Abhanga 2765
Mātēchiye chittī — in the mother's chitta; avaghī bāḷakāñcī vyāpti — the whole vyāpti (extent, occupancy) is the bāḷaka (baby).
The verse
मातेचिये चित्ती । अवघी बाळकाची व्याप्ति ॥१॥
देह विसरे आपुला । जवळीं घेतां सीण गेला ॥ध्रु.॥
दावी प्रेमभातें । आणि अंगावरि चढतें ॥२॥
तुका संतापुढें । पायीं झोंबे लाडें कोडें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Mātēchiye chittī — in the mother's chitta; avaghī bāḷakāñcī vyāpti — the whole vyāpti (extent, occupancy) is the bāḷaka (baby). Deha visare āpulā — (her) body forgets itself; javaḷīm ghētām sīṇa gēlā — bringing (the baby) near, sīṇa (struggle) is gone. Dāvī prēma-bhātē — (the baby) shows (his) prēma-bhāta (love-meal, the toy-feast); āṇi angāvari chaḍhate — and climbs onto the (mother's) body. Tukā: santāmpuḍhē — pāyīm jhōmbē lāḍē kōḍē — before the sants — clings at the feet lāḍē kōḍē (playfully, cleverly, lovingly).
What it means
A tender mother-child image-verse. Mātēchiye chittī — avaghī bāḷakāñcī vyāpti — in the mother's chitta — the whole occupancy is the baby's. Vyāpti — occupancy, extent, residence — the baby occupies all-of-the-mother's-chitta. Nothing-else has space there.
The dhrūpada: deha visare āpulā — javaḷīm ghētām sīṇa gēlā — (her) body forgets itself; bringing (the baby) near, struggle is gone. The mother's-body forgets itself in the presence of the baby. Bringing the baby near makes her sīṇa (struggle, fatigue) disappear. The proximity-cure of motherhood.
The second verse: dāvī prēma-bhātē — āṇi angāvari chaḍhate — (the baby) shows the prēma-bhāta (love-meal) — and climbs onto the (mother's) body. Prēma-bhāta is the same as 2753's prēma-bhātukē — the toy-meal-of-love that children play. The baby shows-the-game and climbs-on-the-mother.
The close pivots to the bhakta-mode: Tukā santāmpuḍhē — pāyīm jhōmbē lāḍē kōḍē — before the sants — Tukā clings at the feet, playfully-cleverly-lovingly. Jhōmbē — cling, grasp-onto. Lāḍē kōḍē — playfully and cleverly (with-affection-and-with-skillful-game-playing). The bhakta is the child; the sants are the mother; he clings to the feet the way the baby climbs onto the mother's body.
For someone today
A tender bhakti-as-mother-child image. In the mother's chitta — the whole vyāpti is the baby's. Her body forgets itself; the struggle goes when she brings him near. He shows her the love-meal and climbs onto her body. Tukā clings at sants' feet, playfully-cleverly-lovingly. The image is precise: the bhakta-with-sants is the child-with-mother. The signs to look for: do I feel my struggle gone when near? Do I cling playfully without worry? Am I showing the love-meal and climbing on without self-consciousness? The mother-child model is the gold-standard.
Where this applies
- The mother-child-as-bhakti-model full image
- Recognizing the mother-forgets-her-body-near-the-baby phenomenon
- Clinging-at-sants'-feet-playfully-cleverly as the bhakta-mode
- The proximity-cure: bringing-near makes the sīṇa go