Gopi's mock complaint, Krishna will not loose his hold
Original Marathi from the Tukaram Gatha · About Sant Tukaram
मराठी मूळ
हरी तुझी कांति रे सांवळी । मी रे गोरी चांपेकळी । तुझ्या दर्शनें होईन काळी । मग हें वाळी जन मज ॥१॥
उगला राहें न करीं चाळा । तुज किती सांगों रे गोवळा । तुझा खडबड कांबळा । अरे नंदबाळा आलगटा ॥ध्रु.॥
तुझिये अंगीं घुरट घाणी । बहु खासी दुध तुप लोणी । घरिचें बाहेरिल आणोनी । मी रे चांदणी सकुमार ॥२॥
मज ते हांसतील जन । धिःकारिती मज देखोन । अंगीं तुझें देखोनि लक्षण । मग विटंबणा होइल रे ॥३॥
तुज लाज भय शंका नाहीं । मज तंव सज्जन पिशुन व्याही । आणीक मात बोलूं काहीं । मसी भीड नाहीं तुज माझी ॥४॥
वचन मोडी नेदी हात । कळलें न साहे ची मात । तुकयास्वामी गोपीनाथ । जीवन्मुक्त करूनि भोगी ॥५॥
सात पांच गौळणी आलिया मिळोनी यशोदे गार्हा।णें देती कैसें ।
काय व्यालीस पोर चोरटें सिरजोर जनावेगळें ची कैसें।
दहिं दुध लोणी शिंकां नुरे चि कांहीं कवाड जैशाचें तैसें ।
Tukaram Gatha (Marathi Wikisource)
English Translation
O Hari, your complexion is dark, and I am fair as a champa blossom. By beholding you I will turn dark, and then the world will shun me. Stay quiet and stop your mischief. How many times must I tell you, cowherd? Your blanket is rough and scratchy. Stay away, O child of Nanda. You smell of ghee and curd; you gorge on milk, butter, and cream from your own house and others'. I am delicate as moonlight. People will laugh at me; they will jeer when they see me. If your marks appear on my body, I will be disgraced. You have no shame, no fear, no hesitation, while I have respectable elders and sharp-tongued in-laws. What more can I say? You have no regard for my dignity at all. Says Tuka, my Lord Gopinath will not let go and will not release her hand. Knowing the truth, he cannot bear to hear her refusals. He makes her one with himself in liberation, even as he enjoys the play of love.
We ask forgiveness for any inaccuracies in rendering Tukaram ji’s original Marathi.
In Plain Words
O Hari, your color is dark; I am fair, fair as a champa flower. If I look at you I will turn dark, and then people will cast me out. Stay quiet; stop your tricks. How many times must I tell you, cowherd? Your blanket is rough and scratchy. Keep away, child of Nanda. You stink of ghee and curds; you stuff yourself with milk, butter, and cream, from your own house and from others' too. I am tender as moonlight. People will laugh at me; they will jeer when they see me. If your marks show on my body I will be shamed. You have no shame, no fear, no second thought, while I have respectable elders and sharp-tongued in-laws. What more can I say? You have no care at all for my honor. Tuka says: my Lord Gopinath will not let her go and will not release her hand. He knows the truth and cannot bear to hear her refuse. He makes her one with himself in liberation while he enjoys this play of love.
What it means
Tukaram writes in the voice of a gopi scolding Krishna, and the scolding is itself the love. Every complaint she makes, his dark skin, his smell of butter, the disgrace his touch will bring among her in-laws, is a way of staying close while pretending to push away. He has no shame and no fear because he is not bound by the social code that binds her, and that is exactly what frees her from it too. In the closing turn Tukaram names what the quarrel is really about: Gopinath will not let go of the soul that argues with him, because her refusals are only the soul's last resistance. He holds her hand until she is made one with him, and the whole teasing scene is the play through which liberation is given.
Krishna Leela
Poems celebrating Krishna's birth, childhood, and divine play.
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