BY: MOROPANT English rendering : Shri V. K. Chhatre, Kalyan
(This is the second part of the selected verses from Kekawali of Moropant, a well-known Marathi poet. The first part appeared in the May 1974 issue of this magazie. The numbers in brackets refer to original numbers of Marathi poem—Editor)
21 (47) If the protection of the surrendered
Is befitting you and essential,
Then why delay ? Why make me
In distress, cry for help ?
O Lord ! It won't be proper for you to run alone.
It will be better to reach here
Before the Death attacks me.
22 (48) " Anyhow I'll proect you
And fulfil your heart's desire
Why you worry about my hot haste ? "
-If thus you say, O Most dear !
The Soul of the World !
It's on account of the forest's happiness
That the living beings are happy.
23 (49) The child is happy
Only if the mother is happy.
Her exertions inevitably
Tell upon her most dear child.
Therefore, O Lord ! Exertions
You should'nt have to undergo even for a moment.
For, you are the saviour And soul of the whole world.
24 (54) Your merit-tales are wish-yielding
Heavenly cows ! Amidst them
Enters this lust for enjoyment—
A she-donkey fearing only Shuka, her master'^'
Nobody else; though being driven away
By wielders of clubs-the Sanyasins,
She kicks them. How much more than I –
A Family-man (without a club) !
25 (55) This she-demon lust for enjoyment-
Is as vehement as the Khara demon.
You are really the only one
Able to kill her.
Baki was milder (Tataka less fearful)
Why do you feel ashamed ?
killing her is like your play In the vraja-forest.
26 (62) Dhruva cherished a liking for praising you.
You, therefore, with regard,
Fulfilled it by touching his cheek With your Conch;
Do like that to me, hold Your hand on my head
O Security-boon-giver ! O,
One excelling in heroism !
Please check my mind !
27 (65) How tender the age !
What severe penance !
What unshakable confidence !
Dhruva is certainly a guide
Fit for action and praise by the Universe;
How do you compare openly
The mustard with the mountain ?
O Lord ! Please don't cosider
Merits or de-merits while blessing.
28 (66) Lordship is that which blesses
The surrendered in such a degree
That he is raised to shine
Equally with the Lord.
Of what use is the blessing
Which fails to remove the lowness ?
O Raghava ! How did you forget
That you had blessed Bibhishana With Kingship ?
29 (67) You bless a sincere devotee
Howsoever outwardly he may appear;
Let your blessing be suitable to him
The blessing, however great, is fruitless,
If indigestable by the recipient
Please bless as per worth
It will be befitting to both.
30 (71) O Hari-Hara! Those who see
Separateness between you both may do so.
The learned declare that
There is not a bit of separateness.
Therefore I say to myself
"Shaivas' assertion is not true.
The Vaishnavas are obstinate;
Really speaking both are principal deities".
31 (72) You may say "This Brahmin once prays to Hari;
The next moment to Hara-
How flattering his nature is!"
O Hari-Hara! 'You both propitiate each other'-
Said Shuka and Vyasa rightly.
Old is this story, not new-Plea se honour it.
32 (75) Your name is bilss-yielding
Equal to you, not a whit less.
It bears a sepcial quality
In which You Yourself are lacking;
It's available to anyone ,
At any time, and what more!
It doesn't harass, or degrade
The singer even for a moment! .,
33 (79) O Mercy-ocean! Would you think
Of harassing a poor?
No. In war, a warrior kills a brave
But never a timid foe.
Whatever mercy you'll shower
Would satisfy me. O Saviour!
I, the surrendered,
Am labouring in this ignorance-dark forest.
34 (85) What is not dear is faulty
And what's dear is good, though faulty
The parents caress a child
Though crawled thro' mud.
How did Yashoda clasp you
Close to her breast then-
Though you were dirtying her garment
With dust clung to your body!
35 (94) A learned, earning and obedient son
Taking over himself home affairs
Wins his father's favour.
The contrary his disfavour. Even a glimpse
of his accursed face
Is unbearable to the father
Even for a moment.
Such one is favoured only by you;
It's you only who takes care of him.
36 (95) Let the father be disgusted with a vicious son
But the mother, soft at heart
With mercy-nectar,
Will never be disgusted with
Such a son blotting the name of his family.
The father's grace-blanket is shorter
Than the mother's tenderness.
Therefore say the wise-"
The mother's debt can never be fully repaid".
37 (116) It's your glory that liberates the devotees;
But not by itself alone.
A Sword, not wielded by a warrior
Is unable to kill the enemy.
Without the guidance of saints
And their company,
The minds of the ignorant do not
Really enjoy your glorious tales.
38 (118) May I get always company of the good
And hear from them your glory!
May filth drop down from my intellect!
May total dislike for enjoyment arise!
May the mind rest attached
To the feet of the saints
Diverted a-force, stand firm,
May it lament separated
May it rejoice merged in your tales!
39 (119) May the fixed aim not be set aside!
May the trouble from the wicked be averted!
May the mind not swerve from devotion!
May it turn to the saint-approved path!
May the'Self'be known!
May all the vain pride drop down!
May the mind not be polluted again,
May sins burn down by self-knowledge!
40 (121) O Mercy-nectar-cloud Hari!
Please turn towards this 'peacock'!
The mother touched at heart
Picks up a crying child,
And holds close to her breast!
O Lord! - Praised by the pious
When will you find
A worthier supplicant than this ?
To take him across this worldly ocean
-Is but your play.
Note: 25 (Khara-demon: Killed by Shri Rama) N.B. : We intend to present to the readers, shortly, Moro-pant's verses (versified in English by Shri. V. K. Chhatre where he is at his best. The situation is: Lord Shri Krishna retorts to Karna (who, while attempting to lift up the wheel of his chariot sunk in the earth—is preaching a sermon to Arjuna in respect of Dharma (The duty of Kshatriya) on the battlefield) and brings home to him the justification of Arjuna's attack on him in his precarious condition.