Courtesy:Smt.Saroja Ramanujam
In the land of abangs, the devotees of Panduranga are a legion. But in this series only the main ones especially the composers of abhang are included. The remaining few devotees of Panduranga are Choka Mela , Bhaktha Sena and Eknath. We shall look in to the life of these and the grace of Panduranga showered on them before ending the series with the life story of Samartha Ramadasa, a devotee of Lord Rama and the guru of Shivaji.
Choka Mela
Choka Mela was born as a harijan and a great devotee of Panduranga. He was not allowed inside the temple and used to stand outside pining for the darsan of the Lord.
He visualized all the bhagavathas like Jnanadeva and others congregating there singing the praise of Panduranga. He sings,
Vittala vittala gajareem avaDhee dhrumadhrumalee pandaree
Everywhere the chant of 'vittal vittala.' All over Pandaripur the sound of music.
Hotho naamaachaa gajara dhindyaa pathaa kaanchaa bhaara
Nama sankeerthan by various groups of people bearing the flag of devotion on their shoulders.
Nivrtthi jnaanadheva sOpaana apaara vaishnava the jaaNa
All the unparalleled vaishnavas such as Nivrtthi natha, Jnanadeva and Sopana deva,
Harikeerthanaachee dhaaTee the the chOkaa galle meetee
were jumping with joy singing harinama and embracing each other with love.
One day some brahmins saw him and censured him for standing at the temple entrance wishing to see the Lord inside. They said , "if the Lord wants to give you darsan He would have shown Himself to you privately. Just as a dog cannot enter into the kitchen you cannot enter into the temple. You should not have come to the temple in the first place."
Choka said to them,
As the Sun give light to all and makes all the lotuses blossom. Like wise the Lord is everywhere in all hearts irrespective of caste, creed and learning. Can you say that He is not in me and that He is only inside the temple. As far as the devotion is concerned the Lord is the same for all. Oh Lord You give me your darsan if and when You will it."
Saying thus he went home. The Lord could not bear to see His devotee going away with sorrow. He went to the house of Choka after the temple was closed and stood in front of him. Choka was overjoyed and prostrated in front of the Lord but he said that eh wanted to see Him inside the temple. Then Panduranga led him by hand and took him inside the temple and was talking to him inside the sanctum sanctorum.
The Brahmins who came to the temple next morning lisened to the conversation and recognized the voice of Choka and were furious thinking that somehow he has entered the temple and gained entrance inside. They asked him how did he enter inside and he said that the Lord took him inside . they could neither believe nor disbelieve it. But they told him to leave Pandaripur so that this would not happen again and he went to the other side of Chandrbhaga river and lived in a hut there.
But even if the devotee leaves him the Lord would not allow him to do so.Pandurang awent to his hut oneday and asked Choka to give him food. Choka was feeding the Lord under a tree outside his hut and his wife, while bringing the curd tripped and some drops fell on the pithambar of the Lord. Choka Mela scolded her saying that when the Lord himself has come to their house to eat how could she be careless and spill the curd on His pithambar. At that time a Brahmin priest who was evil minded passed that way and heard these words, and getting angry at what he thought was the audacity of Choka he slapped him on his cheek since he could not see the Lord sitting there. When he went to the temple and stood near Panduranga he was shocked.
Every one shouted ," Look there are curd drops on the peethambar of the Lord and one of his cheeks is swelled up. " The priest alone understood what happened. The Lord has taken the slap on Himself to show His love to His devotee.
( Oh Lord ! how can we ever understand the extent of your love to us ! I could not help crying while writing these lines)
The priest ran to the hut of Choka and said,
"Oh great soul! The Lord has taken the slap on His cheek and it is swelled up . Only you can cure it " saying this, he dragged Choka to the temple. Choka Mela saw that the Peethambar of the Lord was speckled with curd drops and His cheek swelled up. Shedding profuse tears he went near the Lord and embraced Him. He touched the cheek of the Lord and the swelling disappeared. Then only everyone realized the greatness of bhakthi of ChokaMela.
