303 పంచేంద్రియములనే పట్టణస్వాములాల
(paṃcēṃdriyamulanē paṭṭaṇasvāmulāla)
INTRODUCTION
Annamacharya
draws attention to a fundamental fact of our inner life: within the human mind, barter (trade) has become a system, and transactions
themselves have become our way of living. The criticism here is not moral; it
is structural. What we pay, as tribute, to the five senses—the governors of
this inner city—is our very life as it is lived today. At every moment, the
mind is engaged in some bargain or another—paying a price for pleasure, a
charge for peace or entering into a contract in the name of virtue. Pay any tax
you wish; they will continue to demand more, never declaring that the account is
settled. Like a kaleidoscope, these transactions multiply endlessly, but they
never allow an end.
One may
ask: what is wrong if life continues this way? In truth, nothing is “wrong.” It
is simply remaining within illusion, born of illusion. When that happens,
injustice, violence, unrest, wars, and mass destruction in the world only
intensify. To this day, no one—great figures included—has been able to put a
complete stop to them. Let them continue. If one can fully accept this reality,
there is no error in it. More importantly, no revolution or war in history has
brought about lasting transformation. Hence, a measure of peace and a measure
of unrest will continue to coexist. Do not accept partial solutions. That is
enough.
Here lies the real problem. The thought nudges “can
there not be at least some good achieved within this system? Annamacharya
does not condemn the system; he questions its outcome. “జగతిఁ బుణ్యపాపపు సరకులు దెచ్చినాఁడ Jagatiṁ
puṇya–pāpa–pu sarakulu deccinaāḍa”—whether we accept it or not, we are the ones
carrying the cargo of virtue and sin. And we ourselves are the operators of continuance
of this system. The mind naturally feels it’s part of the virtue and resists
its association with the dirt of sin. Therefore, it is compelled to act to
protect its ‘purity’. Hence, we feel the
urge to do something!
That is the
catch. It perpetuates us into the motion of action. At that point, the fourth
line—"దిగితి బూతురేవునఁ
దీరుచరో సుంకము" “Digi-ti bhūturēvunaṁ dīrucaro suṅkamu”(=we
landed on the Port of Lust, and we must pay the tax) —stands before us as
undeniable truth. No clear-thinking person would accept such enraging reality. It
feels as though fire has been poured beneath our feet. Annamacharya did not
compose keertanas for pleasant reading.
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అధ్యాత్మ
సంకీర్తన
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రేకు: 256-5
సంపుటము: 3-324
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పంచేంద్రియములనే పట్టణస్వాములాల తెంచి బేరమాడుకొని దించరో బరవు ॥పల్లవి॥ తగిన సంసారసముద్రములోనఁ దిరిగాడి బిగువుదేహపు టోడబేహారివాఁడ జగతిఁ బుణ్యపాపపు సరకులు దెచ్చినాఁడ దిగితి బూతురేవునఁ దీరుచరో సుంకము ॥పంచేం॥ అడరి గుణత్రయములనేటి తెడ్డుల చేత నడుమ నిన్నాళ్ళదాఁకా నడపినాడ కడుఁజంచలములనే గాలిచాప లెత్తినాఁడ వెడమాయపు సరకు వెలకియ్యరో ॥పంచేం॥ ఆతుమయనేటి కంభ మంతరాత్ముఁ డెక్కియుండి నీతితో మమ్ముఁగాచుక నిలుచున్నాఁడు ఆతఁడే శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁ డటు మాకు మీకుఁ గర్త ఘాతమాని ఇఁక మాకు కడుగుణ మియ్యరో ॥పంచేం॥
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PHILOSOPHICAL POEM
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Copper Plate: 256-5 Volume: 3-324
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paṃcēṃdriyamulanē paṭṭaṇasvāmulāla teṃci bēramāḍukoni diṃcarō baravu ॥pallavi॥ tagina saṃsārasamudramulōnaṃ̐ dirigāḍi biguvudēhapu ṭōḍabēhārivāṃ̐ḍa jagatiṃ̐ buṇyapāpapu sarakulu deccināṃ̐ḍa digiti būturēvunaṃ̐ dīrucarō suṃkamu ॥paṃcēṃ॥ aḍari guṇatrayamulanēṭi teḍḍula cēta naḍuma ninnāḻḻadāṃ̐kā naḍapināḍa kaḍuṃ̐jaṃcalamulanē gālicāpa lettināṃ̐ḍa veḍamāyapu saraku velakiyyarō ॥paṃcēṃ॥ ātumayanēṭi kaṃbha maṃtarātmuṃ̐ ḍekkiyuṃḍi nītitō mammuṃ̐gācuka nilucunnāṃ̐ḍu ātaṃ̐ḍē śrīvēṃkaṭēśuṃ̐ ḍaṭu māku mīkuṃ̐ garta ghātamāni iṃ̐ka māku kaḍuguṇa miyyarō ॥paṃcēṃ॥
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Details
and Discussions:
Chorus (Pallavi):
పంచేంద్రియములనే
పట్టణస్వాములాల
తెంచి బేరమాడుకొని
దించరో బరవు ॥పల్లవి॥
paṃcēṃdriyamulanē
paṭṭaṇasvāmulāla
teṃci bēramāḍukoni diṃcarō
baravu ॥pallavi॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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పంచేంద్రియములనే
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O rulers of
the city, namely the five senses
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తెంచి
బేరమాడుకొని దించరో బరవు
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(తెంచి = to resolve, decide, settle; బేరమాడుకొని = to
negotiate and fix an appropriate price) . Settle
the matter quickly, fix the proper price, and reduce my mental burden
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Literal Meaning:
Annamacharya
indicating our natural transactional inclination, speaks as though he were a
trader moving in the ocean of worldly life, addressing the rulers of the island
(this material body) he has landed upon — the five senses.
