262R ఇప్పుడే తెలుసుకో నీకెఱఁగ
విన్నవించితి
(ippuḍē telusukō nīkeraga vinnaviṃciti)
Introduction
What appears to be a playful teasing
exchange gradually confronts us with a hard reality of life. Through hilarious,
tempting and increasingly intimate images, Annamacharya takes us through a
small dramatic sketch. There are no sermons or elaborate explanations—only a
question that touches the core of our lives: Are we truly serious about our
engagement with the Divine, or are we merely passing the time while remaining
firmly under Maya's spell?
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శృంగార కీర్తన |
Romantic Poem |
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రేకు: 542-2 సంపుటము: 13-186 |
Copper Plate: 542-2 Vol: 13-186 |
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ఇప్పుడే తెలుసుకో నీకెఱఁగ విన్నవించితి కొప్పువ ట్టీకె దీసితే గుంపించఁ గలవా ॥పల్లవి॥ పుత్తడిబొమ్మవలె పూచిన లతికవలె చిత్తరుపతిమెవలెఁ జెలి యున్నది మత్తిల్లి యప్పటి నేఁడు మాతో నేమినవ్వేవు వొత్తుకాపె విలిచితేఁ బోకుండఁగలవా ॥ఇప్పు॥ కొసరుఁగోయిలవలె కొలనితుమ్మిదవలె పసని చిలుకవలెఁ బలికీనాపె నసలు సేయుచు నిట్టే నాతో మాటలాడేవు వొసగితే విడెమాకె వొల్లననఁగలవా ॥ఇప్పు॥ మెత్తినగందమువలె మెడకంటసరివలె ముత్తెమువలెనే వురమున నుందాకె హత్తి శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁడ అట్టె నన్నుఁగూడితివి బత్తి సేసితివాపెతోఁ బంతమాడఁగలవా ॥ఇప్పు॥ |
ippuḍē telusukō nīke\raṃ̐ga vinnaviṃciti koppuva ṭṭīke dīsitē guṃpiṃcaṃ̐ galavā ॥pallavi॥ puttaḍibommavale pūcina latikavale cittarupatimevaleṃ̐ jeli yunnadi mattilli yappaṭi nēṃ̐ḍu mātō nēminavvēvu vottukāpe vilicitēṃ̐ bōkuṃḍaṃ̐galavā ॥ippu॥ kosaruṃ̐gōyilavale kolanitummidavale pasani cilukavaleṃ̐ balikīnāpe nasalu sēyucu niṭṭē nātō māṭalāḍēvu vosagitē viḍemāke vollananaṃ̐galavā ॥ippu॥ mettinagaṃdamuvale meḍakaṃṭasarivale muttemuvalenē vuramuna nuṃdāke hatti śrīvēṃkaṭēśuṃ̐ḍa aṭṭe nannuṃ̐gūḍitivi batti sēsitivāpetōṃ̐ baṃtamāḍaṃ̐galavā ॥ippu॥ |
Details and Discussions:
Chorus (Pallavi):
ఇప్పుడే తెలుసుకో నీకెఱఁగ విన్నవించితి
కొప్పువ ట్టీకె దీసితే గుంపించఁ గలవా ॥పల్లవి॥
ippuḍē telusukō nīke\raṃ̐ga vinnaviṃciti
koppuva ṭṭīke dīsitē guṃpiṃcaṃ̐ galavā ॥pallavi॥
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Telugu
Phrase
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Meaning
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ఇప్పుడే
తెలుసుకో
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realize it
this very moment — “now or never,” the urgency of immediacy.
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నీకెఱఁగ
విన్నవించితి
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I have
already explained this to you
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కొప్పువ
ట్టీకె దీసితే
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(కొప్పు = hair; ఈకె = woman, here
symbolizing Māyā) – If Maya takes hold of you and pulls you by
the hair
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గుంపించఁ
గలవా
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Will you be
able to withstand her hold?
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Literal Meaning:
(An unknown female voice seems to address
the listener. From the context of the song, we may understand her as a divine
feminine voice speaking about Maya-illusion):“Understand it right now. I
have already explained it to you. If she grabs you by the hair and drags you
along, will you be able to withstand her?” The question is not a gentle
suggestion. It is a warning about the urgency of understanding oneself.
Interpretative
Notes:
“ఇప్పుడే తెలుసుకో — Realize it now.” The emphasis is on immediacy: Now. Why this urgency? If the self-realization is postponed, the mind gets time to
prepare its defences. “I will do it tomorrow.” “I need to prepare first.”
