250 అలరులు గురియఁగ నాడెనదే
(alarulu guriyaga nADenadE)
తెలుగులో చదవడానికి ఇక్కడ నొక్కండి.
Introduction
Revolution in Poetry —
Peace in the Mind
Annamacharya’s Poetry
Not a perfume factory —
it does not wrap truth in fragrance.
Not for faint-hearted gentry —
it strips away every comfort mask.
This is poetry forged
in the heat of life —
where sweat and blood move,
where pretences are torn,
and the bare human heart
is set against the backdrop of the eternal.
It offers no sermons,
no consolations.
It does not hold your hand —
it holds up a mirror.
Here, God is not the
rescuer;
Man is his own greatest obstacle.
And the poet, seeing this without flinching,
writes without veil, without fear.
11 Arrows Trained at the Heart
Eleven
piercing lines from Annamacharya —
for reflection, for reckoning, and to feel their full impact.
- "కుమ్మరింపుచుఁ దెచ్చుకొన్నదీ వలపు"
We do not know love. What we carry is the self-pity we have poured out upon ourselves. In our anxiety to preserve it, we weave relationships of mutual convenience. Love cannot blossom in the air of anxiety and anticipation.
- "ఊరులేని పొలిమేర"
You do not know where you stand —
it is neither a village nor a boundary.
Without knowing your place, how can you choose your direction?
- "యితరులచే ముందర నిఁక నెట్టౌదునో యని వెతతోడఁ దలఁచేటి వెఱ పెల్లా విడిచి"
What troubles man most is not what
happens to him,
but how others will treat him.
- "వేదాంతశ్రవణము వెట్టికిఁ జేసేరా"
Annamacharya questions the blind act of “listening to Vedanta” as a virtue. Mechanical hearing, like climbing steps without knowing where they lead, cannot take you to the ultimate.
- "ఏ కాలమేది దనకెట్ల సుఖమైయుండు"
We wait for “better times” to turn toward God.
History shows no such time has ever come —
and it never will.
This waiting is the true bondage.
- "మొల్లలేలె నాకు తన్నె ముడుచుకొమ్మనవె నేఁ"
“My life is nature’s own.
The jasmine’s fragrance cannot cover
the smell of fish in my hair.
Whatever I do, this smell is real.
O Lord, take me as I am.”
- "గడ్డపార మింగితే నాఁకలి దీరీనా"
A wild yam may feed you, but it cannot satisfy hunger by itself.
Likewise, this birth may aid liberation, but it does not guarantee it.
- "గట్టిగాఁ దెలుసుకొంటే కన్నదే కంటి కురుమ"
The barriers to what we see are the veils in our own eyes.
It is not the world’s fault — our sight is crooked.
Look deep: the very eyes are hooks that bind us.
The dense, true intelligence lies hidden within.
- "క్రూరత్వమునకు కుదువ యీ బ్రదుకు"
This life is pledged to cruelty.
So what is there to boast of becoming “civilized”?
Desire breeds discontent; discontent
turns to anger.
In anger we become harsh,
mistaking cruelty for strength and expecting peace as its reward.
Selfishness, envy, greed for power, meanness —
these have become the daily truths of society.
Man accepts violence as natural,
and his failure to notice it is the sign of a deeper sickness.
- "వెలుపల మఱవక లోపల లేదు"
Whatever you have taken in from outside —
by observation, imitation, or education —
must be cast away.
Only then can truth be seen.
- "కంచూఁ గాదు పెంచూఁ గాదు కడుఁబెలుచు"
The mind is not like metal to be shaped at will,
nor can it be trained into a desired mold.
It is brittle, unyielding,
its nature unknown —
and it cannot be shared with another.
Having absorbed the force of those
piercing truths,
we now turn to the Keerthana before us.
