Pada 16
Sourceकहौ कहाँ तें आए हौ। जानति हौं अनुमान मनो तुम जादवनाथ पठाए हौ॥ वैसोइ बरन, बसन पुनि वैसेइ, तन भूषन सजि ल्याए हौ। सरबसु लै तब संग सिधारे अब कापर पहिराए हौ॥ सुनहु, मधुप! एकै मन सबको सो तो वहाँ लै छाए हौ। मधुबन की मानिनी मनोहर तहँहिं जाहु जहँ भाए हौ॥ अब यह कौन सयानप? ब्रज पर का कारन उठि धाए हौ। सूर जहाँ लौं ल्यामगात हैं जानि भले करि पाए हौ
kahau kahā~ teṃ āe hau| jānati hauṃ anumāna mano tuma jādavanātha paṭhāe hau|| vaisoi barana, basana puni vaisei, tana bhūṣana saji lyāe hau| sarabasu lai taba saṃga sidhāre aba kāpara pahirāe hau|| sunahu, madhupa! ekai mana sabako so to vahā~ lai chāe hau| madhubana kī māninī manohara taha~hiṃ jāhu jaha~ bhāe hau|| aba yaha kauna sayānapa? braja para kā kārana uṭhi dhāe hau| sūra jahā~ lauṃ lyāmagāta haiṃ jāni bhale kari pāe hau
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘Tell us—where have you come from? I know by inference that the Lord of the Yādavas has sent you. Your complexion is like his, your clothing too, and you have come adorned with ornaments like his. When he departed he took everything we possessed; whose finery are you wearing now? Listen, bee: all of us had but one mind, and you have carried that one away to him. Go there, then, to Mathurā’s proud beauty, wherever your pleasure leads you. What cleverness is this now—why have you rushed upon Vraja? We know well, says Sūrdās, how far the dark color’s doings extend.’
Controlled against the proofread Wikisource Page-namespace transcription of the retained 1926 scan.
Pada 17
Sourceऊधो को उपदेस सुनौ किन कान दै? ::सुंदर स्याम सुजान पठायो मान दै॥ध्रुव॥ कोउ आयो उत तायँ जितै नँदसुवन सिधारे। वहै बेनु-धुनि होय मनो आए नँदप्यारे॥ धाई सब गलगाजि कै ऊधो देखे जाय। लै आईं ब्रजराज पै हो, आनँद उर न समाय॥ अरघ आरती, तिलक, दूब दधि माथे दीन्ही। कंचन-कलस भराय आनि परिकरमा कीन्हीं॥ गोप-भीर आँगन भई मिलि बैठे यादवजात। जलझारी आगे धरी, हो, बूझति हरि-कुसलात॥ कुसल-छेम बसुदेव, कुसल देवी कुवजाऊ। कुसल-छेम अक्रूर, कुसल नीके बलदाऊ॥ पूछि कुसल गोपाल की रहीं सकल गहि पाय। प्रेम-मगन ऊधो भए, हो. देखत व्रज को भाय॥ मन मन ऊधो कहै यह न बूझिय गोपालहि। ब्रज को हेतु बिसारि जोग सिखवत ब्रजबालहि॥ पाती बाँचि न आवई रहे नयन जल पूरि। देखि प्रेम गोपीन को, हो ज्ञान-गरब गयो दूरि॥ तब इत उत बहराय नीर नयनन में सोख्यो। ठानी कथा प्रबोध बोलि सब गुरू समोख्यो॥ जो ब्रत मुनिवर ध्यावही पर पावहिं नहिं पार। सो ब्रत सीखो गोपिका, हो, छाँड़ि विषय-विस्तार॥ सुनि ऊधो के बचन रहीं नीचे करि तारे। मनो सुधा सों सींचि आनि विषज्वाला जारे॥ हम अबला कह जानहीं जोग-जुगुति की रीति। नँदनंदन ब्रत छाँड़ि कै, हो, को लिखि पूजै भीति? अबिगत, अगह, अपार, आदि अवगत है सोई। आदि निरंजन नाम ताहि रंजै सब कोई॥ नासिका-अग्र है तहाँ ब्रह्म को बास। अबिनासी बिनसै नहीं, हो, सहज ज्योति-परकास॥ घर लागै' औघूरि कहे मन कहा बँधावै। अपनो घर परिहरे कहो को घरहि बतावै? मूरख जादवजात हैं हमहिं सिखावत जोग। हमको भूली कहत हैं हो, हम भूली किधौं लोग? गोपिहु ते भयो अंध ताहि दुहुं लोचन ऐसे! ज्ञाननैन जो अंध ताहि सूझै धौं कैसे? बूझै निगम बोलाइ कै, कहै वेद समुझाय। आदि अंत जाके नहीं, हो, कौन पिता को माय? चरन नहीं भुज नहीं, कहौ, ऊखल किन बाँधो? नैन नासिका मुख नहीं चोरि दधि कौन खाँधो? कौन खिलायो गोद में, किन कहे तोतरे बैन? ऊधो ताको न्याव है, हो, जाहि न सूझै नैन॥ हम बूझति सतभाव न्याव तुम्हरे मुख साँचो। प्रेम-नेम रसकथा कहौ कंचन की काँचो॥ जो कोउ पावै सीस दै ताको कीजै नेम। मधुप हमारी सौं कहो, हो, जोग भलो किधौं प्रेम॥ प्रेम प्रेम सों होय प्रेम सों पारहि जैए। प्रेस बँध्यो संसार, प्रेम परमारथ पैए॥ एकै निहचै प्रेम को जीवन-मुक्ति रसाल। साँचो निहचै प्रेम को, हो, जो मिलिहैं नँदलाल। सुनि गोपिन को प्रेम नेम ऊधो को भूल्यो। गावत गुन-गोपाल फिरत कुंजन में फूल्यो॥ छन गोपिन के पग धरै, धन्य तिहारो नेम। धाय धाय द्रुम भेंटहीं, हो, ऊधो छाके प्रेम॥ धनि गोपी, धनि गोप, धन्य सुरभी बनचारी। धन्य, धन्य! सो भूमि जहाँ बिहरे बनवारी॥ उपदेसन आयो हुतो मोहिं भयो उपदेस। ऊधो जदुपति पै गए, हो, किए गोप को बेस॥ भूल्यो जदुपति नाम, कहते गोपाल गोसाँई। एक बार ब्रज जाहु देहु गोपिन दिखराई॥ गोकुल को सुख छाँड़ि कै कहाँ बसे हौ आय। कृपावंत हरि जानि कै, हो, ऊधो पकरे पाय॥ देखत ब्रज को प्रेम नेम कछु नाहिंन भावै। उमड़्यो नयननि नीर बात कछु कहत न आवै॥ सूर स्याम भूतल गिरे, रहे नयन जल छाय। पोंछि पीतपट सों कह्यो, 'आए जोग सिखाय'?
