Senses allowed to behave freely bring upon sorrows uncountable; When in full control they give calmness; Man has to protect his inner-self from the bad effects of the senses that are thought of as a batch of thieves.
Apes doing the deeds required and beneficial on their own, Floating of big boulders thrown into the water of the sea, Men waging war and winning over the monsters; RavaNa Thought unnatural but did not see in all the magic of Srirama.
Writing poetry, at times, appears is nothing more than thinking differently and presenting the idea differently. When a good idea strikes the imagination of the poet, the poet tries to present the idea couched in the finest of words possible at the earliest juncture possible. The above poem taken from the work Srimaduttara RamayaNamu, written by KaMkaMTi Paparaju is a good example for one such instance.
In the above poem, the poet says that the king of Asuras, RavaNa was thinking amazingly about the astonishingly disciplined hard work done by the apes, the unthinkable occurrence of big boulders thrown into the water of ocean floating so that they could be arranged in the form of a long bridge for the apes to travel on it and reach Lanka, the unthinkable dare of the human beings waging war on the powerful Asuras with a view to secure win over them – all these appeared to RavaNa as too unnatural but he could not see in all of them the divine influence and the power of Lord Srirama.
‘సీతాన్వేషణ’ అనే బృహత్కార్యంలో – అప్పటికి యేది ఉచితమైనదో ఊహించి ఆ కార్యాన్ని సాధించడానికి వానరములు పూనుకోవడం, సముద్రంపై వారధి నిర్మించే క్రమంలో పెద్ద పెద్ద బండరాళ్ళు వేస్తే అవి నీటిపై తేలడం, రాక్షసుల పేరు వింటేనే భయంతో వణికిపోయే నరులు రాక్షసులపైనే పోరుకు సిద్ధపడి యుద్ధంలో గెలవాలనుకోవడం…ఇవన్నీ రావణునికి విపరీతాలుగా అనిపించాయి కాని, శ్రీరాముడి ప్రభావంతోనే ఇవి సాధ్యమైనాయన్న అసలు సంగతి మాత్రం ఎంతకూ రావణుడి గ్రహింపుకు రాలేదు అన్నది పై పద్యంలో భావం.
Either good or bad, happenings result from one’s own deeds A person of lower acumen, thinks they result from others deeds What is destined to happen to whom, how any one can gather? What has already happened, even the creator Brahma cannot alter!
How can fire be seen in a tree* by cutting it with axe-like felling articles? It can only be obtained when in friction against another wood; like-wise One cannot gain divine knowledge by troubling the body in many ways; It can only be obtained by relentless study in time-tested Vedic methods.
[*] The central idea of the above poem was based on the age-old belief that ‘fire lies embedded or hidden in every tree’ which cannot be seen by the humans with naked eye. The fact that in forests, during hot days, fire is generated by friction between two or more trees, which stand in proximity to each other, is seen as a valid reason for the above-mentioned belief.
Based on the above belief, the present poem says, as one cannot see the fire hidden in the trees by cutting them and breaking them, one cannot obtain great knowledge through troubling one’s own body, as practiced by some, with various methods of starvation etc. It can only be obtained by following relentless study for a period of time in time-tested ways under the able guidance of a good teacher.
The above poem (which is in champakamala metre) was one of the many poems that formed a small part (of discussion between Manu and the Brihaspati) in Shanti parvam of Andhra Mahabharatam.
With desire for good health, to Bhaskara For gaining great knowledge, to Sankara For riches of wealth and crop, to Agni For salvation, to Narayana, all may pray!
[Notes: 1 Bhaskara – the Sun God 2 Sankara – Lord Siva 3 Agni – the Fire God 4 Narayana – Lord Srimahavishnu]
TELUGU LITERATURE 
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