A note on Keertana
అలరులు గురియఁగ నాడెనదే
In it, the dance awakens as the Āchārya
steps into an unseen realm—
expressed in the language of this world,
yet dissolving into movement,
until word and gesture are one,
and the language itself becomes the dance.
|
శృంగార సంకీర్తన |
Romantic Poem |
|
రేకు:
4-7 సంపుటము: 5-24 |
Copper Plate: 4-7 Volume: 5-24 |
|
అలరులు గురియఁగ నాడెనదే
అలకలఁ గులుకుల నలమేల్ మంగ ॥పల్లవి॥ అరవిరి సొబగుల నతివలు మెచ్చఁగ
అరతెర మరఁగున నాడెనదే
వరుస పూర్వదువాళపు తిరుపుల
హరిఁగరగింపుచు నలమేల్ మంగ ॥అలరు॥ మట్టపు మలపుల మట్టెల కెలపుల
తట్టెడి నడపుల దాఁటెనదే
పెట్టిన వజ్రపు పెండెపు తళుకులు
అట్టిట్టు చిమ్ముచు నలమేల్ మంగ ॥అలరు॥ చిందుల పాటల శిరి పొలయాటల
అందెల మోఁతల నాడెనదే
కందువ తిరువేంకటపతి మెచ్చఁగ
అందపు తిరుపుల
నలమేల్ మంగ ॥అలరు॥
|
alarulu guriyaga
nADenadE
alakala gulukula
nalamEl^ maMga ॥pallavi॥ araviri sobagula
nativalu mechchaga
aratera maraguna
nADenadE
varusa pUrvaduvALapu
tirupula
harigaragiMpuchu
nalamEl^ maMga ॥alaru॥ maTTapu malapula
maTTela kelapula
taTTeDi naDapula
dATenadE
peTTina vajrapu
peMDepu taLukulu
aTTiTTu chimmuchu
nalamEl^ maMga ॥alaru॥ chiMdula pATala Siri
polayATala
aMdela mOtala
nADenadE
kaMduva
tiruvEMkaTapati mechchaga
aMdapu tirupula nalamEl^ maMga ॥alaru॥
|
Details and Explanation:
Chorus
(Pallavi):
|
Telugu Phrase |
Meaning |
|
అలరులు గురియఁగ నాడెనదే |
As the flowers shower there she dances |
|
అలకలఁ గులుకుల నలమేల్ మంగ |
A bashful Alamelumanga moving gracefully on pretty airs |
Literal Meaning:
Commentary:
This keertana is on Annamacharya himself. Having reached an unknown place, as he felt all the bondages of the earthly existence severed. Joy in his heart is boundless. There he started dancing. He does not know who he is. He is seeing himself as Alamelumanga.
Amidst this floral rain, Alamelumanga
performs her dance. One may also understand that as she dances, the flowers
adorning her hair gently slip and scatter. Through her abhinaya, she reveals
shades of playful sulking and bursts of joy.
First Stanza:
|
పదబంధం |
అర్ధము |
|
అరవిరి సొబగుల నతివలు మెచ్చఁగ
అరతెర మరఁగున నాడెనదే
|
Around her, the companion dancers watch with delight. |
|
వరుస పూర్వదువాళపు తిరుపుల |
పూర్వదువాళపు తిరుపుల Pūrva duvāḷapu
tirupulu — According to experts like K.S. Prabhakara Shastri’s
interpretation, this refers to a distinctive dance flourish performed at the
very entrance onto the stage: the dancer springs upward with both feet
together, lands gracefully, makes a swift circular turn on the spot, and
leaps again. It is a striking opening movement in the repertoire. వరుస పూర్వదువాళపు తిరుపుల = many such graceful
movements continuously |
|
హరిఁగరగింపుచు నలమేల్ మంగ |
As if the Lord’s heart would melt in joy with those steps |
Literal Meaning:
Around her, the companion dancers sway in
unison,
their eyes lit with quiet admiration.
She steps forward — the grace of a half-bloomed bud in motion,
her form glimmering through a half-veil.
