Abhanga 2937
Āmhī melōm tevhām deha dilā Devā — when we died, (we) gave the deha (body) to Deva; ātām karūm sevā kōṇāñcī — now whose sevā shall (I) do?
The verse
आम्ही मेलों तेव्हां देह दिला देवा । आतां करूं सेवा कोणाची ॥१॥
सूत्रधारी जैसा हालवितो कळा । तैसा तो पुतळा नाचे छंदें ॥ध्रु.॥
बोलतसें जैसें बोलवितो देव । मज हा संदेह कासयाचा ॥२॥
पाप पुण्य ज्याचें तो चि जाणें कांहीं । संबंध हा नाहीं आम्हांसवें ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे तुम्ही आइका हो मात । आम्ही या अतीत देहाहूनी ॥४॥
Literal translation
Āmhī melōm tevhām deha dilā Devā — when we died, (we) gave the deha (body) to Deva; ātām karūm sevā kōṇāñcī — now whose sevā shall (I) do? Sūtra-dhārī jaisā hālavitō kaḷā — just as the sūtra-dhārī (puppeteer) moves the kaḷā (art); taisā tō putalā nāche chande — so the putalā (puppet) dances in (its) chanda (style). Bōlatase jaise bōlavitō Deva — (I) speak just-as Deva makes (me) speak; maja hā samdēha kāsayāñcā — what samdēha (doubt) (is left) for me? Pāpa puṇya jyāñce tō chi jāṇe kāmhī — whose pāpa and puṇya (it is) — he alone knows; sambandha hā nāhī āmhām-save — this connection is not (with) us. Tukā says: tumhī aikā hō māta — please hear this news; āmhī yā atīta dehāhūnī — we (are) atīta (beyond, transcendent) (this) deha**.
What it means
THE canonical 5-verse striking we-already-died-gave-deha-to-Deva radical deha-atīta verse.
Verse 1 (the radical-opening): Āmhī melōm tevhām deha dilā Devā — ātām karūm sevā kōṇāñcī — when we (already) died, we gave the body to Deva — now whose sevā? The radical-claim: the bhakta has-already-died (metaphorically-in-bhakti) and given-the-deha to-Deva. The deha-is-no-longer-mine. Therefore whose sevā shall I do? (= I can't have a-sevā-direction; my-self-is-already-given-away).
Dhrūpada: Sūtra-dhārī jaisā hālavitō kaḷā — taisā tō putalā nāche chande — as the puppeteer moves the art — so the puppet dances. The puppet-image (pairs with 2820, 2913, 2926).
Verse 2: Bōlatase jaise bōlavitō Deva — maja hā samdēha kāsayāñcā — I speak just as Deva makes (me) speak — what doubt is left for me? The radical-claim: Deva-speaks-through-me; therefore no-doubt-left (about-what-to-speak). (Pairs with 2917 tūm bōlasī mājhyā mukhe.)
Verse 3: Pāpa puṇya jyāñce tō chi jāṇe kāmhī — sambandha hā nāhī āmhām-save — whose pāpa-puṇya it is — he alone knows; this connection is not (with) us. The radical-claim: pāpa-puṇya belong to Deva (who-operates-through-me); not to us. (Pairs with 2922 all-three-karmas-became-Nārāyaṇa.)
Close: Tukā mhaṇe tumhī aikā hō māta — āmhī yā atīta dehāhūnī — please hear this news — we (are) atīta (transcendent) this body. The deha-atīta declaration — we are beyond-this-body.
The verse is one of THE most-radical detachment-statements in the corpus. The bhakta has performed symbolic-death — given-the-deha-to-Deva — and is now operating beyond-the-body mode. Pairs with 2659-2662 (self-cremation cluster) and 2917 (non-dual identification).
For someone today
THE canonical we-already-died-gave-deha-to-Deva-now-deha-atīta radical claim. When we (already) died, we gave the body to Deva — now whose sevā? Just as the puppeteer moves the art — so the puppet dances. (I) speak as Deva makes (me) speak — what doubt is left? Whose pāpa-puṇya — he alone knows; (this) connection is not (with) us. Please hear — we (are) atīta (transcendent) this body. The verse provides the complete-bhakta-deha-atīta position: (1) symbolically-died and gave-deha; (2) Deva moves-the-puppet; (3) speech is Deva's; (4) pāpa-puṇya is Deva's; (5) we are beyond-this-body. The discipline: recognize that the body-is-already-given; the puppet-is-already-moving; the speech-is-Deva's.
Where this applies
- THE canonical we-already-died-gave-deha-to-Deva-now-deha-atīta radical claim
- Recognizing Deva-speaks-through-me; no-samdēha-left
- Pāpa-puṇya whose — he-alone-knows; no-relation with-us
- Pairs with 2659-2662 (self-cremation cluster), 2917 (non-dual identification), 2922 (karma-became-Nārāyaṇa), 2926 (puppet-thread)