On seeing the great wonder that was Panduranga without any restriction anymore Choka sang
dhekilaa dhekilaa yogeeyaanchaa raavO
rakhmaa dheveeSaa hO pandareeSaa
I have seen the king of the yogis, the lord of Rukmini, the Lord ofPandari.
gaayee gopaala vathsE vaiNavaanchaameLa
naachathee gopaalavittala chandhE
I have seen the cows and calves, the bhagavathas and the gopas all dancing in the thought of Gopala Vittala.
chokaamELaa dhedhem vandhithO charaNa
gaalee lotaangaNa mahaadhvaareem
I , Choka mELa also fell at the door of the temple and worshipped His feet.
Bhaktha Sena
Bhaktha Sena
Sena was a barber and he was a great devotee of Panduranga and used spend most of his time in meditating and worshipping the Lord. The king of that region was a muslim and he sent his servants to call Sena to attend on him as his barber. When they came Sena was not at all awre ogfthem and was immersed in the meditation of the Lord. His family members were afraid that the king may get angry if Sena did not go to him and knowing that he could not be disturbed at that time told the servants that he was not at home. The servants of the King went away and told the king so. But a man who was jealous of Sena knowing that he was inside the house went and told the king the truth and the king ordered that Sena should be flung in to the sea with hands and legs tied.
Will Panduraga allow His devotees to come to harm? He took the form of Sena and went to the king saying that he had come to attend on him. Can there be any limit to the love the Lord has for His devotees for whom He would not hesitate even to do the job of a barber? The moment He went near , the king felt an indescribable joy and experienced an ecstasy while he was having haircut and shave. . There was a pot of oil and the pseudo barber applied it on the head of the king which removed all his impurities of the mind and the king became peaceful and loving. When he looked into the pot of oil what did he see?
The king saw a beautiful form with crown and kundala with a face the beauty of which was unimaginable. He suddenly was seized with extreme love to the barber which he could not understand. Who can help loving the Lord ?
The king gave him a lot of gold coins told him to wait till he finished his bath because he wanted to enjoy his company for long. But the Lord after putting the coins in the bag of Sena disappeared.
Sena on knowing that the servants of the king came and went away became afraid of punishment. But he put the whole burden on the Lord and thought that whatever is His will let that happen. Then he went to see the king expecting the worst punishment. But he was in for a surprise. The king came back from his bath and expressed a great joy in seeing Sena and asked him to show the beautiful form which he showed earlier. Sena could not understand. He said,
"Forgive me master , I was engrossed in my worship and was not aware of my surroundings and could not come when you called ."
The king said, "Are you mad? You just came with your bag and attended on me and when you applied oil to my head I saw a beautiful form in the oil vessel. I want to see it again." Then he made the vessl of oil to be brought and asked Sena to show him the form . But there was nothing to be seen. Then Sena asked the king to describe the form. The king said,
"It ahd four arms, a crown on his head, and ear drops and many ornaments. He wa shaving a disc and a conch on his arms. His eyes werelarge like lotuses and his face was with a beautiful smile."
Sena could not control his tears and weeping he fell at the feet of the king, who was baffled. The he said, Oh King you are blessed you have seen Panduranga Himself ."
Then Sena cried,
"Oh Lord is there no end to your love? Should you take the form of a barber and cut the hair and shave the king irrespective of the fact that he was of muslim faith and not your devotee? All that in order to protect this worthless servant of yours?"
Sena says,
rakhmaadhevee vara angeekaara kelaa
nivaantha raahilaa senaa naahvee
I understood that I acquired merit because the lord of Rukhmani has accepted me as His devotee and hence I am bold enough to sing on Him.
Then Sena took his bag and found that it was heavy with gold coins which was the reward to Panduranga for having done the job of a barber! Sena saying that it belonged to the Lord only he spent it on His devotees.
Sena sings,
udhaara thumhee santha maaya baapa krpaavantha
Your devotees Oh Lord are generous and care for us like parents
kevdaa kelaa upakaara kaaya vaanoomee paamara
How can I describe the good things they have done to me, being a common man.
jadajeevaa uddhaarakelaa maarga dhaaveelaa supantha
They have show me, who was inert like a stone, the right path
senaamhaNE udharaayee hothaa kaamheedhisenaa
I cannot think as to how I can repay their kindness.
