఁ
(Established principles)
“Establishing rules” here does not mean
enforcing disciplines or moral codes to observe. It refers to holding balance—like
keeping oneself steady—between life’s movement and death’s stillness. This
equanimity cannot be achieved by effort alone, but only by seeing the ground of
truth.
దయతో మోక్షము
చూపెఁ
(With compassion
showed the path to liberation)
Liberation (mokṣa) is not separate from the grounding
mentioned above. To live without inner division—aligned with truth and dharma while
alive—is liberation.
నయమై శ్రీవేంకటేశు
నగ మెక్కేవాకిటను
(the doorway
to the great mountain)
The ascent to hill called Veṅkaṭeśa is symbolic: Rāmānuja
does not stand at the summit calling others up, but becomes the gentle gateway
that makes ascent possible at all.
X-X-The END-X-X
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