The
language Annamacharya chooses for his śṛṅgāra kīrtanas is not meant to
encourage sensual indulgence. Rather, śṛṅgāra lies beyond the rigid
controls of logic, instruction, and command—the very walls we construct for our
own psychological safety. In this terrain, the mechanisms of self-defence
loosen. Words such as love, waiting, and intimacy naturally soften the mind’s
guard.
It is
precisely in these unguarded moments that Annamacharya places the essential
truth before us. With the single word “taḍavakuvē” (“do not grope”), he
questions waiting, effort, and impatience all at once. Here, śṛṅgāra is
not the destination; it is the medium chosen to speak truth. By drawing us into
a familiar emotional landscape and then dissolving that very familiarity, the
kīrtana reveals its inner intent.
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శృంగార సంకీర్తన
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రేకు: 1990-1
సంపుటము: 29-475
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తానే వచ్చీఁగాని తడవకువే పతిని చేనంటి మునుపే నాకు సేస వెట్టినాఁడు ॥పల్లవి॥ తలఁపులకొలఁదివే తగులాయాలు వలచినకొలఁదివే వాడికలు పిలుపులకొలఁదివే ప్రియములు బలిమి సేయఁగఁ బోతే పచ్చిదేరుఁ బనులు ॥తానే॥ ఆడినకొలఁదివే యాస మాఁటలు కూడినకొలఁదివే కూటములు వేడుకకొలఁదివే వినోదాలు వాడుకొనఁబోతేను వసగావు పనులు ॥తానే॥ ననిచినకొలఁదివే నగవులు యెనసినకొలఁదివే యింపు సొంపులు చెనకి నన్నేలినాఁడు శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁడు పెనఁగఁగఁబోతేను పెచ్చురేఁగుఁ బనులు ॥తానే॥
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PHILOSOPHICAL POEM
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Copper Plate: 1990-1 Volume: 29-475
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tānē vaccīṃ̐gāni taḍavakuvē patini cēnaṃṭi munupē nāku sēsa veṭṭināṃ̐ḍu ॥pallavi॥ talaṃ̐pulakolaṃ̐divē tagulāyālu valacinakolaṃ̐divē vāḍikalu pilupulakolaṃ̐divē priyamulu balimi sēyaṃ̐gaṃ̐ bōtē paccidēruṃ̐ banulu ॥tānē॥ āḍinakolaṃ̐divē yāsa māṃ̐ṭalu kūḍinakolaṃ̐divē kūṭamulu vēḍukakolaṃ̐divē vinōdālu vāḍukonaṃ̐bōtēnu vasagāvu panulu ॥tānē॥ nanicinakolaṃ̐divē nagavulu yenasinakolaṃ̐divē yiṃpu soṃpulu cenaki nannēlināṃ̐ḍu śrīvēṃkaṭēśuṃ̐ḍu penaṃ̐gaṃ̐gaṃ̐bōtēnu peccurēṃ̐guṃ̐ banulu ॥tānē॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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తానే వచ్చీఁగాని
తడవకువే పతిని
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He will
come on his own—do not fidget or grope for your husband.
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చేనంటి
మునుపే నాకు సేస వెట్టినాఁడు
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Though I was like an uncultivated field, he blessed me earlier.
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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తలఁపులకొలఁదివే తగులాయాలు
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As one dwells in thought, suitable encounters appear. What the mind repeatedly entertains begins to attract corresponding situations—people, chances, and circumstances. |
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వలచినకొలఁదివే వాడికలు
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As one
desires, secrets multiply. The moment desire takes root, concealment follows. What is cherished must now
be hidden and protected.
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పిలుపులకొలఁదివే ప్రియములు
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As one calls, intimacy is formed. Forms of closeness are defined by the way one addresses, names, and invokes
the other.
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బలిమి
సేయఁగఁ బోతే పచ్చిదేరుఁ బనులు
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But when
examined closely, they prove shallow. When these constructions are subjected to honest scrutiny, their lack of
substance becomes evident.
