Abhanga 2940
Āpuliyā baḷe nāhī mī bōlata — by my own baḷa (strength), I am not speaking; sakhā Bhagavanta vāchā tyāñcī — (my) sakhā Bhagavanta — the vāchā (speech) is his.
The verse
आपुलिया बळें नाहीं मी बोलत । सखा भगवंत वाचा त्याची ॥१॥
साळुंकी मंजूळ बोलतसे वाणी । शिकविता धणी वेगळाची ॥ध्रु.॥
काय म्यां पामरें बोलावीं उत्तरें । परि त्या विश्वंभरें बोलविलें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे त्याची कोण जाणे कळा । चालवी पांगळा पायांविण ॥३॥
Literal translation
Āpuliyā baḷe nāhī mī bōlata — by my own baḷa (strength), I am not speaking; sakhā Bhagavanta vāchā tyāñcī — (my) sakhā Bhagavanta — the vāchā (speech) is his. Sāḷunkī mañjuḷa bōlatase vāṇī — the sāḷunkī (myna-bird) speaks sweet vāṇī; śikavitā dhaṇī vegaḷā chi — but the dhaṇī (master, the teacher) is separate. Kāya myām pāmare bōlāvī uttare — what uttara (response) can I, a pāmara (lowly one), speak?; pari tyā Viśvambhare bōlavile — but that Viśvambhara (world-sustainer) has made (me) speak. Tukā says: tyāñcī kōṇa jāṇe kaḷā — who knows his kaḷā (art)?; chālavī pāngaḷā pāyāmviṇa — (he) makes the pāngaḷā (lame) walk without feet.
What it means
A canonical 3-verse authorship-disclaimer verse using the sāḷunkī-myna image.
Verse 1: Āpuliyā baḷe nāhī mī bōlata — sakhā Bhagavanta vāchā tyāñcī — not by my strength I speak — sakhā Bhagavanta — speech is his. The opening: the Lord-as-sakhā speaks-through-me.
Dhrūpada (the sāḷunkī image): Sāḷunkī mañjuḷa bōlatase vāṇī — śikavitā dhaṇī vegaḷā chi — the myna speaks sweet words — but the master who taught (her) is separate. The image: a trained-myna (sāḷunkī) speaks sweetly because-her-master-taught-her. So-too the bhakta-speaks-sweet-vāṇī because-the-Lord-taught-him. The bhakta is the trained-myna; the Lord is the master-teacher.
Verse 2: Kāya myām pāmare bōlāvī uttare — pari tyā Viśvambhare bōlavile — what response can I, lowly-one, speak — but Viśvambhara made (me) speak. The honest-disclaimer: I am pāmara (lowly); I couldn't-speak-by-myself; but Viśvambhara made-me-speak.
Close (the lame-walks-without-feet image): Tukā mhaṇe tyāñcī kōṇa jāṇe kaḷā — chālavī pāngaḷā pāyāmviṇa — who knows his art — he makes the lame walk without feet. The radical-divine-claim: the Lord makes-the-impossible: the lame-walks without-feet. So-too the bhakta-speaks-without-his-own-ability.
The verse-cluster pairs with 2917 tūm-bōlasī-mājhyā-mukhe, 2937 Deva-speaks-through-me, 2820 Nārāyaṇa-puppeteer-monkeys-floated-stones — the authorship-disclaimer-cluster.
For someone today
A canonical authorship-disclaimer prayer. By my own strength I am not speaking — sakhā Bhagavanta — speech is his. The sāḷunkī (myna) speaks sweet words — but the master who taught (her) is separate. What response can I, lowly-one, speak — but the Viśvambhara has made (me) speak. Who knows his art? — he makes the lame walk without feet. The verse provides a complete authorship-disclaimer-set: (1) my speaking is not by my-strength; (2) the sāḷunkī-image — I am trained-by-the-master; (3) I am pāmara; the Lord made-me-speak; (4) the Lord makes-the-lame-walk-without-feet. The discipline: attribute-all-speaking to-the-Lord; don't claim authorship.
Where this applies
- The canonical Lord-speaks-through-me; sāḷunkī-myna; lame-walks-without-feet authorship-disclaimer
- Recognizing the sāḷunkī-myna image — speaker-and-teacher are separate
- Makes-the-lame-walk-without-feet — divine-impossibility-claim
- Pairs with 2917 (non-dual identification), 2937 (deha-atīta), 2820 (Nārāyaṇa-puppeteer-monkeys-floated-stones)