Abhanga 73
This abhang is for the moment when you realize day-and-night have run together and you have given them all to family/work/comfort and the deity's darshan (or your analogue — practice, contemplation, what feeds your soul) has become दुर्लभ (rare). Tukaram's claim is uncomfortable: this is आत्महत्या — slow soul-killing. The cure is structural, not heroic. Reserve some space — small, daily — that the family-and-senses cannot consume. Without it, the slow killing continues. With it, the family-life can resume its rightful size; without it, the family becomes the killer.
The verse
नव्हे आराणूक संवसारा हातीं । सर्वकाळ चित्तीं हा चि धंदा ॥१॥ देवधर्म सांदीं पडिला सकळ । विषयीं गोंधळ गाजतसे ॥ध्रु. ॥ रात्रि दीस न पुरे कुटुंबाचें समाधान । दुर्लभ दर्शन ईश्वराचें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आत्महत्या रे घातकी । थोर होते चुकी नारायणीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: No escape — caught in samsāra's hand; all the time, the heart's only business is this. Deity-and-dharma have all fallen aside; in sense-objects, the racket roars. Night-and-day are not enough for the family's contentment; the deity's darshan has become rare. Tuka says: this is deadly self-killing — the great mistake is in (forgetting) Narayana.
मराठी: संसाराच्या हाती सुटका नाही; सर्वकाळ चित्ताचा हाच धंदा. देव-धर्म सर्व सांदीला पडले; विषयांत गोंधळ गाजतो. रात्र-दिवस कुटुंबाच्या समाधानाला पुरत नाहीत; ईश्वराचं दर्शन दुर्लभ. तुकाराम म्हणतात — हीच आत्महत्या आहे, घातकी; मोठी चूक नारायणाला (विसरणं).
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नव्हे आराणूक संवसारा हातीं | "no escape — in samsāra's hand" |
| सर्वकाळ चित्तीं हा चि धंदा | "all the time, the heart's only business is this" |
| देवधर्म सांदीं पडिला सकळ | "deity-and-dharma — all fallen aside" (सांदीं = into a corner) |
| विषयीं गोंधळ गाजतसे | "in sense-objects, the racket roars" |
| रात्रि दीस न पुरे कुटुंबाचें समाधान | "night-and-day are not enough for the family's contentment" |
| दुर्लभ दर्शन ईश्वराचें | "the deity's darshan (has become) rare" |
| आत्महत्या रे घातकी | "(this is) deadly self-killing" (आत्महत्या = suicide) |
| थोर होते चुकी नारायणीं | "the great mistake is in (forgetting) Narayana" |
What it means
A harsh diagnostic abhang. Tukaram names a structural condition many people find themselves in: being so absorbed in family-and-sense-objects that the deity becomes rare. The phrase आत्महत्या रे घातकी — (this is) deadly self-killing — is the abhang's verdict. Not metaphorical. The slow soul-death by family-and-sense-consumption is real death, by Tukaram's count. The cure is not abandoning the family; it is not letting it consume all the hours. The mistake is in forgetting Narayana during the family-business — in letting the family fill every space without leaving any for the deity. [T]
For someone today
This abhang is for the moment when you realize day-and-night have run together and you have given them all to family/work/comfort and the deity's darshan (or your analogue — practice, contemplation, what feeds your soul) has become दुर्लभ (rare). Tukaram's claim is uncomfortable: this is आत्महत्या — slow soul-killing. The cure is structural, not heroic. Reserve some space — small, daily — that the family-and-senses cannot consume. Without it, the slow killing continues. With it, the family-life can resume its rightful size; without it, the family becomes the killer.
मराठी: ही ओवी अशा क्षणासाठी जेव्हा तुम्हाला कळतं की रात्र-दिवस एकत्र वाहून गेले — आणि तुम्ही ते सगळे कुटुंब / काम / comforts ला दिले — आणि देव-दर्शन (किंवा तुमचं analogue — साधना, चिंतन, जे आत्म्याला अन्न देतं) दुर्लभ झालं. तुकारामांचा अस्वस्थ करणारा दावा: ही आत्महत्या — हळू soul-killing. उपाय रचनात्मक, हिरो होणं नाही. लहान, दैनंदिन जागा राखा — जिला कुटुंब-इंद्रिये consume करू शकत नाहीत. ती नसली तर हळू killing सुरूच. असेल तर कुटुंब-जीवन योग्य आकाराला परत येऊ शकतं; नसेल तर कुटुंब killer बनतं.
Where this applies
- Day-and-night consumed by family-and-senses. आत्महत्या.
- Darshan rare. Notice. Reserve.
- The mistake — forgetting Narayana. That's the diagnostic verb. Not the family's fault; the forgetting's fault.