“There must be an easier way.” These thoughts give us a sense of security, but
they may also keep us away from seeing what is happening. (This is exactly what Jiddu Krishnamurti also
emphasized — the urgency of “seeing” in the present moment.)
“కొప్పువ ట్టీకె దీసితే — Pulled by the hair.” This is not gentle. It is violent, painful. Just as every
strand of hair is rooted in the scalp, so too are we bound by countless
attachments and conditionings. When all are torn out at once, can one endure
the pain? Self-understanding
can also be uncomfortable. When we see something that challenges our
established beliefs, desires or identity, the mind looks for relief. It tries
to find a more comfortable path, a less painful interpretation or a method by
which it can change without being fundamentally disturbed.
Annamacharya's expression, “If it
grabs you by your hair and drags you,” can be viewed alongside René
Magritte's Surreal painting The Blood of the World (1926).
The Blood of the World — René Magritte
(1926)
In a way that we cannot easily
understand, the painting creates a sense of unease in the mind. It seems to
give a visible form to the unrest and confusion hidden within us. These inner
disturbances are reflected in our actions.
The expressions “Understand it now” and
“If it grabs you by your hair and drags you,” together with Magritte's The
Blood of the World, directly confront the mind. The mind does not remain
passive when confronted in this manner. It immediately prepares a response.
The mind's primary movement is towards
self-protection and continuity. It may resist, defend, justify, or look for a
way to reduce the intensity of what it is being asked to see. This movement
towards action may be understood as Sankalpa — the will or intention to
act.
The response of the mind, therefore, is
likely to take the form of defence or some other mechanism that reduces the
intensity of the confrontation. Even the attempt to understand may become a way
of avoiding what is actually being seen.
The unseen voice in the Pallavi points to
the limits of this will. Can the mind, through its own resolve and effort,
prevent itself from being carried away by Maya? Or does the very movement by
which it tries to protect itself keep it within her reach?
Sankalpa (the Will) — The Obstruction: What must be sacrificed is not the senses but
will itself — the determination “I will prepare, I will make myself ready.”
That very will is the great beast to be slain. Annamacharya says:
“అమలమగు విజ్ఞానమను మహాధ్వరమునకు
నమరినది సంకల్పమను మహాపశువు…”
Knowledge is clarified only when this beast of
determination is offered as the true sacrifice in Yajna. (Compare Bhagavad Gita
6.2 — renunciation is not about abandoning action, but giving up ownership of
action.)
Surrender Alone.
True awareness blossoms only in complete
submission. That is why Annamacharya elsewhere reassures the frightened seeker:
“వెరవకువే యింత వెరగేలా నీకు
నెఱిఁ గురిసీఁ గొప్పున నీలాలు”
“Do not be so afraid, why such trembling for you?
In that very distortion (in that transformation), your head will be shining
like sapphires.”
Annamacharya’s
Strategy.
This truth of surrender, pain and transformation
can be frightening when stated plainly. Annamacharya therefore places the
inquiry within the sweetness of romance—quarrel, longing and playful speech.
The listener is drawn into an apparently familiar human situation, only to
encounter a question that challenges the listener's own understanding.
Summary
Realize now, without delay.
The pulling out of conditioning is violent and
painful, like hair being torn.
The will that tries to prepare and control its
own transformation may itself become an obstruction.
In surrender, individuality dissolves.
First
Stanza:
పుత్తడిబొమ్మవలె పూచిన లతికవలె
చిత్తరుపతిమెవలెఁ జెలి యున్నది
మత్తిల్లి యప్పటి నేఁడు మాతో నేమినవ్వేవు
వొత్తుకాపె విలిచితేఁ బోకుండఁగలవా ॥ఇప॥
puttaḍibommavale
pūcina latikavale
cittarupatimevaleṃ̐
jeli yunnadi
mattilli yappaṭi
nēṃ̐ḍu mātō nēminavvēvu
vottukāpe vilicitēṃ̐
bōkuṃḍaṃ̐galavā ॥ippu॥
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Telugu
Phrase
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Meaning
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పుత్తడిబొమ్మవలె
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Like a shining golden doll
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పూచిన
లతికవలె
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Like a freshly blossomed
creeper (beautiful but delicate, easily withering)
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చిత్తరుపతిమెవలెఁ
జెలి యున్నది
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Beautiful and captivating
like a painting
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మత్తిల్లి
యప్పటి నేఁడు మాతో నేమినవ్వేవు
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(మత్తిల్లి = Remaining in, or
continuing from, a state of intoxication) Still intoxicated from that
time until now, how can you presume to laugh and enjoy yourself with me (Divine)?
