TALLAPAKA
ANNAMACHARYULU
297 పారితెంచి యెత్తివేసి పారవెళ్లితిని(వి?)
(pāriteṃci
yettivēsi pāraveḻlitini(vi?)
INTRODUCTION
Here
Annamacharya examines himself with greater depth. These are the words of a
person who is watching, within himself, how life proceeds according to what has
habitually been heard, seen, and touched. In this sharp observation, the
distinction between the one who examines and what is examined nearly dissolves.
This kīrtana is written from that state. As a result, especially in this
composition, the boundaries between “I (the self)” and “You (the unknown
other)” overlap and interpenetrate, at times creating an apparent ambiguity of
meaning. Because of this, analysing the kīrtana can feel confusing and even
more complex.
In the waking state, some things are known to us; yet there are also impressions that, though present within us, have never been consciously noticed. Both together are referred to here as “what has been habitually heard, seen, and touched.”
For such an impartial observation to take place, the moment that seeks to enter experience must be seen before the stored notions in the mind begin to influence it. That is, a seeing that knows even before the image appears on the screen of the mind. This demands an extreme subtlety and refinement of perception. It is not a practice; it is the culmination of alertness.
For such alertness, the coarse faculty of perception through which experiences ordinarily reach us is of no use. The movement from coarse to subtle perception does not occur through practice. It may not even be possible unless the traces of past experiences that obstruct perception within us dissolve completely. No one can erase them deliberately, nor are there methods to do so. That belongs to a later moment of truth-realisation. Those who have seen truth do not venture to offer guidance to others. That is why this is not a path meant for directing others. One must inwardly grasp the core idea of the earlier kīrtana, "ఎవ్వారు లేరూ హితవు చెప్పఁగ" (there is no one who can hand over wisdom to you).
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అధ్యాత్మ
కీర్తన
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Philosophical Poem
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రేకు: 14-5
సంపుటము: 1-87
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Copper
Plate: 14-5 Vol: 1-87
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పారితెంచి యెత్తివేసి పారవెళ్లితిని(వి?) నీరసపు టెద్దవైన నీకు నే ముద్దా ॥పారి॥ ఎద్దవై నన్నేల తొక్కి యేమి గట్టుకొంటివి వొద్దనైన వచ్చి వూరకుండవైతివి వొద్దిక భూమెత్తిన యాయెద్దుకు నే ముద్దుగాక నిద్దురచిత్తముతోడినీకు నే ముద్దా ॥పారి॥ కాఁపురపుఁ బాపపు నా కర్మమును ధరించి వీఁపు వగులఁగ దాకి విఱ్ఱవీఁగితి ఆఁపఁగ నెద్దేమెఱుంగు నడుకుల చవి మూట- మోపరివి నీకు నాముదము ముద్దా ॥పారి॥ మచ్చరించి అల్లనాఁడు మాలవాఁడు కాలఁదన్ని తెచ్చినయప్పటి ధర్మదేవతవు యెచ్చరించి తిరువేంకటేశుదాసుఁడని నన్ను మెచ్చి తాఁకితివి నా మేను నీకు ముద్దా ॥పారి॥
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pāriteṃci yettivēsi
pāraveḻlitini(vi?) nīrasapu ṭeddavaina nīku nē
muddā ॥pāri॥ eddavai nannēla tokki yēmi
gaṭṭukoṃṭivi voddanaina vacci
vūrakuṃḍavaitivi voddika bhūmettina yāyedduku
nē muddugāka nidduracittamutōḍinīku nē
muddā ॥pāri॥ kāṃ̐purapuṃ̐ bāpapu nā
karmamunu dhariṃci vīṃ̐pu vagulaṃ̐gadāki
vi\r\ravīṃ̐giti āṃ̐paṃ̐ga neddēme\ruṃgu
naḍukula cavi mūṭa- mōparivi nīku nāmudamu muddā ॥pāri॥ maccariṃci allanāṃ̐ḍu
mālavāṃ̐ḍu kālaṃ̐danni teccinayappaṭi
dharmadēvatavu yeccariṃci
tiruvēṃkaṭēśudāsuṃ̐ḍani nannu mecci tāṃ̐kitivi nā mēnu
nīku muddā ॥pāri॥
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Details
and Discussions:
Chorus (Pallavi):
పల్లవి
పారితెంచి
యెత్తివేసి పారవెళ్లితిని(వి?)