He appears to ask: O five senses, what price must I pay to lessen this
mental anguish? Decide it quickly and tell me.
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Symbol
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Literal Meaning
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Psychological / Spiritual Meaning
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పట్టణస్వాములాల
City rulers
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Governors of a city
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The five senses that govern human life
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బేరమాడుట Negotiation
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Bargaining over price
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Compromise with the senses for pleasure or relief
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బరువు Burden
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Heavy cargo
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Accumulated mental weight—suffering, memory, karmic residue
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తెంచి
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Untie, conclude
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Liberation sought through sensory settlement
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Interpretative Notes:
పంచేంద్రియములనే
పట్టణస్వాములాల
“Lords of
the city of senses”
By
addressing the five senses as city rulers, Annamacharya reveals a subtle
but radical shift: the human being no longer identifies wholly with the body
but speaks to its governors. This distance itself is significant.
తెంచి
బేరమాడుకొని దించరో బరవు
“Quickly
make a deal and reduce my agony”
This
appeal—“Settle the bargain and unload the burden”—is deeply ironic. This
is a negotiation that can never truly conclude. No matter how much one pays,
the burden does not lighten. The deal does not break. The knot does not untie.
It is a
bargain that refuses resolution—
a weight that cannot be put down,
a transaction where neither side wins.
In this
single refrain, Annamacharya exposes the mind that believes suffering can be
resolved through adjustment, compromise, or clever bargaining—and quietly shows the futility of that belief.
First Stanza:
తగిన సంసారసముద్రములోనఁ
దిరిగాడి
బిగువుదేహపు
టోడబేహారివాఁడ
జగతిఁ బుణ్యపాపపు
సరకులు దెచ్చినాఁడ
దిగితి బూతురేవునఁ
దీరుచరో సుంకము ॥పంచేం॥
tagina saṃsārasamudramulōnaṃ̐ dirigāḍi
biguvudēhapu ṭōḍabēhārivāṃ̐ḍa
jagatiṃ̐ buṇyapāpapu
sarakulu deccināṃ̐ḍa
digiti būturēvunaṃ̐ dīrucarō suṃkamu ॥paṃcēṃ॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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తగిన సంసారసముద్రములోనఁ దిరిగాడి
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Moving
about in what appears to be a suitable, well-matched ocean of worldly life.
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బిగువుదేహపు టోడబేహారివాఁడ
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O
ship-merchant proud of a taut, vigorous body—intoxicated with youthful
strength and self-assurance.
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జగతిఁ బుణ్యపాపపు సరకులు దెచ్చినాఁడ
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You who have entered this world carrying cargo
of merit and demerit.
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దిగితి
బూతురేవునఁ దీరుచరో సుంకము
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You have
landed at the harbor of falsehood—pay the toll.
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Literal
Meaning:
O sailor-merchant!
Confident in favourable conditions, proud of bodily strength, and laden with
the mixed cargo of virtue and vice, you roam the ocean of worldly life
believing it suits you well. Yet you have already docked at the harbour of
illusion. Now—pay the toll.
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First
Stanza: The Proud Vessel and the False Harbor
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Symbol
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Literal
Meaning
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Psychological
/ Spiritual Meaning
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బిగువు దేహం
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పుణ్యపాప సరకులు
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Accumulated
moral self-image and conditioning
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బూతురేవు
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సుంకము
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Implied Sense:
As long as
circumstances appear favourable and pride steers the course, one forgets the
mixed nature of one’s cargo—merit entwined with demerit. Sailing thus, the
merchant unknowingly enters the harbour of falsehood. There, in trying to
“settle accounts” and ease inner discomfort, he only burns his heart further. (Here
būthu means falsehood—not obscenity, but unreality.).