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Literal
Meaning:
O
friend! The more you hold him in your thoughts, the more he seems to appear
within reach. The more you desire, the more hidden layers and complications
arise. The more lovingly you call him, the closer he feels. But do not force
anything— for the moment you press to confirm its reality, the story collapses and
you are back to where it began.
Implied Sense:
Like dough
yielding bread in proportion to its measure, whatever the mind repeatedly turns
toward begins to generate matching occasions and stimuli. Once desire begins,
the mind gathers what must be concealed. Relationships and modes of address
begin to support one another, forming a closed loop. Yet when one tries to
verify their truth with intensity, they are seen to be surface-level
constructions.
Interpretative Notes:
Here
Annamacharya exposes the very architecture of lived life. What we rely upon are
not stable foundations, but provisional constructions—assumptions assembled
without ground. They appear functional, yet serve no real purpose.
The
phrase “as one dwells in thought, suitable encounters appear” is
pivotal. The mind does not merely respond to circumstances; it actively manufactures
them. Thought generates situations, invites contacts, and arranges sensory
provocations. Life then appears to confirm what the mind has already set in
motion.
The
first three lines describe these seductive mechanisms—the traps we fall into
without noticing. The fourth line is not descriptive; it is a warning.
When examined with force, these constructions are revealed as hollow,
surface-level, and incapable of holding truth.
Annamacharya
is not presenting a new theory. He is asking us to notice conditioning we
take as true.
(One
may incidentally hear an echo of the Buddha’s phassa paccayā vedanā—“from
contact arises feeling”—but Annamacharya states the fact without system or
scaffold.)
Second
Stanza:
ఆడినకొలఁదివే
యాస మాఁటలు
కూడినకొలఁదివే
కూటములు
వేడుకకొలఁదివే
వినోదాలు
వాడుకొనఁబోతేను
వసగావు పనులు ॥తానే॥
āḍinakolaṃ̐divē yāsa māṃ̐ṭalu
kūḍinakolaṃ̐divē kūṭamulu
vēḍukakolaṃ̐divē vinōdālu
vāḍukonaṃ̐bōtēnu vasagāvu panulu ॥tānē॥
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Telugu Phrase |
Meaning |
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ఆడినకొలఁదివే యాస మాఁటలు |
As one plays, longing words arise Words themselves become
fuel for desire; conversation feeds craving. |
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కూడినకొలఁదివే కూటములు |
As one gathers, groups form Associations and circles emerge
that reinforce and validate one’s thinking. |
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వేడుకకొలఁదివే వినోదాలు |
As one indulges, pleasures expand. Participation in
enjoyment deepens attachment to pleasure itself. |
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వాడుకొనఁబోతేను వసగావు పనులు |
But when applied, they are useless. When these activities
are brought into matters of truth or purpose, they yield nothing of
substance. |
Literal
Meaning:
O friend! The
more you play with him, the more the mind drifts in that direction. The more
you meet, the stronger the bond of association becomes. With festivities and
amusements, closeness only increases. But never try to use him—for any
purpose. That is where your skill / discernment is revealed.
Implied Sense:
Annamacharya
is pointing to how everyday actions quietly redirect the mind. Speech feeds
desire. Company confirms thought. Entertainment strengthens attachment. Yet
when these are carried into divine pursuit or the search for truth, they are
found to be hollow, incapable of holding their ground.
Interpretative Notes:
Here the
Acharya shows how the mind becomes trapped within the very structures it
builds. What began as play turns into dependence. What appeared as
companionship becomes reinforcement. What seemed like harmless pleasure matures
into attachment. The mind mistakes movement for progress. Thus, the first three
lines are of our present natural romantic engagement. The fourth line is the
dissolution of this engagement.
Thus,
Annamacharya is not condemning speech, company, or enjoyment. He is revealing
their inability to serve truth. They are effective within the realm of
habit, but powerless in matters of liberation.
