Abhanga 174
Whether you play life's contest skillfully with steady breath and full attention, or give up trying to win and simply accept wherever you fall, both are honest ways to meet the encounter with the greater Self.
The verse
जीवशिवाच्या मांडूनि हाला । अहं सोहं दोन्ही भेडती भला ॥१॥ घाली हुतुतू फिरोनि पाही आपुणासि । पाही बळिया तो मागिला तुटी पुढिलासि ॥ध्रु.॥ खेळिया तो हाल सांभाळी । धुम घाली तो पडे पाताळीं ॥२॥ बळिया गांढ्या तो चि खेळे । दम पुरे तो वेळोवेळां खेळे ॥३॥ हातीं पडे तो चि ढांग । दम पुरे तो खेळिया चांग ॥४॥ मागें पुढें पाहे तो जिंके । हातीं पडे तो चि आधार फिके ॥५॥ आपल्या बळें खळे रे भाई । गडियाची सांडोनि सोई ॥६॥ तुका म्हणे मी खेळिया नव्हें । जिकडे पडें त्याचि सवें ॥७॥
Literal translation
Setting the jīva-Śiva rounds; aham and soham — both falter well. The hutuhutu-runner runs and looks back at himself; the strong one sees the back-tear (the disconnection-from-base) or the front-attack (the opponent ahead). The good player safeguards the round; the dust-raiser falls into the underworld. The strong-or-thin keeps playing; the breath-holder plays time-after-time. Whoever falls in the hand becomes the long-stride/lock; the breath-holder is the good player. He who looks back-and-forth wins; in-the-hand, the support becomes pale-without-flavor. Play with your own strength, brother — abandoning the comrade-arrangement. Tuka says: I am not a (skilled) player — wherever I fall, that is my company.
मराठी: जीव-शिव चे हाल मांडून — अहं-सोहं दोघे भला भेडतात. हुतुतू-धावक धावतो आणि स्वतःकडे फिरून पाहतो; बळिया पाहतो — मागील तुटी किंवा पुढिलासि? खेळ्या हाल सांभाळतो; धुम घालणारा पाताळात पडतो. बळिया-गांढ्या तो खेळतो; दम पुरे तो वेळो-वेळा खेळतो. हाती पडला तो ढांग; दम पुरे तो चांग. मागे-पुढे पाहतो तो जिंकतो; हाती पडला त्याचा आधार फीके. आपुल्या बळे खेळ रे भाई — गडियाची सोय सांडून. तुकाराम म्हणतात — मी खेळ्या नव्हे — जिकडे पडें त्याचि सवें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जीवशिवाच्या मांडूनि हाला | "setting the rounds (hāla) of jīva-Śiva (individual-soul / cosmic-Soul)" |
| अहं सोहं दोन्ही भेडती भला | "aham and soham — both falter well" |
| घाली हुतुतू फिरोनि पाही आपुणासि | "the hutuhutu-runner runs and looks back at himself" |
| पाही बळिया तो मागिला तुटी पुढिलासि | "the strong one sees — the back-tear or the front-attack" |
| खेळिया तो हाल सांभाळी | "the (good) player safeguards the hāla (round)" |
| धुम घाली तो पडे पाताळीं | "the dust-raiser (one who plays-recklessly) falls into the underworld" |
| बळिया गांढ्या तो चि खेळे | "the strong-or-thin one keeps playing" |
| दम पुरे तो वेळोवेळां खेळे | "the breath-holder plays time-after-time" |
| हातीं पडे तो चि ढांग | "whoever falls into the hand becomes the ḍhāng (long-stride / lock)" |
| मागें पुढें पाहे तो जिंके | "he who looks back-and-forth wins" |
| हातीं पडे तो चि आधार फिके | "in-hand, the support becomes fīkē (without flavor / pale)" |
| आपल्या बळें खळे रे भाई | "play with your own strength, brother" |
| गडियाची सांडोनि सोई | "abandoning the comrade-arrangement" |
| मी खेळिया नव्हें | "I am not a (skilled) player" |
| जिकडे पडें त्याचि सवें | "wherever I fall — that is my company" |
What it means
A hutuhutu (a Marathi village game closely related to kabaddi) abhang — Tukaram's longest folk-game allegory in this stretch (7 verses). Hutuhutu requires a player to cross into the opponents' half holding the breath chanting "hutuhutu"; while breath holds, opponents try to catch him; if he runs out of breath in the opponents' half, he is out; if he tags an opponent and returns to the base-line still holding-breath, that opponent is out. The game's central skill is breath-holding.
