Abhanga 4518
God often acts under a stated reason while quietly pursuing a deeper purpose that onlookers cannot see, so surface appearances rarely reveal the whole truth.
The verse
मुखें सांगे त्यांसि पैल चेंडू पाहा । उदकांत डोहाचिये माथां ॥१॥
माथां कळंबाचे अवघडा ठायीं । दावियेला डोहीं जळामाजी ॥२॥
जळांत पाहातां हाडति या दृष्टि । म्हणे जगजेठी ऐसें नव्हे ॥३॥
नव्हे साच चेंडू छाया दिसे आंत । खरा तेथें चत्ति लावा वरी ॥४॥
वरी देखियेला अवघ्यांनीं डोळां । म्हणती गोपाळा आतां कैसें ॥५॥
कैसें करूनियां उतरावा खालीं । देखोनियां भ्यालीं अवघीं डोहो ॥६॥
डोहो बहु खोल काळया भीतरी । सरलीं माघारीं अवघीं जणें ॥७॥
जयाचें कारण तयासी च ठावें । पुसे त्याच्या भावें त्यास हरि ॥८॥
त्यासि नारायण म्हणे राहा तळीं । चढे वनमाळी झाडावरी ॥९॥
वरि जातां वरि पाहाती गोपाळ । म्हणति सकळ आम्ही नेणों ॥१०॥
नेणों म्हणती हें करितोसि काईं । आम्हां तुझी आईं देइल सिव्या ॥११॥
आपुलिया कानां देउनियां हात । सकळीं निमित्य टाळियेलें ॥१२॥
निमित्याकारणें रचिलें कारण । गेला नारायण खांदीवरी ॥१३॥
खांदीवरी पाव ठेवियेला देवें । पाडावा त्या भावें चेंडू तळीं ॥१४॥
तळील नेणती तुका म्हणे भाव । अंतरींचा देव जाणों नेदी ॥१५॥
Literal translation
(Krṣṇa) tells them with mouth: paila cheṇḍū pāhā — udakāmta ḍōhāciye māthām — see yonder the ball — on the deep-pool's-surface. On the surface, in the kaḷamba-tree's awkward-place, the ball was shown-in the ḍoha within the water. Jaḷāmta pāhātām hāḍati yā drṣṭi — mhaṇe jagajeṭhī aise navhe — looking-into-water (their) eyes get-stuck; jagajeṭhī says — not-so. Navhe sāca cheṇḍū chāyā dise āmta — kharā tethēm catti lāvā varī — the real ball is not (there); chhāyā only appears within; the real (one) — fix chitta above. Above all saw-with-eyes; they say to the gopāḷa: 'now how?' How to bring-it-down? Seeing-it, all-feared the ḍoha. The ḍoha is very-deep, with Kāḷiyā within; all retreated. Jayāce kāraṇa tayāsī ca ṭhāve — puse tyācyā bhāve tyāsa Hari — whose purpose, he-alone knows; Hari asks (each) by his bhāva. Nārāyaṇa says: 'stay below'; Vanamāḷī climbs the tree. Going up, the gopāḷas look up; all say 'we don't know.' 'Don't,' they say, 'what are you doing — your-mother will curse us.' Putting hand on his own ears, (he) dismissed all-the-nimitta. Nimittā-kāraṇe rachile kāraṇa — gelā Nārāyaṇa khāṇdī-varī — for the nimitta's sake the kāraṇa was rachila (built); Nārāyaṇa got on the branch. (He) placed foot on the branch; with that bhāva, intends-to-drop the ball below. Taḷīla neṇatī Tukā mhaṇe bhāva — antarīmcā Deva jāṇōm nedī — those-below don't-know the bhāva, Tukā says; the antarīmcā-Deva doesn't-let-be-known.
What it means
Opening verse of Tukārām's extended Kāḷiyā-mardana narrative (continuing 4519–4526+). The ball-in-the-water is a pretext (nimitta); the real kāraṇa is to-drop-into-the-ḍoha-to-subdue Kāḷiyā. The gopāḷas don't-know-the-real-bhāva; the-Deva-within doesn't-let-himself-be-known. Tukārām's frame: the Lord's-real-purpose is-always-hidden behind-the-apparent-pretext.
For someone today
Krishna points the gopas to a ball that appears to be floating deep in a pool, but he tells them it is only a reflection, the real ball is above, and their eyes are simply getting stuck staring into the water. When they see how deep and dangerous the pool looks, they all pull back in fear, but Krishna climbs the overhanging tree anyway, brushing off their warnings, because his real reason for going up there has nothing to do with the ball at all. Tukaram's point is that God often acts under one stated reason while quietly pursuing a deeper purpose that the people around him cannot see, so do not assume you always understand what is really happening just because you can see the surface of events.
मराठी: कृष्ण गोपाळांना खोल डोहात तरंगणाऱ्या दिसणाऱ्या चेंडूकडे बोट दाखवतो, पण सांगतो की तो केवळ प्रतिबिंब आहे, खरा चेंडू वर आहे, आणि त्यांचे डोळे नुसते पाण्यात रुतून बसले आहेत. डोह किती खोल आणि धोकादायक दिसतो हे पाहून सगळे भीतीने मागे सरतात, तरीही कृष्ण त्यांच्या इशाऱ्यांकडे दुर्लक्ष करून झाडावर चढतो, कारण त्याचे खरे कारण त्या चेंडूशी काहीच संबंधित नसते. तुकारामांचा मुद्दा असा आहे की देव अनेकदा एका सांगितलेल्या कारणाखाली खोल हेतू साध्य करत असतो जो त्याच्या आजूबाजूच्या लोकांना दिसत नाही, त्यामुळे केवळ घटनांचा वरवरचा भाग दिसतो म्हणून तुम्हाला खरे काय घडते आहे हे पूर्णपणे समजले आहे असे गृहीत धरू नका.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's Kāḷiyā-mardana opening narrative
- Canonical kāraṇa-on-nimitta; antarīmcā-Deva-doesn't-let-be-known
- Gopāḷa-līlā extended cluster (4508–4526+)