Abhanga 3091
Durvasa's honest rebuke, holding the Lord accountable to his own titles of compassion, pleases rather than angers him, showing that loving honesty is welcome.
The verse
त्रैलोकींचा नाथ सकळांचा आधार । बळिचें तुवां घर धरियेलें ॥१॥
आम्हां मोकलिलें कोणां निरविलें । कोणा हातीं दिले तिन्ही लोक ॥ध्रु.॥
अनाथांचा बंधु दासांचा कैवारी । ब्रिदें तुझीं हरी जाती वांयां ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे ऐसें बोलिला दुर्वास । वाटला संतोष पांडुरंगा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Trailōkīmñcā nātha sakaḷāñcā ādhāra — trailokya-nātha, support of all; Baḷiñce tuvām ghara dhariyele — at Bali's house you have stayed. Āmhām mōkalile kōṇām niravile — abandoned us, entrusted to whom; kōṇā hātīm dile tinhī lōka — in whose hand have you given the three worlds. Anāthāñcā bandhu dāsāñcā kaivārī — anāthāñcā-bandhu, dāsāñcā-kaivārī; birude tujhīm Harī jātī vāmyā — your birudas will go in vain, Harī. Tukā mhaṇe aise bōlilā Durvāsa — Tukā says: such (words) spoke Durvāsa; vāṭalā samtōṣa Pāṇḍurangā — Pāṇḍuranga felt samtōṣa (pleased).
What it means
4th-of-7 Durvāsa-Bali narrative — Durvāsa's-eloquent-rebuke-to-the-Lord.
The rebuke is striking: Trailokya-nātha — you've-stayed-at-Bali's. Abandoned-us. To-whom-have-you-given-the-three-worlds? Anāthāñcā-bandhu, dāsāñcā-kaivārī — your-birudas (honorifics, titles) will-go-in-vain. The threat-to-Lord's-reputation is the bhakta's-leverage.
The closing-note: Pāṇḍuranga felt-samtōṣa (pleased) at-such-bōlī. The Lord-enjoys-being-rebuked-by-his-bhakta-for-not-honoring-his-titles.
For someone today
Tukārām's Durvāsa-Bali #4. Lord of the three-worlds, support of all — at Bali's house you have stayed. You have abandoned us — entrusted to whom? In whose hand have you given the three worlds? Anāthāñcā-bandhu, dāsāñcā-kaivārī — your titles will go in vain, Harī. Such words spoke Durvāsa — Pāṇḍuranga felt pleased. The verse permits the bhakti-rebuke that uses the Lord's-own-titles as leverage.
Where this applies
- When someone you trust seems to have abandoned you for someone else's needs
- When you must hold a person accountable to the values or promises they claim to live by
- When you're afraid that speaking an honest complaint will damage a relationship
- When you want to know if honest confrontation, offered with love, can actually strengthen a bond