ūdho ko upadesa sunau kina kāna dai? ::suṃdara syāma sujāna paṭhāyo māna dai||dhruva|| kou āyo uta tāya~ jitai na~dasuvana sidhāre| vahai benu-dhuni hoya mano āe na~dapyāre|| dhāī saba galagāji kai ūdho dekhe jāya| lai āīṃ brajarāja pai ho, āna~da ura na samāya|| aragha āratī, tilaka, dūba dadhi māthe dīnhī| kaṃcana-kalasa bharāya āni parikaramā kīnhīṃ|| gopa-bhīra ā~gana bhaī mili baiṭhe yādavajāta| jalajhārī āge dharī, ho, būjhati hari-kusalāta|| kusala-chema basudeva, kusala devī kuvajāū| kusala-chema akrūra, kusala nīke baladāū|| pūchi kusala gopāla kī rahīṃ sakala gahi pāya| prema-magana ūdho bhae, ho. dekhata vraja ko bhāya|| mana mana ūdho kahai yaha na būjhiya gopālahi| braja ko hetu bisāri joga sikhavata brajabālahi|| pātī bā~ci na āvaī rahe nayana jala pūri| dekhi prema gopīna ko, ho jñāna-garaba gayo dūri|| taba ita uta baharāya nīra nayanana meṃ sokhyo| ṭhānī kathā prabodha boli saba gurū samokhyo|| jo brata munivara dhyāvahī para pāvahiṃ nahiṃ pāra| so brata sīkho gopikā, ho, chā~r̤i viṣaya-vistāra|| suni ūdho ke bacana rahīṃ nīce kari tāre| mano sudhā soṃ sīṃci āni viṣajvālā jāre|| hama abalā kaha jānahīṃ joga-juguti kī rīti| na~danaṃdana brata chā~r̤i kai, ho, ko likhi pūjai bhīti? abigata, agaha, apāra, ādi avagata hai soī| ādi niraṃjana nāma tāhi raṃjai saba koī|| nāsikā-agra hai tahā~ brahma ko bāsa| abināsī binasai nahīṃ, ho, sahaja jyoti-parakāsa|| ghara lāgai' aughūri kahe mana kahā ba~dhāvai| apano ghara parihare kaho ko gharahi batāvai? mūrakha jādavajāta haiṃ hamahiṃ sikhāvata joga| hamako bhūlī kahata haiṃ ho, hama bhūlī kidhauṃ loga? gopihu te bhayo aṃdha tāhi duhuṃ locana aise! jñānanaina jo aṃdha tāhi sūjhai dhauṃ kaise? būjhai nigama bolāi kai, kahai veda samujhāya| ādi aṃta jāke nahīṃ, ho, kauna pitā ko māya? carana nahīṃ bhuja nahīṃ, kahau, ūkhala kina bā~dho? naina nāsikā mukha nahīṃ cori dadhi kauna khā~dho? kauna khilāyo goda meṃ, kina kahe totare baina? ūdho tāko nyāva hai, ho, jāhi na sūjhai naina|| hama būjhati satabhāva nyāva tumhare mukha sā~co| prema-nema rasakathā kahau kaṃcana kī kā~co|| jo kou pāvai sīsa dai tāko kījai nema| madhupa hamārī sauṃ kaho, ho, joga bhalo kidhauṃ prema|| prema prema soṃ hoya prema soṃ pārahi jaie| presa ba~dhyo saṃsāra, prema paramāratha paie|| ekai nihacai prema ko jīvana-mukti rasāla| sā~co nihacai prema ko, ho, jo milihaiṃ na~dalāla| suni gopina ko prema nema ūdho ko bhūlyo| gāvata guna-gopāla phirata kuṃjana meṃ phūlyo|| chana gopina ke paga dharai, dhanya tihāro nema| dhāya dhāya druma bheṃṭahīṃ, ho, ūdho chāke prema|| dhani gopī, dhani gopa, dhanya surabhī banacārī| dhanya, dhanya! so bhūmi jahā~ bihare banavārī|| upadesana āyo huto mohiṃ bhayo upadesa| ūdho jadupati pai gae, ho, kie gopa ko besa|| bhūlyo jadupati nāma, kahate gopāla gosā~ī| eka bāra braja jāhu dehu gopina dikharāī|| gokula ko sukha chā~r̤i kai kahā~ base hau āya| kṛpāvaṃta hari jāni kai, ho, ūdho pakare pāya|| dekhata braja ko prema nema kachu nāhiṃna bhāvai| umar̤yo nayanani nīra bāta kachu kahata na āvai|| sūra syāma bhūtala gire, rahe nayana jala chāya| poṃchi pītapaṭa soṃ kahyo, 'āe joga sikhāya'?
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
