Abhanga 2262

For today: growing sugarcane — sweetness grew — jaggery, sugar; practice satya-karma, son — hita arises — asatya-duḥkha grows; onion in sugar's-bed — grows fat-and-fine, but keeps the stink; such is satya-asatya — Tukā says — consider.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Sugarcane-vs-onion-in-sugar-bed + satya-karma-grows-hita-asatya-grows-duḥkha abhang.

The sugarcane-image: ūsa vāḍhavitām vāḍhalī gōḍī — guḷa sākara hē tyāchī paravaḍī — growing sugarcane, sweetness grew with it — jaggery, sugar are its varieties. As sugarcane-grows, sweetness-grows-with-it; the varieties-(of this sweetness) are jaggery-and-sugar. Satya-karma is-like-sugarcane: it-produces-only-sweet-products.

The repeated-injunction: satya-karmē āchaḷē rē bāpā — satya-karmē āchaḷē rē — satya-karmē āchaḷē hō'īmla hita — vāḍhēla duḥkha asatyāchē — practice satya-karma, my son — practice satya-karma — practice satya-karma, hita will arise — the duḥkha of asatya will grow. Triple-repetition for emphasis. Satya-karma yields-hita; asatya yields-duḥkha — both-grow-in-their-nature.

The onion-in-sugar's-bed image: sākarēchyā āḷām lāvilā kāndā — sthūḷa-sānā-pari vāḍhē dugapadhā — onion planted in sugar's-bed — grows in stout-and-fine manner — but [retains] dvigandha (double-stink). Āḷā = bed, planting-row. Dugapadhā (= dvigandha) = double-stink, two-fold-odor. An onion planted-in-a-sugar-bed grows-fat-and-fine, but-retains-its-double-stink (= the onion's-stink doesn't-become-sugar-sweet just-by-being-in-a-sugar-environment). THE CORE TEACHING: even-good-surroundings-don't-transform asatya-nature; satya-and-asatya are-intrinsic-to-the-karma-type.

The closing — consider this: satya asatya hē aisiyā parī — Tukā mhaṇē yāchā vichāra karīm — such is satya-asatya — Tukā says — consider this. Such is-satya-and-asatya; Tukā says, consider-this.

Echoes 2164's phala bījā'aisē: the fruit-is-like-the-seed; cause-effect together. Now-with-the-vivid sugarcane-and-onion-in-sugar imagery.

[T]

For someone today

For today: growing sugarcane — sweetness grew — jaggery, sugar; practice satya-karma, son — hita arises — asatya-duḥkha grows; onion in sugar's-bed — grows fat-and-fine, but keeps the stink; such is satya-asatya — Tukā says — consider.

Where this applies

• Sugarcane-grows-sweetness-grows.* Ūsa-vāḍhavitām-gōḍī-guḷa-sākara-paravaḍī.
• Satya-karma-yields-hita.* Satya-karmē-āchaḷē-bāpā-hita-asatya-duḥkha.
• Onion-in-sugar-bed-still-stinks.* Sākarēchyā-āḷām-kāndā-sthūḷa-sānā-dugapadhā.
• Consider-satya-asatya.* Satya-asatya-vichāra-karīm.

Related verses

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