నీరసపు టెద్దవైన
నీకు నే ముద్దా ॥పారి॥
pāriteṃci yettivēsi
pāraveḻlitini(vi?)
nīrasapu ṭeddavaina nīku nē
muddā ॥pāri॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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పారితెంచి
యెత్తివేసి పారవెళ్లితిని(వి?)
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I rushed
along, was lifted by the flow, and then slipped away? (You came rushing,
lifted me up in a surge, and then passed on — leaving me here.)
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నీరసపు
టెద్దవైన నీకు నే ముద్దా
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(nīrasapu teḍḍavaina = one who stands at the edge of tastelessness; one
who moves along the margins of death; one who has not entered human experience)
O Lord, one untouched by experience — am I dear to you? (No.) |
Literal Meaning:
Caught in
this current of life, I cling to breath and drift helplessly. (in bit of
frustration poet is addressing) You — who are beyond experience — God — am I dear
to you? (No.)
Interpretative Notes:
This is not
an ordinary act of self-examination. It is a ruthless dissection — breaking
oneself into fragments and looking without mercy. The harsh, almost abrasive
choice of words sharpens this inquiry. Behind these lines echoes the idea: “That
which merely floats along never goes deep; it only circles on the surface.”
This poem
is spoken from a state where one clearly sees one’s own inability to go deep —
and yet speaks without agitation, without self-pity, without drama. It begins by
asserting a bare fact: we are all being swept helplessly in the current
of life.
Annamacharya
is not accusing the world; he is indicting himself. Without alertness, through
needless effort, instead of being part of the living current, he says he is
merely clutching to his life.
Annamacharya’s
question, “Am I dear to you?” is not truly addressed to God. Without inwardly
accepting oneself with absolute clarity, it is almost pointless to look for
outside approvals. This must be understood as inevitable part of self-dissection.
పారవెళ్లితిని(వి?)
(You threw
me here? OR I threw myself here?)
At first
glance, it seems as though someone else abandoned the poet in the current of
life. Immediately, the poet corrects himself: it is he who reflexively stepped
out of the flow. That self-correction is the honesty of this verse.
First Stanza:
ఎద్దవై నన్నేల
తొక్కి యేమి గట్టుకొంటివి
వొద్దనైన
వచ్చి వూరకుండవైతివి
వొద్దిక
భూమెత్తిన యాయెద్దుకు నే ముద్దుగాక
నిద్దురచిత్తముతోడినీకు
నే ముద్దా ॥పారి॥
eddavai nannēla tokki yēmi
gaṭṭukoṃṭivi
voddanaina vacci
vūrakuṃḍavaitivi
voddika bhūmettina yāyedduku
nē muddugāka
nidduracittamutōḍinīku nē
muddā ॥pāri॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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ఎద్దవై నన్నేల తొక్కి యేమి గట్టుకొంటివి
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Like a
bull, you attempted crushing the sense of “I” with brute force. But what have
you really gained?
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వొద్దనైన వచ్చి వూరకుండవైతివి
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Could you
even remain stand near that Truth silently without retreating?
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వొద్దిక భూమెత్తిన యాయెద్దుకు నే ముద్దుగాక
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In this world, living by brute instinct comes
naturally — and I find myself drawn to it
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నిద్దురచిత్తముతోడినీకు
నే ముద్దా
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My mind half-awake
unalert mind — can I be dear to you? (I cannot.)
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Literal
Meaning:
Annamacharya
is examining himself relentlessly. He is talking to himself thus —"Like a
bull, you attempted crushing the sense of “I” with brute force. But what have
you really gained? Could you even remain near that Truth silently without
retreating? In this world, living by brute instinct comes naturally — and I
find myself drawn to it. (Now addressing the person he is seeing before him) My mind
half-awake unalert mind — can I be dear to you? (No).
