Abhanga 108
Whoever obstructs Narayana — even mother and father — is to be set aside. Prahlad set aside his father, Bibhishan his brother, Bharat his mother. The deity's feet alone are dharma; every other strategy is a root of suffering.
The verse
जेणें घडे नारायणीं अंतराय । होत बाप माय वर्जावीं तीं ॥१॥ येर प्रिया पुत्र धना कोण लेखा । करिती तीं दुःखा पात्र शत्रु ॥ध्रु.॥ प्रल्हादें जनक बिभीषणें बंधु । राज्य माता निंदु भरतें केली ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे सर्व धर्म हरिचे पाय । आणीक उपाय दुःखमूळ ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Whoever causes an obstruction in (the path to) Narayana — even mother and father — they are to be set aside. What account is there of dear-ones, son, wealth? Those who cause obstruction are vessels of sorrow, enemies. Prahlad set aside his (asura) father; Bibhishan, his brother (Ravana); Bharat condemned both kingdom and mother. Tuka says: all dharma is at Hari's feet — every other means is a root of sorrow.
मराठी: ज्यामुळे नारायणाच्या (मार्गात) अडथळा होतो — मायबापसुद्धा — ते वर्ज्य करावे. प्रिय, पुत्र, धनाची काय लेखणं? जे अडथळा करतात ते दुःखाचे पात्र, शत्रु. प्रल्हादाने जनक (वडील) सोडला; बिभीषणाने बंधु (रावण); भरताने राज्य आणि माता निंदले. तुकाराम म्हणतात — सर्व धर्म हरीच्या पायी; आणि उपाय दुःख-मूळ.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जेणें घडे नारायणीं अंतराय | "by whom an obstruction in (the path to) Narayana arises" |
| होत बाप माय वर्जावीं तीं | "they are to be set aside, even mother and father" |
| येर प्रिया पुत्र धना कोण लेखा | "what (account) of dear-ones, son, wealth?" |
| करिती तीं दुःखा पात्र शत्रु | "those who do (this obstruction) are vessels-of-sorrow, enemies" |
| प्रल्हादें जनक | "Prahlad — his father" (set aside) |
| बिभीषणें बंधु | "Bibhishan — his brother" (Ravana, set aside) |
| राज्य माता निंदु भरतें केली | "the kingdom and the mother — Bharat condemned" (rejected the throne his mother got Rama exiled to obtain) |
| सर्व धर्म हरिचे पाय | "all dharma is at Hari's feet" |
| आणीक उपाय दुःखमूळ | "every other means is a root of sorrow" |
What it means
A family-as-obstruction abhang with three classic biographical precedents:
- Prahlad — son of the asura king Hiranyakashipu, who tortured him for refusing to abandon Vishnu-bhakti. Prahlad chose deity over father.
- Bibhishan — Ravana's younger brother, who left Lanka and joined Rama because his brother had abducted Sita. Brother over deity → sin; deity over brother → dharma.
- Bharat — Rama's brother whose mother Kaikeyi engineered Rama's exile to put Bharat on the throne. Bharat refused the throne, condemned his mother's act, and went to bring Rama back.
The structural claim: family-bonds that obstruct the deity are not protective — they are obstructions. The closing — सर्व धर्म हरिचे पाय — all dharma is at Hari's feet — collapses the entire dharmic-economy onto one location. [Tradition]
For someone today
This abhang is for the moment when family is actively obstructing your spiritual or meaning-life. Tukaram's three precedents are precise: father (Prahlad), brother (Bibhishan), mother (Bharat) — every primary kin-position has a precedent for being set aside when it obstructs. The instruction is not casual cutting-of-family; it is the recognition that obstruction is the disqualifying behavior, and the response is setting-aside. The corollary is sober: सर्व धर्म हरिचे पाय — all dharma is at the feet of Hari. Family-loyalty as a sub-dharma is fine; family-loyalty as the supreme dharma obstructs the actual supreme dharma.
मराठी: ही ओवी अशा क्षणासाठी जेव्हा कुटुंब सक्रियपणे अडथळा करत आहे आध्यात्मिक / अर्थपूर्ण जीवनाला. तुकारामांची तीन precedents अचूक: पिता (प्रल्हाद), बंधु (बिभीषण), माता (भरत) — प्रत्येक primary kin-position साठी बाजूला सरकवायला precedent. सूचना casual family-cutting नाही; अडथळा हीच disqualifying behavior, आणि प्रतिसाद बाजूला ठेवणं. परिणाम सोबर: सर्व धर्म हरीच्या पायी. कुटुंब-निष्ठा sub-dharma म्हणून ठीक; सर्वोच्च dharma म्हणून ती अडथळा करते.
Where this applies
- Parents opposing spiritual life. Prahlad's precedent.
- Sibling using family-bond to pull back. Bibhishan's precedent.
- Family-loyalty being weaponized against practice. Bharat's precedent.