Choka Mela
Choka Mela was born as a harijan and a great devotee of Panduranga. He was not allowed inside the temple and used to stand outside pining for the darsan of the Lord.
He visualized all the bhagavathas like Jnanadeva and others congregating there singing the praise of Panduranga. He sings,
Vittala vittala gajareem avaDhee dhrumadhrumalee pandaree
Everywhere the chant of 'vittal vittala.' All over Pandaripur the sound of music.
Hotho naamaachaa gajara dhindyaa pathaa kaanchaa bhaara
Nama sankeerthan by various groups of people bearing the flag of devotion on their shoulders.
Nivrtthi jnaanadheva sOpaana apaara vaishnava the jaaNa
All the unparalleled vaishnavas such as Nivrtthi natha, Jnanadeva and Sopana deva,
Harikeerthanaachee dhaaTee the the chOkaa galle meetee
were jumping with joy singing harinama and embracing each other with love.
One day some brahmins saw him and censured him for standing at the temple entrance wishing to see the Lord inside. They said , "if the Lord wants to give you darsan He would have shown Himself to you privately. Just as a dog cannot enter into the kitchen you cannot enter into the temple. You should not have come to the temple in the first place."
Choka said to them,
As the Sun give light to all and makes all the lotuses blossom. Like wise the Lord is everywhere in all hearts irrespective of caste, creed and learning. Can you say that He is not in me and that He is only inside the temple. As far as the devotion is concerned the Lord is the same for all. Oh Lord You give me your darsan if and when You will it."
Saying thus he went home. The Lord could not bear to see His devotee going away with sorrow. He went to the house of Choka after the temple was closed and stood in front of him. Choka was overjoyed and prostrated in front of the Lord but he said that eh wanted to see Him inside the temple. Then Panduranga led him by hand and took him inside the temple and was talking to him inside the sanctum sanctorum.
The Brahmins who came to the temple next morning lisened to the conversation and recognized the voice of Choka and were furious thinking that somehow he has entered the temple and gained entrance inside. They asked him how did he enter inside and he said that the Lord took him inside . they could neither believe nor disbelieve it. But they told him to leave Pandaripur so that this would not happen again and he went to the other side of Chandrbhaga river and lived in a hut there.
But even if the devotee leaves him the Lord would not allow him to do so.Pandurang awent to his hut oneday and asked Choka to give him food. Choka was feeding the Lord under a tree outside his hut and his wife, while bringing the curd tripped and some drops fell on the pithambar of the Lord. Choka Mela scolded her saying that when the Lord himself has come to their house to eat how could she be careless and spill the curd on His pithambar. At that time a Brahmin priest who was evil minded passed that way and heard these words, and getting angry at what he thought was the audacity of Choka he slapped him on his cheek since he could not see the Lord sitting there. When he went to the temple and stood near Panduranga he was shocked.
Every one shouted ," Look there are curd drops on the peethambar of the Lord and one of his cheeks is swelled up. " The priest alone understood what happened. The Lord has taken the slap on Himself to show His love to His devotee.
( Oh Lord ! how can we ever understand the extent of your love to us ! I could not help crying while writing these lines)
The priest ran to the hut of Choka and said,
"Oh great soul! The Lord has taken the slap on His cheek and it is swelled up . Only you can cure it " saying this, he dragged Choka to the temple. Choka Mela saw that the Peethambar of the Lord was speckled with curd drops and His cheek swelled up. Shedding profuse tears he went near the Lord and embraced Him. He touched the cheek of the Lord and the swelling disappeared. Then only everyone realized the greatness of bhakthi of ChokaMela.