Why not lend your ears and hear Uddhava’s instruction? Beautiful, discerning Śyāma has honored him and sent him. Someone came from the direction in which Nanda’s son had gone; it seemed the very sound of the flute, as though dear Nanda’s boy had returned. All the people ran out clamoring to see Uddhava, and brought him before the king of Vraja, their hearts unable to contain their joy. They offered arghya and ārati, marked his brow with tilaka, sacred grass, and curd, brought golden water pots, and circled him in welcome. A crowd of cowherds filled the courtyard and sat around the Yādava. They placed a water vessel before him and asked after Hari’s welfare: ‘Are Vasudeva and Devakī well? Is Kubjā well? Is Akrūra well? Is strong Baladāū well?’ After asking Gopāla’s welfare, they all remained clasping Uddhava’s feet. Seeing the love of Vraja, Uddhava himself was submerged in love. Within his mind he said, ‘Gopāla should not have asked this of me—forgetting his bond with Vraja, he has sent yoga to teach the women of Vraja.’ He could not read the letter; his eyes remained filled with water. Seeing the gopīs’ love, the pride of knowledge went far away. At last he turned aside, dried the tears in his eyes, resolved to teach, and addressed them all as though he were their guru: ‘Learn the discipline that great sages meditate upon yet cannot fathom; abandon the spread of sense objects.’ Hearing Uddhava, they lowered their gaze—as though he had first watered them with nectar and then burned them in a flame of poison. ‘We are helpless women; what do we know of yoga’s methods? Who would abandon devotion to Nandanandana, draw some figure, and worship a wall? You speak of the unmanifest, inaccessible, boundless beginningless One, the primal stainless name in which all delight. You say Brahman dwells at the tip of the nose, imperishable and never destroyed, the natural radiance of light. But tell us: when one’s own house is abandoned, who can point out another home? Foolish Yādava that you are, you teach yoga to us and call us deluded—but are we deluded, or are worldly people? One may be blind in two eyes, but if the eye of knowledge is blind, how can anything be seen? Summon scripture and ask it; let the Veda explain: the One without beginning or end—whose father or mother has it? If it has no feet or arms, who bound it to the mortar? If it has no eyes, nose, or mouth, who stole and ate the curd? Who dandled it in her lap, and to whom did it speak in a child’s broken words? Uddhava, that is the justice of one whose eyes do not see. We ask sincerely for the truth; let your mouth speak plainly. Tell us the rasa-filled story of love—tell gold from glass. If someone can attain love only by giving the head, let that be the vow. Bee, answer us: which is better, yoga or love? Love arises from love; by love one crosses beyond. The world is bound by love, and by love the highest aim is attained. Firm certainty in love alone is the sweet fruit of liberation; true certainty in love is this—that we shall meet Nandalāla.’ Hearing the gopīs’ law of love, Uddhava forgot himself. Singing Gopāla’s virtues, he wandered exultant through the bowers. One moment he fell at the gopīs’ feet—‘Blessed is your vow!’—the next he ran and embraced the trees, intoxicated with love. ‘Blessed the gopīs, blessed the cowherds, blessed the cows that roam the forest; blessed, blessed is the land where Banavārī wandered! I came to give instruction, but instruction has been given to me.’ Uddhava returned to the Yādava Lord dressed as a cowherd. He forgot the name ‘Lord of the Yadus’ and called him ‘Gopāla, Master of the cows’: ‘Go once to Vraja and grant the gopīs sight of you. Why have you abandoned Gokula’s joy and come to live here?’ Knowing Hari to be compassionate, Uddhava grasped his feet. Remembering Vraja’s vow of love, he desired nothing else; tears surged from his eyes and no words would come. Śyāma fell to the ground, says Sūrdās, his eyes covered with tears. Wiping them with his yellow cloth, he asked: ‘Did you go there to teach yoga?’
