evaru teliyanu poyyedaru
Sahityam
Pallavi
evaru¹ teliyanu² poyyedaru
vivaramu lEni pUjalu jEsedaru
Show Word Meanings
vivaramu lEni pUjalu jEsedaru
Who has understood (what true devotion is)? people perform non-descript (all sorts of) worships.
Charanams Combined
mudamuna parula rUkalaku para
sudatulakAziJci tA kUDuTaku
udaramu nimpuTa-koraku cAla
UranUra tirigedarAvaraku³ (evaru)
\t
2. konna tottula mATa mIra lEka
anna tammula talli taNDrula nEram-
ennuTE pani kAni sAramaina
pannaga zayana nI padamu nammedarA (evaru)
Show Word Meanings
sudatulakAziJci tA kUDuTaku
udaramu nimpuTa-koraku cAla
UranUra tirigedarAvaraku³ (evaru)
\t
2. konna tottula mATa mIra lEka
anna tammula talli taNDrula nEram-
ennuTE pani kAni sAramaina
pannaga zayana nI padamu nammedarA (evaru)
Hankering after others’ wealth and others’ women, and in order to secure these for themselves and for the purpose of filling their stomach, people happily wander much from place to place till that time (till they secure these); who has understood (what true devotion is)?
Alu biDDalanu nammedaru vArik-
AziJci parula kompalu muJcedaru
kAluni valla niNDAru rAma
kaSTamu jendi bhuvini puTTedaru (evaru)
Show Word Meanings
AziJci parula kompalu muJcedaru
kAluni valla niNDAru rAma
kaSTamu jendi bhuvini puTTedaru (evaru)
Unable to contravene the words of their wives, excepting for making it their job only to take note of the faults of their brothers and parents, O Lord reclining on Sesha - the snake! did they ever believe Your nectarine feet? who has understood (what true devotion is)?
peddalatO kallalADi rAma
buddhi lEni dhanikula tA vEDi
vaddana vAritO mODi iTlu
proddu pOvuTa kAni patitula kUDi (evaru)
Show Word Meanings
buddhi lEni dhanikula tA vEDi
vaddana vAritO mODi iTlu
proddu pOvuTa kAni patitula kUDi (evaru)
People believe their wives and children; having loved them, they ruined others’ families; O Lord Rama! people are born in this World after having undergone considerable suffering in the hands of Lord of Death; who has understood (what true devotion is)?
Isuna mariyAda lEdu niNDu
kAsu kalgina vAnikanniTa vAdu
Asa nIyeDa kalga pOdu nija
dAsulu evarO kana cEta kAdu (evaru)
Show Word Meanings
kAsu kalgina vAnikanniTa vAdu
Asa nIyeDa kalga pOdu nija
dAsulu evarO kana cEta kAdu (evaru)
O Lord Rama! uttering falsehood with elders, (they) beseeching stupid rich people, and resenting those who advise them against such behaviour - excepting for time passing away in this manner by joining the company of those fallen, who has understood (what true devotion is)?
pannuga manakE⁴ zaktiyani
anni⁵ kallalanucunu⁶ doGga bhakti
anna idETi virakti rAma
kanna taNDri idiyA pEda yukti (evaru)
Show Word Meanings
anni⁵ kallalanucunu⁶ doGga bhakti
anna idETi virakti rAma
kanna taNDri idiyA pEda yukti (evaru)
Because of envy or anger, people do not have of propriety of conduct; for that person who has a lot of wealth, it is argument about everything; people would not cultivate love towards You; they would not be able to discern who the true devotees are; who has understood (what true devotion is)?
yOgulu⁷ mEneruga lEka tamakE⁸
gatiyani dhyAninturu gAka
bhOgi zayana ElukOka rAma
tyAgarAjunipai nIkiGka parAkA (evaru)
Show Word Meanings
gatiyani dhyAninturu gAka
bhOgi zayana ElukOka rAma
tyAgarAjunipai nIkiGka parAkA (evaru)
Thinking nicely that they alone have all the powers and practicing pretentious devotion declaring ’everything is false’ - O Father! what kind of dispassion is this? O Lord Rama, my Father who begot me! Is this the method adopted by me - poor man? who has understood (what true devotion is)?
Variations
- 2 teliyanu poyyedaru, jEsedaru - teliyanu poyyEru - jEsEru - teliya poyyEru - jEsEru
- 3 tirigedarAvaraku - tirigErAvaraku
- 6 kallalanucunu, idiyA – kallanucunu’, idA
References
Commentary
- General – The whole of the kRti is contextual in nature; further zrI tyAgarAja is bringing out many situations – not necessarily related to one another. Therefore, it may not be possible to bring out the correct meanings in the absence of any knowledge about the circumstances in which this kRti was composed.
- 1 evaru teliyanu poyyedaru – ‘who has understood?’ - the purport of these words is to be seen from the angle of ‘devotion’ as mentioned in CharaNa 2 – ‘nI padamu nammedarA ’ (did they believe in Your feet?) and in Charana 5 – ‘Asa nIyeDa kalga pOdu ’ (they will not cultivate love towards You) and the oblique reference to himself (Sri Thyagaraja) – ‘is this my method?’ (idiyA pEda yukti ). Therefore, these words (evaru teliyanu poyyedaru ) have translated as ‘who has understood what true devotion is?’ This is more so because, excepting for Charana 4, no other Charana can be meaningfully joined to the Pallavi.
- 4 manakE zakti – The purport of these words is not clear. As Sri Thyagaraja mentions about ‘pretentious ones’ (doGga bhakti ) in this Charana, this might not refer to ‘Eight Supernatural powers – aNimAdi ’, but merely strength or power.
- 5 anni kallalanucu – This refers to ‘mAyA vAda ’; in the present context this refers to those who practice pretentious devotion (doGga bhakti ).
- 7 Yogugu (first half of Charana) – the exact significance of the first half of the Charana is not clear. The books have taken contradictory views – in some books, it is taken to mean ‘True devotees (or Yogis) will meditate on you considering you to be their refuge’; however, in other books, the meaning given is ‘those false Yogis without knowing the real nature of their material body and what their fate will be, engage themselves in meditation’.
- 8 tAmakE gati – This can be split either as ‘tamaku+E+gati ’ or ‘tamakE+gati ’; In either case, the purport of these words is not very clear, though this has been translated as ‘being worried as to what their fate is’.