Nanati Batuku Natakamu (Annamacharya) Meaning — Line by Line

నానాటి బతుకు నాటకము

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Meaning — Line by Line

Every verse of Nanati Batuku Natakamu (Annamacharya) with its English meaning. Tap any word to hear it, or ▶ to recite the verse.

Verse 1#

నానాటి బతుకు నాటకము కానక కన్నది కైవల్యము

nānāṭi batuku nāṭakamu kānaka kannadi kaivalyamu

MeaningThis day-to-day life is but a drama, a play; and that which is glimpsed beyond all ordinary seeing is liberation (kaivalya). (This is one of Annamacharya's most loved Telugu keertanas on Lord Venkateswara, teaching detachment.)

Verse 2#

పుట్టుటయు నిజము పోవుటయు నిజము నట్ట నడిమి పని నాటకము యెట్ట నెదుట గలదిదె ప్రపంచము కట్ట గడపటిది కైవల్యము

puṭṭuṭayu nijamu pōvuṭayu nijamu naṭṭa naḍimi pani nāṭakamu yeṭṭa neduṭa galadide prapañcamu kaṭṭa gaḍapaṭidi kaivalyamu

MeaningTo be born is real, and to die is real; but all the doings in the middle, between the two, are only a play. This world spread out before our very eyes is here — yet at the very end of it all stands liberation.

Verse 3#

కుడిచేదన్నము కోక చుట్టెడిది నడుమంత్రపు పని నాటకము వొడిగట్టుకొనిన వుభయ కర్మములు గడిదాటినపుడె కైవల్యము

kuḍicēdannamu kōka cuṭṭeḍidi naḍumantrapu pani nāṭakamu voḍigaṭṭukonina vubhaya karmamulu gaḍidāṭinapuḍe kaivalyamu

MeaningThe food we eat, the cloth we wrap about us — these in-between affairs are merely a play. The two kinds of karma, good and bad, that we gather up in our lap — only when we cross beyond them is there liberation.

Verse 4#

తెగదు పాపము తీరదు పుణ్యము నగి నగి కాలము నాటకము యెగువనె శ్రీవేంకటేశ్వరు డేలికే గగనము మీదిది కైవల్యము

tegadu pāpamu tīradu puṇyamu nagi nagi kālamu nāṭakamu yeguvane śrīvēṅkaṭēśvaru ḍēlikē gaganamu mīdidi kaivalyamu

MeaningSin is not so easily cut away, nor merit so easily spent; and so, laughing and laughing, time itself is a play. Up above, Lord Sri Venkateswara rules over all — and that which lies beyond even the sky is liberation.

Word-by-Word Breakdown

నానాటి బతుకు

nānāṭi batuku

Day-to-day life / this everyday existence.

నాటకము

nāṭakamu

Is (merely) a drama, a play.

కానక కన్నది కైవల్యము

kānaka kannadi kaivalyamu

That which is seen without (ordinary) seeing — beyond it — is liberation (kaivalya).

పుట్టుటయు నిజము పోవుటయు నిజము

puṭṭuṭayu nijamu pōvuṭayu nijamu

Being born is real, and dying is real (both are certain).

నట్ట నడిమి పని నాటకము

naṭṭa naḍimi pani nāṭakamu

But the doings in the very middle (between birth and death) are (just) a play.

యెట్ట నెదుట గలదిదె ప్రపంచము

yeṭṭa neduṭa galadide prapañcamu

Right here before our eyes is this world (the visible universe).

కట్ట గడపటిది కైవల్యము

kaṭṭa gaḍapaṭidi kaivalyamu

But at the very last end (of it all) is liberation.

కుడిచేదన్నము

kuḍicēdannamu

The food that we eat.

కోక చుట్టెడిది

kōka cuṭṭeḍidi

The cloth that we wrap (wear) about ourselves.

నడుమంత్రపు పని నాటకము

naḍumantrapu pani nāṭakamu

These in-between affairs are (only) a play.

వొడిగట్టుకొనిన వుభయ కర్మములు

voḍigaṭṭukonina vubhaya karmamulu

The two kinds of karma (good and bad) that we tie up in our lap (accumulate).

గడిదాటినపుడె కైవల్యము

gaḍidāṭinapuḍe kaivalyamu

Only when we cross the threshold (beyond them) is there liberation.

తెగదు పాపము తీరదు పుణ్యము

tegadu pāpamu tīradu puṇyamu

Sin is not (easily) cut off, merit is not (easily) exhausted.

నగి నగి కాలము నాటకము

nagi nagi kālamu nāṭakamu

Laughing and laughing, (the passing of) time is a play.

యెగువనె శ్రీవేంకటేశ్వరుడేలికే

yeguvane śrīvēṅkaṭēśvaruḍēlikē

Up above, Lord Sri Venkateswara rules (as the master of all).

గగనము మీదిది కైవల్యము

gaganamu mīdidi kaivalyamu

That which is above the sky (transcendent) — that is liberation.

Origin & History

Source: Telugu keertana of Annamacharya (Annamayya), in praise of Lord Venkateswara (15th century CE)

Author: Annamacharya (Tallapaka Annamayya)

Period: 1408-1503 CE

Annamacharya was born at Tallapaka and from childhood was wholly devoted to Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala, on whom he composed tens of thousands of keertanas of devotion and philosophy. In 'Nanati Batuku Natakamu' he reflects on the impermanence of worldly life, calling it a passing drama, and points beyond it to liberation under the Lord's eternal reign. Many of his songs, including this, were inscribed on copper plates preserved in the Tirumala temple.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is 'Nanati Batuku Natakamu'?▼

It is a famous Telugu keertana by the saint-composer Annamacharya (Annamayya), teaching that day-to-day life is merely a drama and that true reality is liberation (kaivalya), which lies beyond the world. It is one of his most loved philosophical songs in praise of Lord Venkateswara.

Who was Annamacharya?▼

Annamacharya (Annamayya, 1408-1503) was a great saint-poet and the earliest known composer (Pada-kavita Pitamaha) of Carnatic music, devoted to Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala. He is said to have composed 32,000 keertanas, many engraved on copper plates preserved at Tirumala.

What does the song teach?▼

It teaches detachment (vairagya): birth and death are real, but everything in between — eating, dressing, gathering merit and sin — is only a passing play. Only liberation, which lies beyond the visible world and even the sky where Venkateswara reigns, is the abiding truth and the soul's goal.

What does 'kaivalya' mean?▼

Kaivalya means liberation or final emancipation — the soul's release from the cycle of birth and death and its abiding in its true, eternal nature. In this keertana, Annamayya repeatedly contrasts the fleeting 'natakam' (drama) of life with the lasting reality of kaivalya.

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