Controlled against the proofread Wikisource Page-namespace transcription of the retained 1926 scan.
Pada 18
Sourceहमसों कहत कौन की बातें? सुनि ऊधो! हम समुझत नाहीं फिरि पूँछति हैं तातें॥ को नृप भयो कंस किन मार्यो को वसुद्यौ-सुत आहि? यहाँ हमारे परम मनोहर जीजतु हैं मुख चाहि॥ दिनप्रति जात सहज गोचारन गोप सखा लै संग। बासरगत रजनीमुख आवत करत नयन-गति पंग॥ को ब्यापक पूरन अबिनासी, को बिधि-बेद-अपार? सूर बृथा बकवाद करत हौ या ब्रज नंदकुमार
hamasoṃ kahata kauna kī bāteṃ? suni ūdho! hama samujhata nāhīṃ phiri pū~chati haiṃ tāteṃ|| ko nṛpa bhayo kaṃsa kina māryo ko vasudyau-suta āhi? yahā~ hamāre parama manohara jījatu haiṃ mukha cāhi|| dinaprati jāta sahaja gocārana gopa sakhā lai saṃga| bāsaragata rajanīmukha āvata karata nayana-gati paṃga|| ko byāpaka pūrana abināsī, ko bidhi-beda-apāra? sūra bṛthā bakavāda karata hau yā braja naṃdakumāra
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘Whose affairs are you describing to us? Listen, Uddhava—we do not understand, and therefore ask again. Who became king? Who killed Kaṃsa? Who is this son of Vasudeva? Here our supremely enchanting one lives before our very faces. Each day he naturally goes to graze the cows with his cowherd friends; when day gives way to evening, he returns and makes our eyes stand still. Who is all-pervading, complete, imperishable? Who lies beyond Brahmā and the boundless Vedas? You babble in vain, says Sūrdās: here in Vraja there is only Nanda’s son.’
Controlled against the proofread Wikisource Page-namespace transcription of the retained 1926 scan.
Pada 19
Sourceतू अलि! कासों कहत बनाय? बिन समुझे हम फिरि बूझति हैं एक बार कहौ गाय॥ किन वै गवन कीन्हों सकटनि चढ़ि सुफलकसत के संग। किन वै रजक लुटाइ बिबिध पट पहिरे अपने अंग? किन हति चाप निदरि गज मार्यो किन वै मल्ल मथि जाने? उग्रसेन बसुदेव देवकी किन वै निगड़ हठि भाने? तू काकी है करत प्रसंसा, कौने घोष पठायो? किन मातुल बधि लयो जगत जस कौन मधुपुरी छायो? माथे मोरमुकुट बनगुंजा, मुख मुरली-धुनि बाजै। सूरदास जसोदानंदन गोकुल कह न बिराजै
tū ali! kāsoṃ kahata banāya? bina samujhe hama phiri būjhati haiṃ eka bāra kahau gāya|| kina vai gavana kīnhoṃ sakaṭani car̤hi suphalakasata ke saṃga| kina vai rajaka luṭāi bibidha paṭa pahire apane aṃga? kina hati cāpa nidari gaja māryo kina vai malla mathi jāne? ugrasena basudeva devakī kina vai nigar̤a haṭhi bhāne? tū kākī hai karata prasaṃsā, kaune ghoṣa paṭhāyo? kina mātula badhi layo jagata jasa kauna madhupurī chāyo? māthe moramukuṭa banaguṃjā, mukha muralī-dhuni bājai| sūradāsa jasodānaṃdana gokula kaha na birājai
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘Bee, to whom are you inventing this tale? We fail to understand, so we ask again—sing it once more. Who went away riding the cart with Akrūra, son of Śvaphalka? Who robbed the washerman and put the many garments on his body? Who broke the bow, slew the elephant, and crushed the wrestlers? Who forcefully shattered the chains of Ugrasena, Vasudeva, and Devakī? Whom are you praising, and who sent you to this cowherd settlement? Who killed his maternal uncle and won fame in the world? Who now occupies Mathurā? The one with peacock crown and wild guñjā berries, whose flute sounds at his lips—why does Yaśodā’s son, asks Sūrdās, no longer reign in Gokula?’