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వొత్తుకాపె
విలిచితేఁ బోకుండఁగలవా
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But if the moment of her call
comes, will you be able to withstand and not break?
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Literal Meaning:
(Unknown voice continues) She is as attractive as a golden doll, as
charming as a flowering creeper, and as captivating as a beautiful painting.
Still intoxicated, you carry yesterday’s experiences into the living present,
yet try to smile along with the Divine as though you can mingle freely. If Maya
calls you into intimacy, can you refrain from going?
Annamacharya is not offering us a
pleasant picture to admire. He is exposing the gap between our claims of
understanding and our actual condition. We may speak of devotion, enjoy the
thought of intimacy with the Divine and believe that we have understood Maya.
But when her attraction stands before us, what happens to that understanding?
Interpretative
Notes:
మత్తిల్లి యప్పటి నేఁడు మాతో నేమినవ్వేవు You behave as though you can laugh and enjoy yourself with
the Divine, while still remaining under Maya's spell. This line needs careful
understanding.
We often believe that our routine prostrations
before God and our recitation of holy names have prepared us for entering the
unknown realm. But do these activities necessarily bring about any change in
the way we live? Or do we simply add devotion to our existing patterns of life?
The poet is hinting at a much broader question: If
one seeks a tryst with Truth, can one still remain under the spell of Illusion
(Maya)? Can one approach Truth while continuing to live under the influence
of Maya? That is where the fourth line makes the question more demanding: when
Maya calls, can one refuse to go? Can anyone confidently declare oneself free
from Maya without facing this test?
The question is now directed at the individual.
Without understanding one's own condition, what is the value of all other
efforts?
Let us understand the intent of this stanza. For
illusion (Māyā) never comes dressed in ugliness. She appears as a golden doll,
a blossoming creeper, a radiant painting. Delightful, charming, intoxicating —
that is her mask. She delights us, charms us and intoxicates us. Her
attractions become so familiar that we hardly recognize their hold over us.
Who, then, would willingly abandon all this
attraction and walk away with nothing but a loincloth? We may admire ascetics
from a distance, but when it comes to giving up the comforts and attractions of
our own lives, our enthusiasm may suddenly disappear. Once her call is heard,
even those few left with the ascetic will develop wings to fly away.
Annamacharya is not offering us a pleasant
picture to admire. He is exposing how readily we are drawn in, and how little
our claims of understanding may count when temptation stands before us.
Second
Stanza:
కొసరుఁగోయిలవలె కొలనితుమ్మిదవలె
పసని చిలుకవలెఁ బలికీనాపె
నసలు సేయుచు నిట్టే నాతో మాటలాడేవు
వొసగితే విడెమాకె వొల్లననఁగలవా ॥ఇప్పు॥
kosaruṃ̐gōyilavale
kolanitummidavale
pasani cilukavaleṃ̐
balikīnāpe
nasalu sēyucu niṭṭē
nātō māṭalāḍēvu
vosagitē viḍemāke
vollananaṃ̐galavā ॥ippu॥
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Telugu phrase
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Meaning
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కొసరుఁగోయిలవలె
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Like a cuckoo
calling sweetly and affectionately.
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కొలనితుమ్మిదవలె
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Like a bee
among the blossoming lotuses in a pond, drawn to their freshness and beauty.
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పసని
చిలుకవలెఁ బలికీనాపె
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She sings and
plays teasingly like a bright green parrot, bringing fresh colours and
liveliness to the encounter
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నసలు
సేయుచు నిట్టే నాతో మాటలాడేవు
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(నసలు
= a pastime activity) You keep talking to me merely to pass the
time. Even your engagement with the divine may be just another pastime.
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వొసగితే
విడెమాకె వొల్లననఁగలవా
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if she offers you
betel leaves (విడెము, కిళ్ళి — traditional
token of intimacy and love), can you to
refuse? (you can’t)
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Literal Meaning:
(unknown voice continues) Maya calls sweetly and
affectionately like a cuckoo, moves among the blossoming lotuses like a bee in
a pond, and speaks playfully like a bright green parrot, bringing freshness and
liveliness to the encounter.
(The voice showing shades of mockery) "You
keep talking to me as though I were merely a pastime. But if Maya offers you
betel as a token of intimacy, can you bring yourself to refuse?" The
question is deliberately teasing. It challenges the poet's presumed freedom
from Maya.
Interpretative
notes:
నసలు సేయుచు నిట్టే నాతో మాటలాడేవు (The Pleasure of Passing Time): The poet points to a weakness we rarely
recognise in ourselves. We treat life as something to pass the time with. Even
our engagement with the Divine may become a pleasant pastime, rather than a
serious inquiry into the way we live.