Interpretative
Notes:
వొద్దిక
భూమెత్తిన యాయెద్దుకు నే ముద్దుగాక
“Living
in this unforgiving world brute instinct appears
to be the natural inclination. And I even appear to follow it”. Also refer to remark by Annamacharya in another
poem “క్రూరత్వమునకు
కుదువ యీ బ్రదుకు” (=we live by committing to cruelty) reinforcing
this tendency. Annamacharya observes “cruelty and
bruteness are the touch stones for our present living.
నిద్దురచిత్తముతోడినీకు
నే ముద్దా
My mind
half-awake, unalert mind — can I be dear to you? (No). The frankness and
clarity (in writing) are the hallmark of this poetry. Because he is not
dependent on the outcome of this question. He is only making the reader aware
of that.
Second
Stanza:
కాఁపురపుఁ
బాపపు నా కర్మమును ధరించి
వీఁపు
వగులఁగ దాకి విఱ్ఱవీఁగితి
ఆఁపఁగ
నెద్దేమెఱుంగు నడుకుల చవి మూట-
మోపరివి
నీకు నాముదము ముద్దా ॥పారి॥
kāṃ̐purapuṃ̐ bāpapu nā
karmamunu dhariṃci
vīṃ̐pu vagulaṃ̐gadāki
vi\r\ravīṃ̐giti
āṃ̐paṃ̐ga neddēme\ruṃgu
naḍukula cavi mūṭa-
mōparivi nīku nāmudamu muddā ॥pāri॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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కాఁపురపుఁ బాపపు నా కర్మమును ధరించి
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(unable to recognise, Addressing his own body,
the poet says thus) “In this worldly life, I live
bearing these sinful deeds (karmas)
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వీఁపు వగులఁగ దాకి విఱ్ఱవీఁగితి
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I wandered about, struggling until I could bear no more. (probably implying that he should have ostracised these deeds
much before)
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ఆఁపఁగ నెద్దేమెఱుంగు నడుకుల చవి మూట-
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(ఆఁపఁగ=the flow like a river,
the river of continued deed centric life) Am I fit to understand
the life in this river? (for an animal may not appreciate the taste of flattened
rice).
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మోపరివి నీకు నాముదము ముద్దా
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(addressing whoever appearing before him) you
appear to be the one who takes the brunt of this Karmic load. Yet, I doubt,
you like my happiness born out of these blind deeds. (the poet clearly knows
that the other does not appreciate)
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Literal Meaning:
(Here
Annamacharya examines himself even more sharply. Life proceeds according to
what one has habitually seen, heard, and touched. In the waking state, some
impressions are consciously known; others operate silently beneath awareness.
Together, these constitute the momentum of lived life.
In
this intense self-observation, the distance between the one who examines and
the one being examined almost disappears. From such a state this stanza and the
next one arise. Because of this, the boundaries between “I” (nā) and “you
(nI)” (the unknown presence before him) blur and overlap. This deliberate
ambiguity of voice makes the kīrtana demanding—it resists quick clarity and
requires sustained attention.) Speaking inwardly, Poet says:
Bearing
the burden of my karmas—the sins accumulated through worldly life—I wandered
on, flailing and straining until I could no longer sustain. This life flows on
like a river. How could someone dull like a bull ever taste the subtle flavour of
moving with that current? You alone carry this weight now. But tell me— is my
happiness dear to you? (No.)
Interpretative Notes:
వీఁపు
వగులఁగ దాకి విఱ్ఱవీఁగితి
(Lingered
till I could bear no more)
A human
being rarely appreciates and accepts his true condition. He clings endlessly to
things that provide temporary relief and consolation. He holds a firm belief
that “One day I will discover Truth. By then, a good reference book would be written
by ‘some knowledgeable’ person. I’ll
grasp it in half an hour.” This endless postponement—“I will
become”—is itself the burden.
ఆఁపఁగ
(flow like a river)
This is a
very important point to consider. The poet is already able to identify the flow
of life is continuous like a river. Therefore, his self-criticism is at a plane
beyond our comprehension.
ఎద్దేమెఱుంగు
నడుకుల చవి మూట
“How would
a bull know the taste of flattened rice?”