Third Stanza:
ననిచినకొలఁదివే
నగవులు
యెనసినకొలఁదివే
యింపు సొంపులు
చెనకి నన్నేలినాఁడు
శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁడు
పెనఁగఁగఁబోతేను
పెచ్చురేఁగుఁ బనులు ॥తానే॥
nanicinakolaṃ̐divē nagavulu
yenasinakolaṃ̐divē yiṃpu soṃpulu
cenaki nannēlināṃ̐ḍu śrīvēṃkaṭēśuṃ̐ḍu
penaṃ̐gaṃ̐gaṃ̐bōtēnu peccurēṃ̐guṃ̐ banulu ॥tānē॥
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Telugu Phrase |
Meaning |
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ననిచినకొలఁదివే నగవులు |
As closeness increases, smiles arise. Repeated intimacy
breeds liking, affection, and emotional warmth. |
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యెనసినకొలఁదివే యింపు సొంపులు |
As comparison grows, delight and seduction is complete. Measuring
oneself against pleasure and abundance creates the urge to sink deeper into
enjoyment. |
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చెనకి నన్నేలినాఁడు శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁడు |
Śrī Veṅkaṭeśa restrains and rules the ‘I’ within. The
divine does not console the ego—it subdues it. |
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పెనఁగఁగఁబోతేను పెచ్చురేఁగుఁ బనులు |
If one resists, the struggle worsens. Interference
amplifies inner conflict. |
Literal Meaning:
O
friend! As smiles increase, affection and attachment are born. As desire is
measured and compared, one feels drawn into pleasure and fulfilment. Even so,
Śrī Veṅkaṭeśa firmly ruling me by over-ruling my sense of “I.” down. Those
moments calls for alertness. Do not wrestle—remain still. That is all.
Implied Sense:
As
attachment grows, the mind constructs reinforcing emotional structures. Each
smile strengthens liking. Each comparison deepens craving. Together, they form
an inner architecture of attachment—to the body and to life itself. Against
this ordinary engagement, Annamacharya presents an unsettling truth: liberation
is not reassurance. It is the arrest of the ego’s movement. Śrī
Veṅkaṭeśa here is not a comforter, but a force that refuses to indulge the
self. Inner resistance only breeds further disorder.
Interpretative Notes:
ననిచినకొలఁదివే
నగవులు
(As closeness increases, smiles arise.)
These mental constructions—likes, comparisons,
pleasures—support one another like an assemblage. Thin paper panels, when
arranged together, can resemble a box stronger than the paper itself. The assurance we derive out of these edifices
may be comforting. Yet such structures collapse instantly—like a house of cards
in the test of truth. Annamacharya is not telling us something unknown. He is
asking us to notice what we habitually overlook.
Here one can discern echoes of the Buddha’s paṭicca-samuppāda—vedanā
paccayā taṇhā (from feeling arises craving).
చెనకి నన్నేలినాఁడు
శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁడు
(Śrī
Veṅkaṭeśa rules me by subduing)
When Annamacharya says that Śrī Veṅkaṭeśa rules
by pressing down the “I,”
he overturns a familiar spiritual expectation. Scriptures often promise bliss.
Annamacharya speaks of ego being crushed. A similar, deeply
uncomfortable insight is found in Jiddu Krishnamurti’s lived observations. Both
speak not from doctrine, but from direct human experience. That is why their
words carry truth.
పెనఁగఁగఁబోతేను
పెచ్చురేఁగుఁ బనులు
(Interference
only amplifies inner conflict)
God needs no human assistance. Struggle is not service.
Interference is not devotion. What remains is a stark instruction: Do not
meddle. Do not resist. Do not assist. Remain still.
Thus, man’s only work in this universe is to accept
Divine Order and abide it in stillness. When man finds this is the only
action, inner movement, he understands the universal structure of human mind. That
is why you will find this quote by John Milton echoes very similar to
Vedantic Thought: They also serve who only stand and wait.
X-X-The END-X-X
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