Controlled against the proofread Wikisource Page-namespace transcription of the retained 1926 scan.
Pada 20
Sourceहम तो नंदघोष की वासी। नाम गोपाल, जाति कुल गोपहि, गोप गोपाल-उपासी॥ गिरिवरधारी, गोधनचारी, बृन्दावन - अभिलासी। राजा नंद, जसोदा रानी, जलधि नदी जमुना सी॥ प्रान हमारे परम मनोहर कमलनयन सुखरासी। सूरदास प्रभु कहौं कहाँ लौं अष्ट महासिधि दासी
hama to naṃdaghoṣa kī vāsī| nāma gopāla, jāti kula gopahi, gopa gopāla-upāsī|| girivaradhārī, godhanacārī, bṛndāvana - abhilāsī| rājā naṃda, jasodā rānī, jaladhi nadī jamunā sī|| prāna hamāre parama manohara kamalanayana sukharāsī| sūradāsa prabhu kahauṃ kahā~ lauṃ aṣṭa mahāsidhi dāsī
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘We are residents of Nanda’s cowherd settlement. His name is Gopāla; by birth and family he belongs to the cowherds, and cowherds worship Gopāla. He lifts the mountain, tends the cattle, and longs for Vṛndāvana. Nanda is our king, Yaśodā our queen, and the Yamunā our ocean and river. Our very life is the supremely enchanting lotus-eyed treasury of joy. How much more can I say, asks Sūrdās? The eight great yogic powers are merely his maidservants.’
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Pada 21
Sourceगोकुल सबै गोपाल-उपासी। जोग-अंग साधत जे ऊधो ते सब बसत ईसपुर कासी॥ यद्यपि हरि हम तजि अनाथ करि तदपि रहति चरननि रसरासी। अपनी सीतलताहि न छाँड़त यद्यपि है ससि राहु-गरासी। का अपराध जोग लिखि पठवत प्रेमभजन तजि करत उदासी। सूरदास ऐसी को बिरहिन माँगति मुक्ति तजे गुनरासी?
gokula sabai gopāla-upāsī| joga-aṃga sādhata je ūdho te saba basata īsapura kāsī|| yadyapi hari hama taji anātha kari tadapi rahati caranani rasarāsī| apanī sītalatāhi na chā~r̤ata yadyapi hai sasi rāhu-garāsī| kā aparādha joga likhi paṭhavata premabhajana taji karata udāsī| sūradāsa aisī ko birahina mā~gati mukti taje gunarāsī?
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘All Gokula worships Gopāla. Those who practice yoga’s limbs, Uddhava, dwell in Kāśī, the city of the Lord. Though Hari abandoned us and made us orphans, the flood of rasa at his feet remains. The moon does not abandon its coolness even while swallowed by Rāhu. What offense have we committed that he writes and sends us yoga, forsaking loving worship and making us desolate? What woman in separation, asks Sūrdās, would abandon the treasury of qualities and ask for liberation?’
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Pada 22
Sourceजीवन मुँहचाही को नीको। दरस परस दिनरात करति हैं कान्ह पियारे पी को॥ नयनन मूँदि मूँदि किन देखौ बँध्यो ज्ञान पोथी को। आछे सुंदर स्याम मनोहर और जगत सब फीको॥ सुनौ जोग को का लै कीजै जहाँ ज्यान है जी को? खाटी सही नहीं रुचि मानै सूर खवैया घी को
jīvana mu~hacāhī ko nīko| darasa parasa dinarāta karati haiṃ kānha piyāre pī ko|| nayanana mū~di mū~di kina dekhau ba~dhyo jñāna pothī ko| āche suṃdara syāma manohara aura jagata saba phīko|| sunau joga ko kā lai kījai jahā~ jyāna hai jī ko? khāṭī sahī nahīṃ ruci mānai sūra khavaiyā ghī ko
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘The life that fulfills the heart’s desire is best. Day and night we seek the sight and touch of dear Kanhā, drinking the beloved. Why close the eyes again and again to behold what is bound inside a book of knowledge? Lovely, beautiful, enchanting Śyāma is before us; beside him the whole world is tasteless. Listen—what use is yoga where the soul already knows its beloved? One accustomed to eating ghee, says Sūrdās, cannot relish a sour draught.’