Interpretative Notes:.
తగిన
సంసారసముద్రములోనఁ దిరిగాడి
(Moving
about in what appears to be a suitable ocean of worldly life)
From
childhood onward, we learn to make sense of our surroundings and the people
around us. Even when conditions are adverse, we adjust, accommodate, and
endure—so that life may continue. Over time, what was merely tolerable begins
to feel suitable. Comfort does not arise because circumstances are right, but
because the mind learns to live with them. This habitual adjustment is what
Annamacharya calls “moving about in a fitting ocean of worldly life.”
బిగువుదేహపు
టోడబేహారివాఁడ
(O
Merchant of Youthful Body)
Intoxicated
by youth and bodily vitality, the human being imagines himself to be the
helmsman of the ship of life. Each assumes authorship, control, and direction.
Yet this sense of unity is deceptive. What appears as a single, capable agent
is only an assemblage mistaken for wholeness.
By
addressing man as “బిగువుదేహపు టోడబేహారివాఁడ the
merchant of the taut body,” Annamacharya exposes the falsity of this
confidence without argument—only by naming it. When everyone believes they
steer, no direction is possible. Confusion itself becomes the ruling order.
Because
the problem is not lack of information, but the mind’s habit of assembling itself
into something solid.
Annamacharya’s
genius lies in using Telugu not to describe reality, but to make the mind
notice its own failure to describe itself.
దిగితి
బూతురేవునఁ దీరుచరో సుంకము
(Landed
on False Harbour & must pay the toll)
Būturēvu (బూతురేవు is the harbour of falsehood. One does not
choose to arrive here; yet we arrived here. Whence, the mind immediately seeks
to negotiate—to pay a toll—in the hope that inner distress may be reduced.
But
in this harbour, whatever one does turns false. Every action becomes further
entanglement. Therefore, the only appropriate stance is to do nothing.
And
yet, it is precisely here—where nothing can be done—that the human being
repeatedly fails.
Second
Stanza:
అడరి గుణత్రయములనేటి
తెడ్డుల చేత
నడుమ నిన్నాళ్ళదాఁకా
నడపినాడ
కడుఁజంచలములనే
గాలిచాప లెత్తినాఁడ
వెడమాయపు
సరకు వెలకియ్యరో ॥పంచేం॥
aḍari guṇatrayamulanēṭi teḍḍula cēta
naḍuma
ninnāḻḻadāṃ̐kā naḍapināḍa
kaḍuṃ̐jaṃcalamulanē gālicāpa
lettināṃ̐ḍa
veḍamāyapu
saraku velakiyyarō ॥paṃcēṃ॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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అడరి గుణత్రయములనేటి తెడ్డుల చేత
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You who
have steered, all these years, using oars called Trigunas.
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నడుమ నిన్నాళ్ళదాఁకా నడపినాడ
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midway through the ocean of worldly life
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కడుఁజంచలములనే గాలిచాప లెత్తినాఁడ
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you who raised wildly restless sails and drifted wherever
the winds blew—
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వెడమాయపు సరకు వెలకియ్యరో
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can you now assess the worth of this trivial, fragile,
distorted cargo called the body?
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Literal
Meaning:
You have
long navigated the sea of saṃsāra, propelled by the three guṇas
as oars—sometimes striving, sometimes drifting, sometimes sinking into inertia.
On top of this, you hoisted sails made of extreme restlessness, allowing every
passing wind of thought, mood, and circumstance to determine direction. (Now
Annamacharya turns sharply inward): Can the truth be known by staking this
very body—this perishable, unreliable, misshapen cargo—as the price of inquiry?
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Second Stanza: The Rudderless Life
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Symbol
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Literal
Meaning |
Psychological
/ Spiritual Meaning
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తెడ్డులు (Oars)
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The three
guṇas (sattva,
rajas, tamas) that condition and govern human behaviour
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గాలిచాపలు (Sails)
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respond to
the force of the wind
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Restless,
constantly shifting thoughts that sway with circumstances.
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వెడమాయ సరకు
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Inferior,
distorted goods unfit for valuation
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The
perishable, mutable body—unstable by its very nature
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వెలకియ్యరో
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Fixing and
paying the value of goods
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Knowing
through staking one’s ignorance-born life itself (not as a method, but as
exposure of effort’s limits)
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Interpretative Notes:
వెడమాయపు
సరకు వెలకియ్యరో
(Can you
now assess the worth of this body?)