Tukaram's mapping is dense:
- जीवशिवाच्या मांडूनि हाला — the rounds are jīva-Śiva (individual-soul / cosmic-Soul). The play is the encounter.
- अहं सोहं दोन्ही भेडती — aham (I-claim) and soham (I-am-That mantra) both falter well. Both the assertive-I and the meditative-I-am-That get tested in the play.
- घाली हुतुतू फिरोनि पाही आपुणासि — the runner holds breath and looks back at himself. The hutuhutu-skill is self-watching while in motion.
- मागें पुढें पाहे तो जिंके — he who looks back-and-forth wins. Dual-attention — the base behind, the opponent ahead — is the winning skill.
- दम पुरे तो खेळिया चांग — the breath-holder is the good player. Dam (breath / breath-control) is the central yogic-skill.
- हाती पडे तो चि ढांग — whoever falls into the hand becomes the long-stride/lock. Once caught, you are the support — but आधार फिके — the support becomes flavor-less. Being-caught is being-converted-into-prop.
- धुम घाली तो पडे पाताळीं — the dust-raiser falls into the underworld. Reckless play (without breath-control, without dual-attention) sends you to pātāla.
The closing turn: आपल्या बळें खळे रे भाई, गडियाची सांडोनि सोई — play with your own strength, brother, abandoning the comrade-arrangement. The hutuhutu requires solo breath-hold; the gaḍī-soy (comrade-arrangement) is dropped at the moment-of-the-run.
But Tuka's final closing is the deepest: तुका म्हणे मी खेळिया नव्हें — जिकडे पडें त्याचि सवें — I am not a (skilled) player — wherever I fall, that is my company. Tuka renounces the player-role. He does not try to win; wherever he falls, that becomes his company. This is the anti-hutuhutu move — surrender-as-falling, falling-as-company. [T]
For someone today
Tukaram uses the village game of hutuhutu, where a runner must hold his breath while crossing into enemy territory, as a picture of the inner encounter between the individual self and the larger Self. The good player holds his breath, keeps watching both the ground behind him and the opponent ahead, and never plays recklessly. But then Tukaram makes a surprising turn: he says he is not really a skilled player at all. Wherever he falls, that is simply his company. There are two honest ways to meet life's tests, playing skillfully with steady breath and full attention, or letting go of the whole idea of winning and trusting that wherever you land is exactly where you belong.
मराठी: तुकाराम हुतुतू या गावाकड्या खेळाचा वापर करतात, ज्यात धावणाऱ्याला श्वास रोखून प्रतिस्पर्ध्याच्या हद्दीत जावं लागतं, हे व्यक्तिगत आत्मा आणि व्यापक परमात्मा यांच्यातील भेटीचं चित्र म्हणून. चांगला खेळाडू श्वास धरतो, मागचा आधार आणि पुढचा प्रतिस्पर्धी दोन्हीकडे लक्ष ठेवतो, आणि कधीही बेफिकीरपणे खेळत नाही. पण मग तुकाराम एक आश्चर्यकारक वळण घेतात: ते म्हणतात की मी खरंतर कुशल खेळाडू नाहीच. जिथे मी पडेन, तीच माझी सोबत. जीवनाच्या परीक्षांना सामोरं जाण्याचे दोन प्रामाणिक मार्ग आहेत — स्थिर श्वासाने आणि पूर्ण लक्षाने कुशलतेने खेळणं, किंवा जिंकण्याची कल्पनाच सोडून देणं आणि विश्वास ठेवणं की जिथे तुम्ही पडाल तीच तुमची खरी जागा आहे.
Where this applies
- Dam pure — breath-holding is the central skill. Recognize this in your practice.
- Dual-attention wins. मागें पुढें पाहे तो जिंके.
- I am not a player; wherever I fall, that is my company. The surrender-mode.