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Pada 23
Sourceआयो घोष बड़ो ब्योपारी। लादि खेप गुन ज्ञान-जोग की ब्रज में आय उतारी॥ फाटक दै कर हाटक माँगत भोरै निपट सु धारी। धुर ही तें खोटो खायो है लये फिरत सिर भारी॥ इनके कहे कौन डहकावै ऐसी कौन अजानी? अपनो दूध छांडि को पीवै खार कूप को पानी॥ ऊधो जाहु सबार यहाँ तें बेगि गहरु जनि लावौ। मुँहमाँग्यो पैहो सूरज प्रभु साहुहि आनि दिखावौ
āyo ghoṣa bar̤o byopārī| lādi khepa guna jñāna-joga kī braja meṃ āya utārī|| phāṭaka dai kara hāṭaka mā~gata bhorai nipaṭa su dhārī| dhura hī teṃ khoṭo khāyo hai laye phirata sira bhārī|| inake kahe kauna ḍahakāvai aisī kauna ajānī? apano dūdha chāṃḍi ko pīvai khāra kūpa ko pānī|| ūdho jāhu sabāra yahā~ teṃ begi gaharu jani lāvau| mu~hamā~gyo paiho sūraja prabhu sāhuhi āni dikhāvau
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘A great merchant has come to the cowherd village. He loaded a cargo of the qualities, knowledge, and yoga, and has unloaded it in Vraja. Giving us husks, he asks for gold—the clever simpleton! From the very beginning his wares were spoiled; now he carries the heavy load upon his head. Who will let himself be cheated at this man’s word? Who here is so ignorant? Who abandons her own milk to drink brackish water from a well? Uddhava, leave at dawn; do not delay here. Bring the merchant-master himself before us, says Sūrdās, and you shall receive whatever price you ask.’
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Pada 24
Sourceजोग ठगौरी ब्रज न बिकैहै। यह ब्योपार तिहारो ऊधो ऐसोई फिरि जैहै॥ जापै लै आए हौ मधुकर ताके उर न समैहै। दाख छांड़ि कै कटुक निंबौरी को अपने मुख खैहै? मूरी के पातन के केना को मुक्ताहल दैहै। सूरदास प्रभु गुनहिं छांड़ि कै को निर्गुन निरबैहै?
joga ṭhagaurī braja na bikaihai| yaha byopāra tihāro ūdho aisoī phiri jaihai|| jāpai lai āe hau madhukara tāke ura na samaihai| dākha chāṃr̤i kai kaṭuka niṃbaurī ko apane mukha khaihai? mūrī ke pātana ke kenā ko muktāhala daihai| sūradāsa prabhu gunahiṃ chāṃr̤i kai ko nirguna nirabaihai?
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘The stupefying drug of yoga will not sell in Vraja. This trade of yours, Uddhava, will go back exactly as it came. The one from whom you brought it, bee, had no room for it in his own heart. Who abandons grapes and puts bitter neem-fruit in his mouth? Who will give pearls in exchange for radish leaves? Who, asks Sūrdās, would abandon the Lord’s qualities and cultivate the qualityless?’
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Pada 25
Sourceआए जोग सिखावन पाँड़े। परमारथी पुराननि लादे ज्यों बनजारे टाँड़े॥ हमरी गति पति कमलनयन की जोग सिखैं ते राँड़े॥ कहौ, मधुप, कैसे समायँगे एक म्यान दो खाँड़े॥ कहु षटपद, कैसे खैयतु है हाथिन के संग गाँड़े। काकी भूख गई बयारि भखि बिना दूध घृत माँड़े॥ काहे को झाला लै मिलवत, कौन चोर तुम डांड़े? सूरदास तीनों नहिं उपजत धनिया धान कुम्हाँड़े
āe joga sikhāvana pā~r̤e| paramārathī purānani lāde jyoṃ banajāre ṭā~r̤e|| hamarī gati pati kamalanayana kī joga sikhaiṃ te rā~r̤e|| kahau, madhupa, kaise samāya~ge eka myāna do khā~r̤e|| kahu ṣaṭapada, kaise khaiyatu hai hāthina ke saṃga gā~r̤e| kākī bhūkha gaī bayāri bhakhi binā dūdha ghṛta mā~r̤e|| kāhe ko jhālā lai milavata, kauna cora tuma ḍāṃr̤e? sūradāsa tīnoṃ nahiṃ upajata dhaniyā dhāna kumhā~r̤e
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘The learned priest has come to teach yoga, loaded with scriptures about the highest good like a caravan merchant. Our destiny and husband is the lotus-eyed Lord; only widows would learn this yoga. Tell us, bee—how can two swords fit inside a single sheath? Tell us, six-legged one—how can an elephant eat a stalk together with you? Whose hunger was ever satisfied by eating wind instead of milk, ghee, and sweet cakes? Why mix chaff into our grain, and which thief are you scolding? Coriander, rice, and gourds, says Sūrdās, do not grow together in one field.’