Here
Annamacharya moves deeper than moral critique or behavioural correction.He
exposes why all human effort fails, however sincere: The foundation
itself is unstable. No matter how carefully one rows, no matter how
intelligently one adjusts to shifting winds, the entire journey rests on vedamāya
saraku—a body that is unfit to bear the weight of truth.
Earlier,
the poem spoke of paying tolls to relieve suffering. Now that logic
collapses. There is no toll to be paid—only a life to be spent. Not through
accumulation of learning, not through refinement of technique, but by placing
one’s very existence at stake.
Truth is
not obtained by reading books; it is known only by wagering life itself. And
even this is not a method—only to expose of the limits of effort. Thus, Truth not
something taken away from experience
Third Stanza:
ఆతుమయనేటి
కంభ మంతరాత్ముఁ డెక్కియుండి
నీతితో మమ్ముఁగాచుక
నిలుచున్నాఁడు
ఆతఁడే శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁ
డటు మాకు మీకుఁ గర్త
ఘాతమాని
ఇఁక మాకు కడుగుణ మియ్యరో ॥పంచేం॥
ātumayanēṭi kaṃbha maṃtarātmuṃ̐ ḍekkiyuṃḍi
nītitō mammuṃ̐gācuka
nilucunnāṃ̐ḍu
ātaṃ̐ḍē śrīvēṃkaṭēśuṃ̐ ḍaṭu māku mīkuṃ̐ garta
ghātamāni iṃ̐ka māku kaḍuguṇa miyyarō ॥paṃcēṃ॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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ఆతుమయనేటి కంభ మంతరాత్ముఁ డెక్కియుండి
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The inner reality is not moving, not acting. It stands as a
fixed axis. |
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నీతితో మమ్ముఁగాచుక నిలుచున్నాఁడు
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The Supreme is not involved in navigation or correction but
remains as the observer. Protection does not come through intervention, but
through an impersonal, non-negotiable order of the universe
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ఆతఁడే శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁ డటు మాకు మీకుఁ గర్త
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All apparent individual agency is secondary. What truly
operates is singular.
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ఘాతమాని ఇఁక మాకు కడుగుణ మియ్యరో
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Stop not merely violence, but all ego-driven attempts—born
of merit–demerit calculations. Real nature is not acquired, not
cultivated—only uncovered.
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Literal Meaning:
The
Inner Reality stands unmoved upon the axis of the Self. It protects not by
adjusting events, but by being the order itself. That alone is the true doer. All
others merely appear to act, each within their limited scope. Therefore,
abandon compulsive action born of moral accounting. What remains is not new—it
is the fundamental reality.
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Third
Stanza: Non-negotiable order
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Symbol
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Literal
Meaning
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Psychological
/ Spiritual Meaning
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స్తంభము (Mast)
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The mast
(of ship)
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The
unmoving principle of Self (Ātma) within the human being
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ఎక్కి ఉండుట
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Sitting
atop the mast and observing
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The state
of the Inner Witness (Antaryāmi) — awareness that does not act
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నీతి (Rule)
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Regulations
governing navigation
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Dharma —
the impersonal order by which the universe functions
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ఘాతమాని
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Ceasing
violence or destructive acts.
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Ending
ego-driven effort; relinquishing action born of assumed authorship
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Interpretative Notes:
ఆతుమయనేటి
కంభ మంతరాత్ముఁ డెక్కియుండి
(The
Inner Reality stands unmoved upon the axis of the Self.)
Here Annamacharya closes the structure he has
been building. After exposing: the false harbour of negotiation, the uncontrollable
navigation driven by guṇas, he points to what cannot be negotiated,
steered, or corrected. The Inner Witness does not intervene. It does not
console. It does not promise relief. It simply is.
ఘాతమాని
(Stop violence)
When the poet says, “abandon acts of harm,” he
does not prescribe ethical reform. He exposes that all action performed under
ignorance—even virtuous action—carries a violent residue, because it assumes a
separate doer. To stop is not a discipline, nor a cultivated restraint. It is
the recognition of limits—and of the unwarranted freedom we have
taken for granted. Thus, the poem circles back to the Pallavi.
తెంచి బేరమాడుకొని
దించరో బరవు
“Quickly Bargain
and reduce agony”
Negotiation cannot unload the burden. Truth must
be seen. Everything else is restless oscillation.
Summary
Closure
This
kīrtana does not offer liberation.
It removes false exits.
It does not
ask for effort.
It shows why effort fails.
What
remains is not a path,
but a still point from which all motion is seen.
And
that—Annamacharya insists—is enough.
X-X-The
END-X-X
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