On seeing the great wonder that was Panduranga without any restriction anymore Choka sang
dhekilaa dhekilaa yogeeyaanchaa raavO
rakhmaa dheveeSaa hO pandareeSaa
I have seen the king of the yogis, the lord of Rukmini, the Lord ofPandari.
gaayee gopaala vathsE vaiNavaanchaameLa
naachathee gopaalavittala chandhE
I have seen the cows and calves, the bhagavathas and the gopas all dancing in the thought of Gopala Vittala.
chokaamELaa dhedhem vandhithO charaNa
gaalee lotaangaNa mahaadhvaareem
I , Choka mELa also fell at the door of the temple and worshipped His feet.
Bhaktha Sena
Bhaktha Sena
Sena was a barber and he was a great devotee of Panduranga and used spend most of his time in meditating and worshipping the Lord. The king of that region was a muslim and he sent his servants to call Sena to attend on him as his barber. When they came Sena was not at all awre ogfthem and was immersed in the meditation of the Lord. His family members were afraid that the king may get angry if Sena did not go to him and knowing that he could not be disturbed at that time told the servants that he was not at home. The servants of the King went away and told the king so. But a man who was jealous of Sena knowing that he was inside the house went and told the king the truth and the king ordered that Sena should be flung in to the sea with hands and legs tied.
Will Panduraga allow His devotees to come to harm? He took the form of Sena and went to the king saying that he had come to attend on him. Can there be any limit to the love the Lord has for His devotees for whom He would not hesitate even to do the job of a barber? The moment He went near , the king felt an indescribable joy and experienced an ecstasy while he was having haircut and shave. . There was a pot of oil and the pseudo barber applied it on the head of the king which removed all his impurities of the mind and the king became peaceful and loving. When he looked into the pot of oil what did he see?
The king saw a beautiful form with crown and kundala with a face the beauty of which was unimaginable. He suddenly was seized with extreme love to the barber which he could not understand. Who can help loving the Lord ?
The king gave him a lot of gold coins told him to wait till he finished his bath because he wanted to enjoy his company for long. But the Lord after putting the coins in the bag of Sena disappeared.
Sena on knowing that the servants of the king came and went away became afraid of punishment. But he put the whole burden on the Lord and thought that whatever is His will let that happen. Then he went to see the king expecting the worst punishment. But he was in for a surprise. The king came back from his bath and expressed a great joy in seeing Sena and asked him to show the beautiful form which he showed earlier. Sena could not understand. He said,
"Forgive me master , I was engrossed in my worship and was not aware of my surroundings and could not come when you called ."
The king said, "Are you mad? You just came with your bag and attended on me and when you applied oil to my head I saw a beautiful form in the oil vessel. I want to see it again." Then he made the vessl of oil to be brought and asked Sena to show him the form . But there was nothing to be seen. Then Sena asked the king to describe the form. The king said,
"It ahd four arms, a crown on his head, and ear drops and many ornaments. He wa shaving a disc and a conch on his arms. His eyes werelarge like lotuses and his face was with a beautiful smile."
Sena could not control his tears and weeping he fell at the feet of the king, who was baffled. The he said, Oh King you are blessed you have seen Panduranga Himself ."
Then Sena cried,
"Oh Lord is there no end to your love? Should you take the form of a barber and cut the hair and shave the king irrespective of the fact that he was of muslim faith and not your devotee? All that in order to protect this worthless servant of yours?"
Sena says,
rakhmaadhevee vara angeekaara kelaa
nivaantha raahilaa senaa naahvee
I understood that I acquired merit because the lord of Rukhmani has accepted me as His devotee and hence I am bold enough to sing on Him.
Then Sena took his bag and found that it was heavy with gold coins which was the reward to Panduranga for having done the job of a barber! Sena saying that it belonged to the Lord only he spent it on His devotees.
Sena sings,
udhaara thumhee santha maaya baapa krpaavantha
Your devotees Oh Lord are generous and care for us like parents
kevdaa kelaa upakaara kaaya vaanoomee paamara
How can I describe the good things they have done to me, being a common man.
jadajeevaa uddhaarakelaa maarga dhaaveelaa supantha
They have show me, who was inert like a stone, the right path
senaamhaNE udharaayee hothaa kaamheedhisenaa
I cannot think as to how I can repay their kindness.
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