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Pada 26
Sourceए अलि! कहा जोग में नीको? तजि रसरीति नंदनंदन की सिखवत निर्गुन फीको॥ देखत सुनत नाहिं कछु स्रवननि, ज्योति ज्योति करि ध्यावत। सुंदरस्याम दयालु कृपानिधि कैसे हौ बिसरावत? सुनि रसाल मुरली-सुर की धुनि सोई कौतुक-रस भूलैं। अपनी भुजा ग्रीव पर मेलैं गोपिन के सुख फूलैं॥ लोककानि कुल को भ्रम प्रभु मिलि मिलि कै घर बन खेली। अब तुम सूर खवावन आए जोग जहर की बेली
e ali! kahā joga meṃ nīko? taji rasarīti naṃdanaṃdana kī sikhavata nirguna phīko|| dekhata sunata nāhiṃ kachu sravanani, jyoti jyoti kari dhyāvata| suṃdarasyāma dayālu kṛpānidhi kaise hau bisarāvata? suni rasāla muralī-sura kī dhuni soī kautuka-rasa bhūlaiṃ| apanī bhujā grīva para melaiṃ gopina ke sukha phūlaiṃ|| lokakāni kula ko bhrama prabhu mili mili kai ghara bana khelī| aba tuma sūra khavāvana āe joga jahara kī belī
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘Bee, what is good in yoga? You would make us abandon the path of rasa belonging to Nandanandana and learn the tasteless qualityless Absolute. It is neither seen nor heard by the ears; one merely meditates, repeating “light, light.” How could you make us forget beautiful dark Śyāma, compassionate treasury of grace? Hearing the luscious sound of his flute, who could forget that marvelous rasa? He laid his arm around our necks, and the gopīs blossomed in delight. Forgetting public opinion and family honor, we met the Lord again and again and played in house and forest. Now you have come to feed us, says Sūrdās, the poisonous vine of yoga.’
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Pada 27
Sourceहमरे कौन जोग ब्रत साधै? मृगत्वच, भस्म, अधारि, जटा को को इतनो अवराधै? जाकि कहूं थाह नहिं पैए अगम, अपार, अगाधै। गिरिधर लाल छबीले मुख पर इते बाँध को बाँधै? आसन, पवन विभूति मृगछाला ध्याननि को अवराधै? सूरदास मानिक परिहरि कै राख गाँठि को बाँधै?
hamare kauna joga brata sādhai? mṛgatvaca, bhasma, adhāri, jaṭā ko ko itano avarādhai? jāki kahūṃ thāha nahiṃ paie agama, apāra, agādhai| giridhara lāla chabīle mukha para ite bā~dha ko bā~dhai? āsana, pavana vibhūti mṛgachālā dhyānani ko avarādhai? sūradāsa mānika parihari kai rākha gā~ṭhi ko bā~dhai?
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘Who among us will undertake yoga’s vows? Who will burden herself with deerskin, ash, a begging bowl, and matted hair? No one can fathom the one you call inaccessible, boundless, and bottomless. Who would tie so many bindings over the lovely face of our red-robed lifter of the mountain? Who would be burdened with postures, breath-control, ashes, deerskin, and meditations? Who abandons a jewel, asks Sūrdās, and knots ashes into the corner of her cloth?’
