Abhanga 171
This abhang names the sulking-quit moment that shows up in real bhakti, real practice, and real love. After enough rounds, you figure out what's going on: I see what you're doing — it feels like the game is rigged, like I'm carrying the weight and you're getting the win. I can't bear this burden anymore. This delay has gone on too long. I quit.
The verse
गडी गेले रडी । कान्हो नेदीस तूं चढी ॥१॥ आम्ही न खेळों न खेळों । आला भाव तुझा कळों ॥ध्रु.॥ न साहावे भार । बहु लागतो उशीर ॥२॥ तुका आला रागें । येऊं नेदी मागें मागें ॥३॥
Literal translation
The comrades have sulk-quit. Kanho, you do not let (us) win. We won't play, we won't play — your scheme has come to be understood. The burden cannot be borne; much delay is happening. Tuka came in anger — (he) does not let (anyone) come behind-behind.
मराठी: गडी रडीला गेले — कान्हो, तू चढी (विजय) देत नाहीस. आम्ही खेळणार नाही, खेळणार नाही — तुझा भाव (हेतू) आता कळलाय. भार साह्य होत नाही — फार उशीर लागतोय. तुका रागानं आला — मागे-मागे येऊ देत नाही.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| गडी गेले रडी | "the comrades have gone-into-rūdī" (sulk-quit, withdraw-from-play) |
| कान्हो नेदीस तूं चढी | "Kanho, you do not give the chaḍī (winning, going-up)" |
| आम्ही न खेळों न खेळों | "we will not play, will not play" |
| आला भाव तुझा कळों | "your bhāva (intent / scheme) has come to be understood" |
| न साहावे भार | "the burden cannot be borne" |
| बहु लागतो उशीर | "much delay is happening" |
| तुका आला रागें | "Tuka came in anger" |
| येऊं नेदी मागें मागें | "(he) does not let (anyone) come behind-behind" |
What it means
The rūdī-sulk abhang in the gopa-shikā / yamunā-tata cluster. Rūdī (रडी) is the Marathi children's-game term for sulking-quitting — when one player decides the game is rigged or the others are unfair, and withdraws. The gopa-comrades have done it.
The accusation: कान्हो नेदीस तूं चढी — Kanho, you don't let us win. आम्ही न खेळों न खेळों, आला भाव तुझा कळों — we won't play, we won't play; your scheme has come to be understood. The comrades have figured it out: Krishna is rigging the game so that he always wins. They will not play anymore.
The complaint underneath: न साहावे भार, बहु लागतो उशीर — the burden cannot be borne; much delay. The actual issue is fatigue and delay — they have been carrying weight (in the shikā-pyramid) and the wins have not come.
The Tukaram closing turn: तुका आला रागें, येऊं नेदी मागें मागें — Tuka came in anger; he does not let (anyone) come behind. Tuka's anger here is protective — he comes-up-angry and blocks others from following him into rūdī. The structural read: when one comrade has gone into recognized-the-trick sulk, the bhakti-saint comes in anger to prevent the contagion of rūdī through the band.
But there is a deeper paradox: the very recognition of Kanho's "trick" is part of the leelā. The comrades are not wrong that Krishna rigs the game; they are wrong that this is a problem. [T]
For someone today
This abhang names the sulking-quit moment that shows up in real bhakti, real practice, and real love. After enough rounds, you figure out what's going on: I see what you're doing — it feels like the game is rigged, like I'm carrying the weight and you're getting the win. I can't bear this burden anymore. This delay has gone on too long. I quit.
This is a real moment, and Tukaram doesn't tell you your diagnosis is wrong. He tells you about the response instead: come in anger, and don't let others follow you into quitting. Why? Because recognizing the 'rigging' is itself part of the divine play — what looks like being cheated is actually being loved in a way that isn't symmetrical. The deity does take more than the companion gets, but only from this vantage point; once you're past the sulking, what's revealed is the deeper union that was the real prize all along.
That protective anger keeps the whole group from quitting at once — because if even one or two stay past the sulking, they receive the gift that comes after it, and then they can bring the others back.
मराठी: ही ओवी खऱ्या भक्तीत, खऱ्या साधनेत, खऱ्या प्रेमात येणाऱ्या 'रडीचा डाव' या क्षणाबद्दल आहे. पुरेशा फेऱ्यांनंतर तुम्हाला कळून चुकतं — तू काय करतोयस ते मला कळलंय; खेळ रिग्ड (लबाडीचा) वाटतो — मी भार वाहतो आणि तूच जिंकतोस. हा भार आता सोसवत नाही. फार उशीर होतोय. मी सोडतो.
हा एक खरा क्षण आहे, आणि तुकाराम तुमचं निदान चुकीचं आहे असं म्हणत नाहीत. ते प्रतिक्रियेबद्दल बोलतात — रागाने या, आणि इतरांना तुमच्यामागे सोडून जाऊ देऊ नका. का? कारण हे 'रिगिंग' ओळखणं हाच लीलेचा भाग आहे — फसवलं जाण्यासारखं दिसणारं खरं तर विषम पद्धतीने प्रेम केलं जाणं आहे. देव खरोखरच सोबत्यापेक्षा जास्त घेतो, पण फक्त या दृष्टिकोनातून; रडीचा डाव मागे टाकल्यावर जे उघड होतं ते खरं बक्षीस आहे, जे आधीपासूनच तिथे होतं.
ही संरक्षक चीड संपूर्ण गटाला एकाच वेळी सोडून जाण्यापासून रोखते — कारण एक-दोघं जरी रडीच्या पलीकडे थांबले, तर त्यांना ती नंतरची देणगी मिळते, आणि मग तेच इतरांना परत आणू शकतात.
Where this applies
- Felt the rigging and ready to quit. Recognize rūdī-moment.
- Burden too much, delay too long. This is a real complaint — but the diagnosis isn't the cure.
- Tuka's protective-anger blocks others from following. Recognize this register.