Abhanga 3092
Bali says he never bound the Lord at all; Nārāyaṇa clung to him on his own, and Bali will not let go of those feet now that he is there.
The verse
बोलिलेती ते देवॠषी दुर्वासया । जाय पुसावया मागत्यानें ॥१॥
मागुता दुर्वास पुसे बळिराया । निरोप जावया देई देवा ॥ध्रु.॥
बळी म्हणे त्यासी जाय मी न म्हणें । जाईंल नारायण लागला ची ॥२॥
मजपाशीं राहें कोठें तरीं जाय । तुका म्हणे पाय न सोडीं मी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bōliletī te Deva-rṣī Durvāsayā — the Deva-rṣi spoke to Durvāsa; jāya pusāvayā māgatyāne — go ask the giver-(of-permission). Māgutā Durvāsa puse Baḷirāyā — again Durvāsa asks Bali-rāya; nirōpa jāvayā deī devā — let Deva have nirōpa for going. Baḷī mhaṇe tyāsī jāya mī na mhaṇe — Bali says to him: go — I will not say (anything); jāīmla Nārāyaṇa lāgalā chi — Nārāyaṇa himself has clung. Majapāśīm rāhe kōṭhe tarīm jāya — stay with me — or go somewhere; Tukā mhaṇe pāya na sōḍīm mī — Tukā says: I do not let (his) feet go.
What it means
5th-of-7 Durvāsa-Bali narrative. The conflict-deepens: Lord-tells-Durvāsa-to-keep-trying with-Bali; Durvāsa-petitions-Bali-again; Bali's-clever-response: I-won't-say-(let-him-go); he's-clung-himself; I-don't-let-feet-go.
Bali's-rhetorical-skill: I'm not the-one-binding-him; he-himself-has-clung; my-only-act-is-not-letting-go-of-his-feet. The bhakta-claims passive-resistance — the-Lord-is-here-by-his-own-will, not-by-my-prevention.
For someone today
Tukārām's fifth Durvāsa-Bali verse. The Deva-rṣi spoke to Durvāsa: go and ask Bali again. Durvāsa asks Bali-rāya: let Deva have permission to go. Bali replies: go tell him — I say nothing to hold him back. Nārāyaṇa himself has clung to me. Stay with me, or go wherever you like — but I will not let go of his feet. The verse allows Bali's clever rhetoric of casting himself as one who simply clings and will not release the Lord.
मराठी: तुकारामांची ही दुर्वास-बळी मालिकेतील पाचवी कथा आहे. देवर्षी दुर्वासाला म्हणतात: पुन्हा जाऊन बळीला विचारा. दुर्वास बळीरायाला विचारतात: देवाला जाण्याची परवानगी द्या. बळी म्हणतो: जा त्याला सांगा — मी त्याला थांबवत नाही. नारायण स्वतःच मला बिलगला आहे. माझ्याजवळ राहा, नाहीतर कुठेही जा — पण मी त्याचे पाय सोडणार नाही. हा अभंग बळीच्या चतुर वक्तृत्वाला मान्यता देतो, ज्यात तो स्वतःला केवळ बिलगून राहणारा आणि भगवंताला न सोडणारा असे दाखवतो.
Where this applies
- 5th-of-7 Durvāsa-Bali narrative cluster
- I-don't-let-feet-go passive-clinging claim