It may be difficult to know why we are
here on this earthly world. In relation to this question, everything else
appear easier. We may have many good explanations, but deriving satisfaction is
not an inquiry. Therefore, fewer understand the purpose.
వొసగితే విడెమాకె వొల్లననఁగలవా: Our present engagement remains tentative
and inconsequential. We may speak of surrender and freedom from attachment, but
when Maya offers something attractive and familiar, can we refuse? Accepting
her invitation is ordinary. It requires no change in us. The real challenge lies
in recognising her hold and being free of it.
The closing question carries the sting.
Annamacharya does not accuse us directly. He lets the playful exchange expose
the contradiction between what we profess and how we actually live.
Third Stanza:
మెత్తినగందమువలె మెడకంటసరివలె
ముత్తెమువలెనే వురమున నుందాకె
హత్తి శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁడ అట్టె నన్నుఁగూడితివి
బత్తి సేసితివాపెతోఁ బంతమాడఁగలవా ॥ఇప్పు॥
mettinagaṃdamuvale
meḍakaṃṭasarivale
muttemuvalenē vuramuna
nuṃdāke
hatti śrīvēṃkaṭēśuṃ̐ḍa
aṭṭe nannuṃ̐gūḍitivi
batti sēsitivāpetōṃ̐
baṃtamāḍaṃ̐galavā ॥ippu॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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మెత్తిన గందమువలె మెడకంటసరివలె
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Like soft sandal paste — soothing, fragrant, pleasing,
oozing. Like a necklace resting on the neck — intimate, clinging, binding
the mind.
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ముత్తెమువలెనే వురమున నుందాకె
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Like a pearl placed
on chest, it connects directly into the heart — a deep, seemingly inseparable
attraction.
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హత్తి శ్రీవేంకటేశుఁడ అట్టె నన్నుఁగూడితివి
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O Lord Venkateśwara, you lifted up (from depths of darkness), and made me
your companion
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బత్తి సేసితివాపెతోఁ బంతమాడఁగలవా
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Yet Maya is like the
fuse of a firework: the instant fire touches it, it explodes. I wonder, O
Lord, can you really play with that fire?
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Literal Meaning:
(Unknown voice continues) Like soft, fragrant
sandal paste, like a necklace resting close around the neck, and like a pearl
lying upon the chest, Maya draws one into an intimate and seemingly inseparable
attraction.
(Poet responds) O Lord Śrī Venkateśwara! You
lifted me up embraced me and made me your companion. Yet, Sir, this Maya is
like a firework fuse: the moment it contacts fire, it bursts forth. Can you
really play with that fire?
Interpretative
notes:
The third stanza brings the small drama
to its climax. Annamacharya's poetic strategy sharpens with each stanza.
- First
stanza — Maya's outer allure: The golden doll, the flowering creeper and
the captivating painting present Maya through her visual charm.
- Second
stanza — Maya's companionship and intimacy: The sweet call of the cuckoo,
the bee among the lotuses and the playful parrot bring out her inviting
presence. Even one's engagement with the Divine may become a pleasant
pastime.
- Third
stanza — Maya's inward reach: Sandal paste, a necklace resting on the neck
and a pearl lying upon the chest bring Maya very close. The attraction is
no longer at a distance; it has become intimate, familiar and seemingly
inseparable.
At this point, the poet turns the
question back upon the Divine.
"You embraced me and made me your
companion, O Lord. But look at what you have brought me close to! Maya may
appear as soothing as sandal paste, as intimate as a necklace and as precious
as a pearl resting on the chest. Yet she carries the potential for an explosive
consequence. Can you really play with this fire?"
The tone is playful, almost satirical,
but the observation is serious. The Divine voice had been questioning the
poet's ability to withstand Maya. Now the poet challenges the Divine in return.
The final question is not merely about his own vulnerability; it questions
whether the power of Maya can ever be treated lightly.
Notice the progression. Maya first
attracts us from a distance. Then she becomes a companion whose company we
enjoy. Finally, she enters our intimate space and becomes deeply embedded in
our lives. What appears soothing and harmless may have consequences that erupt
in a moment.
The Message of
this Poem::
Annamacharya
asks us to remain alert to Maya—not merely when her attraction is obvious, but
especially when it has become familiar, intimate and deeply rooted. What begins
as an attraction can become an inseparable part of our lives. Its consequences,
however, may erupt in a moment.
The
challenge is not to declare ourselves free of Maya. It is to recognise how
deeply her influence has entered our lives, and how little our confidence may
count when the moment of testing arrives.
X-X-The
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