Abhanga 167
This abhang names three failure-modes at the threshold of grace:
The verse
पळाले ते भ्याड । त्यांसि येथें जाला नाड ॥१॥ धीट घेती धणीवरी । शिंकीं उतरितो हरी ॥ध्रु.॥ आपुलिया मतीं । पडलीं विचारीं तीं रितीं ॥२॥ तुका लागे घ्यारे पायां । कैं पावाल या ठाया ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Those who fled were cowards — for them, here came nothing. The bold drink to satisfaction — Hari brings down the shikā. Those caught in their own thinking — fallen into reasoning, they (became) empty. Tuka says: come, take Hari's feet — when else will you reach this place?
मराठी: पळाले ते भ्याड — त्यांना इथे नाड (काही नाही) आलं. धीट घेतात धणीवरी (तृप्तीपर्यंत) — हरी शिंकं उतरवतो. आपुल्या मतीत — विचारात पडले — ते रिते. तुकाराम म्हणतात — चला, हरीच्या पायांना धरा — कधी पोहोचाल या ठाया?
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पळाले ते भ्याड | "those who fled were cowards" |
| त्यांसि येथें जाला नाड | "for them, here came nāḍa (loss / nothing)" |
| धीट घेती धणीवरी | "the bold ones take to dhaṇī (satisfaction / fullness)" |
| शिंकीं उतरितो हरी | "Hari brings down the shikā (milk-pot cradle)" |
| आपुलिया मतीं | "(those caught) in their own mati (intellect / opinion)" |
| पडलीं विचारीं तीं रितीं | "fell into thinking — they (became) empty" |
| तुका लागे घ्यारे पायां | "Tuka says: come, take the feet (of Hari)" |
| कैं पावाल या ठाया | "(when else) will you reach this place?" |
What it means
Continuation of 166's shikā-stealing scene. Where 166 was Krishna distributing equally to those-with-open-mouth, 167 sorts the attendees vs. absentees:
- The cowards (भ्याड): those who fled at the moment Krishna was bringing down the shikā. They got nothing (नाड). The lila was available — they did not show up.
- The bold (धीट): those who stayed and drank to satisfaction (धणीवरी). Hari himself was the one bringing the shikā down — the bold-ones were not the doers, only the receivers; but they had to be there.
- The thinkers (आपुलिया मतीं): those who got caught in their own mati (intellect/opinion) — fell into reasoning, became empty. The mati-trap: while-they-were-thinking-about-whether-to-go, the lila happened and ended.
The structural claim: bhakti's event is time-bound. कैं पावाल या ठाया — when else will you reach this place? The take-Hari's-feet move is what the bold do; it is not for the fled or the over-thinking. [T]
For someone today
This abhang names three failure-modes at the threshold of grace:
- The coward — when the moment of opportunity comes (a real teaching, a real love, a real chance), you flee. Result: नाड — empty-handed, not because grace was scarce but because you weren't there.
- The thinker — your own mati (intellect / opinion) keeps deliberating. Should I? Is this right? Have I considered all angles? Meanwhile the shikā came down and went up again. Result: रिते — empty.
- The bold — stayed, mouth open. धणीवरी — drank to satisfaction. Did not produce the gift; only received it.
The closing instruction is precise: तुका लागे घ्यारे पायां — कैं पावाल या ठाया — take Hari's feet (now); when else will you reach this place? The take-the-feet move is the bhakti-equivalent of show up and stay open-mouthed. It is not heroic; it is being-there-not-fleeing-not-over-thinking.
मराठी: ही ओवी grace च्या threshold वर तीन failure-modes नाव सांगते:
- भ्याड — संधीचा क्षण आला (खरा teaching, खरं प्रेम, खरी संधी) — पळालास. Result: नाड — रिकामे हात — grace दुर्मिळ नव्हती, तू तिथे नव्हतास म्हणून.
- विचारी — आपुली मती deliberate करत राहते. करावं का? बरोबर आहे का? सर्व angles विचारात घेतलेत का? दरम्यान शिंकं खाली आलं आणि वर गेलं. Result: रिते.
- धीट — थांबला, मुख उघडं. धणीवरी — तृप्ती पर्यंत प्यायला. Gift उत्पन्न नाही केला; फक्त घेतला.
बंद-सूचना अचूक: तुका लागे घ्यारे पायां — कैं पावाल या ठाया. पाय धरण्याची हालचाल bhakti चा उभं-राहा-मुख-उघडं-ठेवा equivalent. Heroic नाही; तिथे-असणं-न-पळणं-न-over-think-करणं आहे.
Where this applies
- At the threshold, fled. भ्याड → नाड.
- Caught in own mati. पडलीं विचारीं तीं रितीं.
- The bold stayed. धणीवरी; took the feet.