Then — the pūrva-duvāḷapu tirupulu:
a sudden twin-footed leap,
landing to the beat,
a swift turn within her own space,
rushing forth in one unbroken rhythm —
like the proud gait of a spirited horse.
And thus she begins,
each step a ripple in the air,
each movement softening the heart of Hari Himself.
The
Interpretation:
Here companions mentioned are not ordinary beings. They are the great liberated souls like Narada, Tumbura. They are in awe of the dance of Annamacharya. Thus, we can say it’s a cosmic dance. (of course, not written for appreciation and imitation. But to indicate the joy of liberation)
The wording పూర్వదువాళపు తిరుపుల is indicating Annamacharya entering the
Divine stage.
Second
Stanza:
|
పదబంధం (Phrase) |
అర్థం (Telugu) |
|
మట్టపు మలపుల మట్టెల కెలపుల |
Rhythmic movements of her limbs, |
|
తట్టెడి నడపుల దాఁటెనదే |
She stepped with resounding grace, crossing over in her
dance. |
|
పెట్టిన వజ్రపు పెండెపు తళుకులు |
The sparkle of diamond anklets adorning her feet as a mark
of honour. |
|
అట్టిట్టు చిమ్ముచు నలమేల్ మంగ |
Their glimmers scattering here and there |
Literal Meaning:
Her anklets rang—majestic in tone,
steeped in regal pride.
Each step unfurled across the floor like a swelling wave;
tapping here, gliding there, she crossed over within the rhythm’s embrace.
Diamonds at her feet cast flashes of light in every direction—
until Alamelumanga herself became the very embodiment of the dance.
Commentary:
Literal meaning: With
rhythmic movements of her limbs, alive with the spirited jingling of anklets,
she stepped with resounding grace, crossing over in her dance.
Implied meaning: In the Lord’s gaze, this is the moment
Annamacharya, still unaware, crosses the final threshold toward the realisation
of Truth — not through striving, but in the effortless absorption of the dance
itself.
Third Stanza:
|
Telugu Phrase |
Meaning |
|
చిందుల పాటల శిరి పొలయాటల |
"Songs focused on rhythm, suitable for dance, and
featuring the playful, romantic disputes of Goddess Lakshmi." |
|
అందెల మోఁతల నాడెనదే |
With beautiful steps and turns that match the sounds of the
anklets |
|
కందువ తిరువేంకటపతి మెచ్చఁగ |
The skillful Lord Venkateswara, who was nearby, was
captivated by her talent |
|
అందపు తిరుపుల నలమేల్ మంగ |
Alamelumanga's dance was filled with grace and beautiful
expressions. |
Literal Meaning:
“With dance movements flowing, led by the rhythm
itself,
graced by the measured syllables of the nattuvangam,
and the sweet harmony of jingling anklets in perfect time,
her graceful turns glimmered with a crimson glow.
In each movement, subtle expressions bloomed —
the playful quarrels of Goddess Lakshmi brought to life.
Alamelumanga was immersed in the very essence of dance,
while nearby, the masterful connoisseur,
Lord Venkateswara Himself,
watched with deep delight.”
Commentary:
Thus, Annamacharya's beautiful depiction of this cosmic dance allows us to witness it as if we were truly there.
"In
this dance, Annamacharya transforms into Alamelumanga, until the line
between dancer and dance dissolves — a moment where devotion, beauty, and
liberation meet as one."
AN APPEAL
Hidden for centuries, Annamacharya's
poems were lost, a treasure of substance and philosophical guidance. But thanks
to the tireless efforts of the Tirumala Administration and countless devotees,
singers, musicians, these sacred verses have been brought back to light.
My wish is for more people to discover
Annamacharya's poetry, to unravel its mysteries, and to appreciate its profound
depth and beauty, allowing it to awaken the souls that have long slumbered.
X-X-The END-X-X
