venkateswaravishnuannamacharyaannamayya

Nanati Batuku Natakamu (Annamacharya)

నానాటి బతుకు నాటకము in English · English

🕉️ hindu·📿 1× repetitions·🕐 Morning or evening prayer; during Venkateswara worship and on Saturdays (sacred to Balaji)·📜 Telugu keertana of Annamacharya (Annamayya), in praise of Lord Venkateswara (15th century CE)

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हिन्दी / देवनागरी తెలుగు தமிழ்ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം ગુજરાતી বাংলা ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀEnglishසිංහල 𑌗𑍍𑌰𑌨𑍍𑌥

✦ Meaning

'Nanati Batuku Natakamu' is among the most beloved philosophical keertanas of Annamacharya (Annamayya), the great 15th-century saint-composer of Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala. Its theme is detachment (vairagya): everyday life is a passing play; birth and death are real, but all that lies between is mere drama; only liberation (kaivalya), which lies beyond the visible world and even beyond the sky where Venkateswara reigns, is the true reality. It is a profound, gentle reminder of life's impermanence and the goal of the soul.

Origin & Story

Telugu keertana of Annamacharya (Annamayya), in praise of Lord Venkateswara (15th century CE) · Annamacharya (Tallapaka Annamayya) · 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.

✦ As told in scripture

Tradition holds that Annamacharya's 32,000 songs flowed by the direct grace of Lord Venkateswara, and that the copper plates bearing them, hidden for centuries in a vault at Tirumala, were rediscovered intact — as if the Lord Himself had preserved His devotee's songs of detachment and devotion for all ages.

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Complete Text with Meaning

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Verse 1

nānāṭi batuku nāṭakamu kānaka kannadi kaivalyamu

Meaning:This 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

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

Meaning:To 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

kuḍicēdannamu kōka cuṭṭeḍidi naḍumantrapu pani nāṭakamu voḍigaṭṭukonina vubhaya karmamulu gaḍidāṭinapuḍe kaivalyamu

Meaning:The 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

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

Meaning:Sin 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 Meaning

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nānāṭi batuku🔊Day-to-day life / this everyday existence.

nāṭakamu🔊Is (merely) a drama, a play.

kānaka kannadi kaivalyamu🔊That which is seen without (ordinary) seeing — beyond it — is liberation (kaivalya).

puṭṭuṭayu nijamu pōvuṭayu nijamu🔊Being born is real, and dying is real (both are certain).

naṭṭa naḍimi pani nāṭakamu🔊But the doings in the very middle (between birth and death) are (just) a play.

yeṭṭa neduṭa galadide prapañcamu🔊Right here before our eyes is this world (the visible universe).

kaṭṭa gaḍapaṭidi kaivalyamu🔊But at the very last end (of it all) is liberation.

kuḍicēdannamu🔊The food that we eat.

kōka cuṭṭeḍidi🔊The cloth that we wrap (wear) about ourselves.

naḍumantrapu pani nāṭakamu🔊These in-between affairs are (only) a play.

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

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

tegadu pāpamu tīradu puṇyamu🔊Sin is not (easily) cut off, merit is not (easily) exhausted.

nagi nagi kālamu nāṭakamu🔊Laughing and laughing, (the passing of) time is a play.

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

gaganamu mīdidi kaivalyamu🔊That which is above the sky (transcendent) — that is liberation.

Benefits of Chanting నానాటి బతుకు నాటకము

✦

A profound teaching of detachment (vairagya) — that worldly life is a passing play and liberation is the true goal.

✦

Calms the mind and loosens attachment to gains and losses, gently turning the heart toward God.

✦

Among the most cherished of Annamayya's keertanas in praise of Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala.

✦

Sung in devotion to Venkateswara (Balaji), especially when seeking peace, perspective and renunciation.

✦

Reminds the devotee that beyond birth, death and karma stands the eternal kaivalya under the Lord's reign.

How to Chant నానాటి బతుకు నాటకము

Repetitions1times

Best TimeMorning or evening prayer; during Venkateswara worship and on Saturdays (sacred to Balaji)

FaceFacing the deity of Venkateswara / Vishnu or east

Sit before an image of Lord Venkateswara (Balaji) and sing or recite the keertana slowly, contemplating its message of detachment — that life is a play and only liberation is real. Annamayya's songs are meant to be sung; if recited, chant the pallavi 'Nanati batuku natakamu' as a refrain after each charanam, letting the heart rest in the thought of the eternal.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page shows the complete నానాటి బతుకు నాటకము written in the English script — the same Sanskrit/Hindi verses, transliterated character-by-character so you can read and chant comfortably. Tap any line (or the ▶ button) to hear it recited aloud.

Yes — only the script changes; the words and their meaning are the original. The verse-by-verse meaning, benefits and how-to-chant guidance on this page apply exactly the same.

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.

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.

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.

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.