Abhanga 2842
A canonical extreme-abandonment-petition. (If) the mother cuts the throat — there, who saves the baby? Don't you know this, Nārāyaṇa — (you who are) deceiving this helpless one? Naked-stalking — who must be the helper? When the king is all-taker — who else can prevent? Without your doing — the people are not stable, not under-control. Hari — the thread of the rope is in your hand.
The verse
माता कापी गळा । तेथें कोण राखी बाळा ॥१॥
हें कां नेणां नारायणा । मज चाळवितां दिना ॥ध्रु.॥
नागवी धावणें । तेथें साह्य व्हावें कोणें ॥२॥
राजा सर्व हरी । तेथें दुजा कोण वारी ॥३॥
तुझ्या केल्याविण । नव्हे स्थिर वश जन ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे हरी । सूत्र तुम्हां हातीं दोरी ॥५॥
Literal translation
Mātā kāpī gaḷā — (if) the mother cuts the throat; tēthē kōṇa rākhī bāḷā — there, who saves the baby? He kām neṇām Nārāyaṇā — don't you know this, Nārāyaṇa?; maja chāḷavitām dīnā — (you who are) chāḷavitā (deceiving, playing-with) (this) dīna (helpless one). Nāgavī dhāvaṇē — (in) nāgavī (naked) dhāvaṇē (stalking, pursuing — used for robber-stalking or predator-chasing); tēthē sāhya hvāve kōṇe — there, who must be the sāhya (helper)? Rājā sarva harī — (when) the king is the sarva-harī (all-taker, all-confiscator); tēthē dujā kōṇa vārī — there, who else can vārī (prevent)? Tujhyā kelyāviṇa — without your doing; navhe sthira vaśa jana — the people (world) is not sthira (stable, fixed) or vaśa (under-control). Tukā says: Harī — (O) Hari; sūtra tumhām hāti dōrī — the sūtra (thread) of the dōrī (rope, controlling-cord) is in your hand.
What it means
A 5-verse extreme-abandonment canonical-petition verse. The verse uses three impossibility-images to make the same point: when the protector-himself is the threatener, who-can-save-the-victim?
Image 1: mātā kāpī gaḷā — tēthē kōṇa rākhī bāḷā — (if) the mother cuts the throat — who saves the baby? The most-extreme-impossibility — the mother is the universal-protector; if-the-mother-is-the-killer, no-one-can-save.
Image 2: nāgavī dhāvaṇē — tēthē sāhya hvāve kōṇe — naked-stalking — who must be the helper? Nāgavī dhāvaṇē — the stalker (robber, predator, naked-attack) is in-pursuit; who can be the helper?
Image 3: rājā sarva harī — tēthē dujā kōṇa vārī — (when) the king is the all-taker — who else can prevent? When the king-himself is the confiscator, no-one else can intervene. (Sarva-harī is a double-pun: the king-who-takes-everything AND the Sarva-Harī = Viṣṇu-who-takes-all.)
The diagnostic-application: he kām neṇām Nārāyaṇā — maja chāḷavitām dīnā — don't you know this, Nārāyaṇa — (you who are) playing-with (deceiving) this helpless-one. The protest: Nārāyaṇa — you-yourself are deceiving me — there is no other-protector.
The total-causal-claim: tujhyā kelyāviṇa — navhe sthira vaśa jana — without your doing — the people/world is not stable or controllable. The Lord-is-the-total-causer.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe Harī — sūtra tumhām hāti dōrī — Hari — the thread of the rope is in your hand. The puppet-image: the entire creation is on a string; the string is in your hand. The bhakta is helpless-because-the-string-is-in-the-Lord's-hand.
For someone today
A canonical extreme-abandonment-petition. (If) the mother cuts the throat — there, who saves the baby? Don't you know this, Nārāyaṇa — (you who are) deceiving this helpless one? Naked-stalking — who must be the helper? When the king is all-taker — who else can prevent? Without your doing — the people are not stable, not under-control. Hari — the thread of the rope is in your hand.
The verse offers a theologically-radical position: when one's-trouble is caused-by-the-Lord-himself, there-is-no-other-recourse. The petitionary-paradox: the very-Lord whom-I-blame is also the only-one I-can-petition. The bhakti-relief: naming-the-paradox to-the-Lord himself. The Lord-as-cause-of-all (and-thus-as-only-recourse) is the bhakti-foundation.
Where this applies
- The canonical mother-cuts-throat-who-saves-baby extreme abandonment-image
- Recognizing the Lord-himself-is-the-source-of-trouble paradox
- Sūtra-of-rope-in-your-hand — the Lord's total-causal-control
- The bhakti-relief of naming-the-paradox to-the-Lord-himself