Abhanga 132
Two diagnostics:
The verse
माकडें मुठीं धरिलें फुटाणे । गुंतले ते नेणे हात तेथें ॥१॥ काय तो तयाचा लेखावा अन्याय । हित नेणे काय आपुलें तें ॥ध्रु.॥ शुकें नळिकेशीं गोवियेले पाय । विसरोनि जाय पक्ष दोन्ही ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे एक ऐसे पशुजीव । न चले उपाव कांहीं तेथें ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: The monkey grabs a fistful of chickpeas — doesn't realize its hand is now stuck. What wrong of his can be counted? — he doesn't know what his own benefit is. The parrot's claws caught in the tube — forgets that both wings exist. Tuka says: there are some such animal-souls; no remedy works there.
मराठी: माकडाने मुठीत फुटाणे धरले — गुंतलं हे नेणत. त्याचा अन्याय कसा मोजायचा? — आपलं हित ओळखत नाही. पोपटाचे पाय नळीत गुंतले — दोन्ही पंख विसरून जातो. तुकाराम म्हणतात — असे काही पशु-जीव; तिथे कुठलाही उपाय चालत नाही.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| माकडें मुठीं धरिलें फुटाणे | "the monkey grasped the (fistful of) chickpeas" |
| गुंतले ते नेणे हात तेथें | "(it) doesn't realize its hand is stuck there" |
| काय तो तयाचा लेखावा अन्याय | "what wrong of his can be counted?" (= his stuckness is not someone else's fault) |
| हित नेणे काय आपुलें तें | "(he) doesn't know what his own benefit is" |
| शुकें नळिकेशीं गोवियेले पाय | "the parrot's claws caught in the tube" |
| विसरोनि जाय पक्ष दोन्ही | "(he) forgets that both wings (still) exist" |
| एक ऐसे पशुजीव | "some such animal-souls" |
| न चले उपाव कांहीं तेथें | "no remedy works there" |
What it means
Two precise self-trap images: 1. Monkey trap — a clay pot with a narrow neck contains chickpeas; the monkey reaches in, grabs a fistful, but cannot pull the closed-fist back out through the narrow neck. The release is opening the hand — but the monkey will not. Capture is by the monkey's own grip. 2. Parrot in tube — a parrot trap where the bird's claws get caught in a hollow tube; in panic, the parrot forgets it has wings. Even though flying away requires only opening the wings, the focus on the trapped feet eclipses the wing-knowledge.
The structural claim: some humans are like these — captured by their own grip or forgetting their own resources. The closing — न चले उपाव कांहीं तेथें — no remedy works there — is the somber recognition: the trap is internal, and external rescue cannot reach it. [T]
For someone today
Two diagnostics:
-
Are you holding a fistful you cannot release? A grudge, a position, a victimhood-narrative, a relationship-claim. The trap is not the situation; the trap is the fist. The release is open the hand. The monkey will not.
-
Have you forgotten your wings? Caught in some specific captivity — a job, a relationship, a self-narrative — and the focus on the trapped feet has eclipsed the existence of capacities you actually have. Most life-traps are like the parrot's: the wings are still there; the captivity is in the forgetting.
The harder teaching is the closing: no remedy works for some. If you encounter someone refusing to open the fist or remember the wings, external rescue is structurally impossible. Step back. The cure must come from within them, or it does not come.
मराठी: दोन diagnostics:
-
तुम्ही न-सोडता-येणारी मूठ धरून आहात का? एक grudge, एक position, victim-narrative, नात्याचा दावा. सापळा परिस्थिती नाही — मूठ च. सोडवणूक — मूठ उघडणं. माकड उघडत नाही.
-
तुम्ही पंख विसरलात का? एखाद्या specific captivity मध्ये अडकलेले — नोकरी, नातं, self-narrative — आणि अडकलेल्या पायांवर लक्ष यामुळे तुमच्या प्रत्यक्ष असलेल्या क्षमतांचं अस्तित्व झाकलंय. बहुतेक life-traps पोपटासारखे आहेत: पंख तिथेच आहेत; captivity विस्मरणात आहे.
कठीण शिकवण शेवटी: काहींसाठी कुठलाही उपाय चालत नाही. कोणी मूठ उघडायला किंवा पंख आठवायला नकार देत असेल — external rescue structurally अशक्य. पावलं मागे घ्या. उपाय त्यांच्या आतून आला पाहिजे, अन्यथा येत नाही.
Where this applies
- Refusing to release the fistful. Trap is the grip.
- Forgotten your wings in some captivity. Remember.
- No-remedy-reaches is honest. Step back from rescue.