Abhanga 2405
Much suffering is self-inflicted like a scorpion's own sting, so examine your mind honestly since it acts as both friend and accuser, and let a gentle response bring peace.
The verse
विंचा पीडी नांगी । ज्याचा दोष त्याचे अंगीं ॥१॥ केला पाहिजे विचार । मन मित्र दावेदार ॥ध्रु.॥ मधुरा उत्तरीं । रांवा खेळे उरावरी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे रेडा । सुखें जाती ऐशा पीडा ॥३॥
Literal translation
The scorpion stings with its tail — whose fault is on whose body. Must do inquiry — mind is both friend and claimant. In sweet response — rāmvā plays on the breast. Tuka says: buffalo — such troubles pass happily.
What it means
THE MIND-AS-FRIEND-AND-CLAIMANT ABHANG.
The scorpion-image: vīñchā pīḍī nāngī — jyāchā dōṣa tyāchē angīm — scorpion stings with its tail — whose fault is on whose body. The scorpion-stings-itself-with-its-own-tail (= self-inflicted).
THE FRIEND-AND-CLAIMANT: kēlā pāhijē vichāra — mana mitra dāvēdāra — must do inquiry — mind is both friend and claimant. Dāvēdāra = claimant, accuser, plaintiff. Must-do-inquiry; mind is-both friend-and-claimant. The mind plays-double-role: companion and adversary. Self-knowledge requires-sorting-which.
The sweet-response: madhurā uttarīm — rāmvā khēḷē urāvarī — in sweet response — rāmvā plays on the breast. A sweet-response makes rāmvā-(joy/peace)-play on-the-breast.
[T]
For someone today
For today: scorpion stings with its own tail; mind is both friend and claimant — must do inquiry ; sweet response quenches strife.
Where this applies
- When you realize the pain you are feeling was actually caused by your own choices or reactions, not by someone else
- When your own mind argues both sides, comforting you one moment and accusing you the next, and you need to sort out which voice to trust
- When a soft, kind word from you or to you dissolves a tension that harsh words only made worse
- When you want to let an insult or setback roll off you like water off a buffalo's back instead of carrying it around