Abhanga 4541
What felt harmless or fun a moment ago turns bitter once real consequences arrive, and it often takes fear to make people remember what they should have honored all along.
The verse
तो या साच भावें न कळे चि इंद्रा । म्हणउनि धारा घाली सिळा ॥१॥
घाली धारा मेघ कडाडिला माथा । वरि अवचिता देखियेला ॥२॥
देखती पाऊस वोळला गोपाळ । भ्याले हे सकळ विचारिती ॥३॥
विचार पडला विसरले खेळ । अन्याय गोपाळ म्हणती केला ॥४॥
लागलेंसे गोड न कळे ते काळीं । भेणें वनमाळी आठविती ॥५॥
आतां कायकैसा करावा विचार । गोधनासि थार आपणिया ॥६॥
यांचिया विचारें होणार ते काईं । तुका म्हणे ठायीं वेडावलीं ॥७॥
Literal translation
Indra-doesn't-know-Lord-saca-bhāva — rains-stones. Cloud-roars-above-heads-suddenly-seen. Gopāḷas-frightened-forgot-games-confess-aparādha. Mockery-was-tasty-not-known-then — remember-Vanamāḷī-out-of-fear. Now-what-vichāra — cattle-self-shelter — bewildered. Tukā: ṭhāyīm-vēḍāvalīm.
What it means
A 7-verse yamak-bandha — the stone-rain falls. The Gopāḷas-who-were-just-mocking-Indra suddenly-realize their aparādha (offense) — the-mockery-was-tasty-then-but-isn't-now. They-remember-Vanamāḷī-out-of-fear. The closing: bewildered, no-shelter-known. Pair with 4540 (preceding), 4542 (Govardhana-uddhāraṇa announcement).
For someone today
Because Indra never truly recognizes the Lord, he sends down stones as punishment, and suddenly the sky roars over the heads of the cowherds who had just been mocking him for fun. Frightened, the young men stop their games at once, admit they made a mistake, and confess that the mockery which felt so sweet moments ago no longer feels that way at all. Only in fear do they finally remember Krishna, and left bewildered, they cannot even figure out where to shelter themselves or their cattle. It is a very human pattern: something feels harmless or even fun until real consequences arrive, and it often takes fear to make people turn back toward what they should have honored all along.
मराठी: इंद्राला खऱ्या भावाने कधीच देव कळत नाही, म्हणून तो शिक्षा म्हणून दगडांचा पाऊस पाडतो, आणि क्षणभरापूर्वी थट्टा करणाऱ्या गोपाळांच्या डोक्यावर अचानक आकाश गडगडू लागते. घाबरून ती मुले लगेच खेळ थांबवतात, आपली चूक झाल्याचे मान्य करतात, आणि जी थट्टा क्षणापूर्वी गोड वाटत होती ती आता तशी वाटत नाही हे कबूल करतात. भीतीमुळेच शेवटी त्यांना कृष्णाची आठवण होते, आणि गोंधळून गेलेल्या त्यांना स्वतःसाठी आणि गुरांसाठी कुठे आसरा घ्यावा हेही सुचत नाही. हा एक अगदी मानवी नमुना आहे, एखादी गोष्ट खरे परिणाम समोर येईपर्यंत निरुपद्रवी किंवा गमतीदार वाटते, आणि अनेकदा भीतीच माणसाला परत त्या गोष्टीकडे वळवते जिचा आधीच आदर करायला हवा होता.
Where this applies
- When a joke or mockery suddenly feels wrong once real consequences show up
- When fear is what finally makes you turn back to something you had been neglecting
- When you realize too late that you underestimated the seriousness of a situation
- When panic leaves you unable to think clearly about where to find safety