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Pada 28
Sourceहम तो दुहूं भाँति फल पायो। जो ब्रजनाथ मिलैं तो नीको, नातरु जग जस गायो॥ कहँ वै गोकुल की गोपी सब बरनहीन लघुजाती। कहँ वै कमला के स्वामी सँग मिलि बैठीं इक पाँती॥ निगमध्यान मुनिज्ञान अगोचर, ते भए घोषनिवासी। ता ऊपर अब साँच कहो धौं मुक्ति कौन की दासी? जोग-कथा, पा लागों उधो, ना कहु बारंबार। सूर स्याम तजि और भजै जो तानी जननी छार
hama to duhūṃ bhā~ti phala pāyo| jo brajanātha milaiṃ to nīko, nātaru jaga jasa gāyo|| kaha~ vai gokula kī gopī saba baranahīna laghujātī| kaha~ vai kamalā ke svāmī sa~ga mili baiṭhīṃ ika pā~tī|| nigamadhyāna munijñāna agocara, te bhae ghoṣanivāsī| tā ūpara aba sā~ca kaho dhauṃ mukti kauna kī dāsī? joga-kathā, pā lāgoṃ udho, nā kahu bāraṃbāra| sūra syāma taji aura bhajai jo tānī jananī chāra
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘In either way we have gained the fruit. If the Lord of Vraja meets us, that is good; if not, the world will sing our fame. On one side are all these low-born, colorless gopīs of Gokula; on the other, the Lord of Lakṣmī—yet they sat with him in a single row. He whom the Vedas meditate upon and sages cannot reach through knowledge became a resident of the cowherd village. Tell us truly, then: of whom is liberation the servant? Uddhava, I fall at your feet—do not repeat this tale of yoga. May the mother of anyone who worships another after abandoning dark Śyāma, says Sūrdās, be reduced to ash.’
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Pada 29
Sourceपूरनता इन नयन न पूरी। तुम जो कहत स्रवननि सुनि समुझत, ये याही दुख मरति बिसूरी। हरि अंतर्यामी सब जानत बुद्धि बिचारत बचन समूरी। वै रस रूप रतन सागर निधि क्यों मनि पाय खवावत धूरी। रहु रे कुटिल, चपल, मधुलंपट, कितव सँदेस कहत कटु कूरी। कहँ मुनिध्यान कहाँ ब्रजयुवती! कैसे जात कुलिस करि चूरी। देखु प्रगट सरिता, सागर, सर सीतल सुभग स्वाद रुचि रूरी। सूर स्वातिजल बसै जिय चातक चित लागत सब झूरी
pūranatā ina nayana na pūrī| tuma jo kahata sravanani suni samujhata, ye yāhī dukha marati bisūrī| hari aṃtaryāmī saba jānata buddhi bicārata bacana samūrī| vai rasa rūpa ratana sāgara nidhi kyoṃ mani pāya khavāvata dhūrī| rahu re kuṭila, capala, madhulaṃpaṭa, kitava sa~desa kahata kaṭu kūrī| kaha~ munidhyāna kahā~ brajayuvatī! kaise jāta kulisa kari cūrī| dekhu pragaṭa saritā, sāgara, sara sītala subhaga svāda ruci rūrī| sūra svātijala basai jiya cātaka cita lāgata saba jhūrī
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘These eyes have not fulfilled their fullness. We hear and understand what you say, yet these eyes die grieving from this very pain. Hari, the indwelling knower, knows all; the mind considers your speech complete. But he is the ocean and treasury of rasa, beauty, and jewels—having found the jewel, why would one eat dust? Stay back, crooked, fickle, honey-greedy libertine! Why deliver the gambler’s bitter, false message? Where is a sage’s meditation, and where a young woman of Vraja? How can you pound a thunderbolt into powder? Look: rivers, ocean, and lakes lie manifest—cool, lovely, tasteful, and beautiful. Yet the cātaka of Sūrdās’s heart longs only for a drop of Svāti rain; everything else scorches it.’
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Pada 30
Sourceहमतें हरि कबहूँ न उदास। राति-खवाय पिवाय अधररस सो क्यों बिसरत ब्रज को वास॥ तुमसों प्रेमकथा को कहिबो मनहुँ काटिबो घास। बहिरो तान-स्वाद कह जानै, गूँगो बात-मिठास॥ सुनु री सखी, बहुरि फिरि ऐहैं वे सुख बिबिध विलास। सूरदास ऊधो अब हमको भयो तेरहों मास
hamateṃ hari kabahū~ na udāsa| rāti-khavāya pivāya adhararasa so kyoṃ bisarata braja ko vāsa|| tumasoṃ premakathā ko kahibo manahu~ kāṭibo ghāsa| bahiro tāna-svāda kaha jānai, gū~go bāta-miṭhāsa|| sunu rī sakhī, bahuri phiri aihaiṃ ve sukha bibidha vilāsa| sūradāsa ūdho aba hamako bhayo terahoṃ māsa
English translation
Fresh editorial translation from the भ्रमरगीत-सार authority
‘Hari is never indifferent to us. After feeding us rasa at night and letting us drink the nectar of his lips, how could he forget his dwelling in Vraja? Telling you the story of love is like cutting grass. What does a deaf man know of melody’s flavor, or a mute man of sweetness in speech? Listen, friend: he will return again, bringing those many pleasures and delights. Uddhava, says Sūrdās, a thirteenth month has now been added to our year of waiting.’
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