Allegory, the game of life and getting caught
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
मागें पुढें पाहें सांभाळूनि दोनी ठाय । चुकावूनि जाय गडी राखे गडियांसि ॥१॥
मुरडे दंडा दोहीं तोंडें गडियां सावध करी । भेटतियासंगे तया हाल तुजवरी ॥ध्रु.॥
गडियां गडी वांटुनि देई । ज्याचा सोडी तेचि ठायीं ॥२॥
अगळ्या बळें करील काय । तुज देणें लागे डोय ॥३॥
नवां घरीं पाउला करीं । सांपडे तो तेथें धरीं ॥४॥
जिंकोनि डाव करीं । टाहो सत्ता आणिकांवरी ॥५॥
सांपडोनि डाईं बहु । काळ गुंतलासी ॥६॥
बळिया गडी फळी । फोडी न धरितां त्यांसी ॥७॥
चुकांडी जो खाय मिळोनि अंगीं जाय । गुंतलासी काय तुका म्हणे अझूनी ॥८॥
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
Look ahead and behind, guarding both sides; dodge cleverly and protect your teammates. Swing the stick from both ends to keep your friends alert; if someone gets caught, the trouble falls on you. Divide the friends into teams and release each where they stand. What can a lone player do with brute force? You will have to give up your turn. Set foot in new territory and catch whoever you find there. Win the round and claim your authority over the rest. You got caught in a trap and wasted so much time. The strong player breaks through the line when it is not held firmly. Says Tuka, when the blow lands and strikes your body, why are you still tangled in this game?
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
Look ahead and behind; guard both sides. Dodge cleverly and protect your teammates. Swing the stick at both ends to keep your friends alert. If one of them is caught, the trouble falls on you. Divide the players into teams; release each one where they stand. What can a single player do by brute force? You will have to give up your turn. Step into new ground and catch whoever you find there. Win the round and claim your rule over the rest. You got caught in the trap and wasted so much time. The strong player breaks through the line when it is not held firmly. Tuka says: when the blow lands and strikes your body, why are you still tangled in this game?
What it means
Tukaram takes a children's catching game and makes it the whole game of worldly life. The instructions sound like ordinary play: watch both sides, guard your team, divide into sides, win the round and lord it over the others. But running underneath is a warning about how the game catches you. Brute force gets you nowhere; you forfeit your turn; you get trapped and squander long stretches of time. The line, the defended boundary, is broken by the strong precisely where it is held loosely. The closing question is the real address to the soul: now that the blows are actually landing on your own body, why are you still caught up in playing? It is time to step out of the game.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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