Abhanga 1836

For today: swallowing the dark, gathered courage — for their own welfare, became heroes among people; why don't you know? — why don't you know? — for tiny-sukha, (you) will fall into calamity's mortar; no such shame — what's beyond them — what haven't they done by their own strength?; Tuka says — only then is sukha wholly good — by guarding these our own cattle.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Anti-alpa-sukha + heroic-bhakta-among-people abhang.

The opening: kāḷōkhī khā'ūn kaivāḍa kēlā dhīra — āpuliyā hitē jālē janāmadhyē śūra — swallowing the dark, gathered courage — for their own welfare, became heroes among people. Kāḷōkhī khā'ūn = swallowing the dark (= enduring the night-of-samsāra-darkness without flinching); kaivāḍa = gathering / collecting; dhīra = courage. The bhaktas swallowed-the-dark, gathered-courage, and-became-heroes-among-people — for-their-own-welfare.

The repeated-warning: kām rē tumhī nēṇām kām rē tumhī nēṇām — alpa-sukhā-sāṭīm paḍaśī vipattīcē ghāṇām — why don't you know? — why don't you know? — for tiny-sukha, you will fall into calamity's mortar. Alpa-sukha = tiny-pleasure; vipattīcē ghāṇām = into calamity's mortar (= the mortar where one is pounded). For-the-sake-of-trivial-pleasure, you-will-be-pounded-in-calamity's-mortar.

The shame-line: nāhīm aisī lāja kāya tayāmpē āgaḷē — kāya navhē kēlē āpuliyā baḷē — no such shame — what's beyond them — what haven't they done by their own strength?. (The dark-swallowers / heroic-bhaktas) have no-such-shame; what hasn't-been-accomplished by-their-own-strength?. (= the bhaktas have-set-an-example of-courageous-determination.)

The closing: Tukā mhaṇē tarī sukha avaghē chi barē — jatana karūn hē āpulālīm ḍhōrē — Tuka says: only then is sukha wholly good — by guarding these, our own cattle. Ḍhōrē = cattle, livestock; jatana karūn = by guarding. Sukha-is-wholly-good only-when our-own-cattle (= our vāsanās / desires) are properly-guarded (= don't-let them stray-into-others'-fields).

The image: vāsanās as-cattle that-must-be-corralled-and-guarded; otherwise-they-stray-into-fields-of-alpa-sukha and you-fall-into-calamity's-mortar.

[T]

For someone today

For today: swallowing the dark, gathered courage — for their own welfare, became heroes among people; why don't you know? — why don't you know? — for tiny-sukha, (you) will fall into calamity's mortar; no such shame — what's beyond them — what haven't they done by their own strength?; Tuka says — only then is sukha wholly good — by guarding these our own cattle.

Where this applies

• Swallow-dark-gather-courage-heroes-among-people.* Kāḷōkhī-kaivāḍa-dhīra-śūra.
• Tiny-sukha-falls-in-calamity's-mortar.* Alpa-sukha-vipatti-ghāṇa.
• Heroes-no-shame-by-own-strength.* Lāja-na-baḷē.
• Guard-our-own-cattle-vāsanās.* Sukha-jatana-ḍhōrē.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2374
• Abhanga 2377 — English: Gentle, sweet bāla-rūpa — that form from Kāḷī-time.
• Abhanga 2387
• Abhanga 2402