Flattened
rice (aṭukulu) is made by soaking paddy. Subsequently boiling, flattening
and drying follow. The act of flattening is crucial. For one swollen
with ego—‘puffed up’—such subtle nourishment of the flattened rice holds
no value. He neither notices it nor tastes it. Hence, the people with bullish
attitude may not know its flavour.
నీకు
నాముదము ముద్దా ?
“Is my
happiness dear to you?”
Here
Annamacharya views himself almost as a third person. The answer is clearly No. He stands
in a state of non-negotiable equilibrium. In such a state, there is no space
left for individual preference or emotional bargaining.
Third Stanza:
మచ్చరించి
అల్లనాఁడు మాలవాఁడు కాలఁదన్ని
తెచ్చినయప్పటి
ధర్మదేవతవు
యెచ్చరించి
తిరువేంకటేశుదాసుఁడని నన్ను
మెచ్చి
తాఁకితివి నా మేను నీకు ముద్దా ॥పారి॥
maccariṃci allanāṃ̐ḍu
mālavāṃ̐ḍu kālaṃ̐danni
teccinayappaṭi dharmadēvatavu
yeccariṃci
tiruvēṃkaṭēśudāsuṃ̐ḍani nannu
mecci
tāṃ̐kitivi nā mēnu nīku muddā ॥pāri॥
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Telugu Phrase
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Meaning
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మచ్చరించి అల్లనాఁడు మాలవాఁడు కాలఁదన్ని
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Once, under influence of envy, I lacked the strength to
reject the untouchability. That inability itself was my refusal of Truth.
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తెచ్చినయప్పటి ధర్మదేవతవు
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You are the Dharma that brought this back to remembrance
today. (the Dharma that does not alter with time or circumstance).
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యెచ్చరించి తిరువేంకటేశుదాసుఁడని నన్ను
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By awakening me thus, your approving touch, I realised myself as a servant of Tiruvēṅkaṭēśa
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మెచ్చి తాఁకితివి నా మేను నీకు ముద్దా
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and, approvingly, you touched me. Yet tell me— is this
embodied life of mine dear to you? (No.)
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Literal Meaning:
(Annamacharya in this stanza reaches
a stage where he recognises that he is facing none other than his own true self.
In that very instant, entire existence came to his awareness. At the same time his
attachment to his physical body severed) he spoke thus:
Bound by
envy and a narrow vision, I once failed to firmly reject the falsehood. Today, I
am revealed that flaw again by that Dharma whose quality does not alter with
time. After that counselling, by your approving touch, I knew myself as a
servant of Tiruvēṅkaṭēśa. And yet is this body of mine dear to you? (No).
Interpretative Notes:
మచ్చరించి
అల్లనాఁడు మాలవాఁడు కాలఁదన్ని
“Once,
constrained by envy…”
The highest
human state is to accept oneself fully, without inner division. Here,
Annamacharya openly exposes his own earlier failure—how envy once clouded him
and led him to uphold distinctions that he should have honestly rejected.
తెచ్చినయప్పటి
ధర్మదేవతవు
When a person
comes face to face with oneself with absolute clarity, the illusion that surrounds
we ordinary people gets lifted. They can feel the truth direct and live. In the
absence of a reference point to express his gratitude, Annamacharya is addressing
the self that stand as he completely severed the attachment with his body.
మెచ్చి తాఁకితివి
“You touched
me.”
Those who
directly encounter their real self, do not become special—they become
transparent. Their heart is cleansed, ready to perceive what is subtle and
real. Our experiences, by contrast, remain second-hand and artificial. We are
ready to pay original singer huge sums of money for a live experience. However,
in real life we settle for a recording, not live experience. The wise live
naturally; we imitate.
నా మేను
నీకు ముద్దా?
“Is this
embodied life dear to you?” (No).
Dharma does
not bend for time, status, or spiritual insight. Before it, all are equal. Knowing Truth does not grant exemptions in this life— such a person still faces
illness, problems, and death like any other being. Only difference is that they
accept reality and inner struggle is absent. Those who seek God for personal
distinction or privilege already stand revealed by this very question.
X-X-The
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