Abhanga 135
This abhang is permission for those who have been refusing to call because their words are wrong — wrong language, wrong tradition's vocabulary, no formal training, broken speech. The deity, in Tukaram's claim, meets the bhāva — the feeling-substance — not the syntactic surface. The child saying kākā is not corrected by the father; the father knows what the child means and meets the child. The application: stop polishing the call; make the call. The roughness is not a barrier; it is its own warmth.
The verse
बाळ बापा म्हणे काका । तरी तो कां निपराध ॥१॥ जैसा तैसा भाव गोड । पुरवी कोड विठ्ठल ॥ध्रु.॥ साकरेसि म्हणतां धोंडा । तरी कां तोंडा न रुचे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आरुष बोल । नव्हे फोल आहाच ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: When a child says kākā (uncle) where it should say bāpā (father), is he in the wrong? Whatever the form — the bhāva is sweet — Vitthal fulfills the wish. If sugar is called a stone, does it then not still taste sweet to the tongue? Tuka says: the rough word is not (just) chaff.
मराठी: बाळ बापाला 'काका' म्हणतो — मग तो कां निरपराध (= चूक)? जसा-तसा भाव गोड; विठ्ठल कोड पुरवतो. साखरेला 'धोंडा' म्हटलं तरी जिभेला गोड लागत नाही का? तुकाराम म्हणतात — आरुष बोल — फोल-आहाच नाही.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बाळ बापा म्हणे काका | "the child says kākā (uncle) (where it should say) bāpā (father)" |
| तरी तो कां निपराध | "is he therefore in the wrong?" |
| जैसा तैसा भाव गोड | "whatever (the form) — the bhāva (feeling) is sweet" |
| पुरवी कोड विठ्ठल | "Vitthal fulfills the wish" |
| साकरेसि म्हणतां धोंडा | "if sugar is called a stone" |
| तरी कां तोंडा न रुचे | "does (it then) not still taste sweet to the tongue?" |
| आरुष बोल | "the rough / unrefined word" |
| नव्हे फोल आहाच | "is not (just) chaff and hot air" |
What it means
A short imperfect-call-still-reaches abhang. Two precise images: (1) child saying kākā for bāpā — the relationship is real, the misnomer is a child's; the father is not offended, the child is not in the wrong. (2) sugar called a stone — the substance of sugar (its sweetness) is independent of the word used for it; the tongue still tastes sweetness. The structural claim: जैसा तैसा भाव गोड — whatever form, the bhāva is sweet. The deity meets the feeling, not the syntactic correctness. The closing — आरुष बोल नव्हे फोल आहाच — the rough word is not chaff — is the abhang's permission: the unrefined call still reaches. [T]
For someone today
This abhang is permission for those who have been refusing to call because their words are wrong — wrong language, wrong tradition's vocabulary, no formal training, broken speech. The deity, in Tukaram's claim, meets the bhāva — the feeling-substance — not the syntactic surface. The child saying kākā is not corrected by the father; the father knows what the child means and meets the child. The application: stop polishing the call; make the call. The roughness is not a barrier; it is its own warmth.
मराठी: ही ओवी कुणीही ज्यांनी "शब्द बरोबर नाहीत" म्हणून हाक मारणं नकारलंय त्यांच्यासाठी परवानगी — चुकीची भाषा, चुकीच्या परंपरेचे शब्द, formal training नाही, तुटलेले बोल. तुकारामांच्या दाव्यानुसार देव भावाला meet करतो — feeling-substance — syntactic surface ला नाही. काका म्हणणाऱ्या मुलाला बाप दुरुस्त करत नाही; बाप समजतो आणि मुलाला meet करतो. lागू: हाक polished करायचं थांबवा; हाक मारा. कच्चेपणा अडथळा नाही — स्वतःच एक warmth आहे.
Where this applies
- Refusing to call out because words aren't right. Child saying kākā.
- Imagining deity needs correct vocabulary. भाव गोड suffices.
- Unrefined utterance is what you have. Not chaff.