Abhanga 213

This abhang names band-sorting rules — for any community-of-practice. Three precise rules:

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A band-sorting abhang. Continuation of the gopa-band-management register (210, 213). Four moves:

1. माझे गडी कोण कोण — निवडा भिन्न यांतुनी — my comrades — who-who? Sort separately from these. The sorting is named directly. Among a larger group, real comrades must be sorted-out. The yāntunī (from-these) implies the not-real-comrades are present; they need to be sorted out from.

2. आपआपणामध्यें मिळो — एक खेळों एकाशीं — let us mix among ourselves — play one-with-another. The internal-circulation of the band. (Compare 183: kālā vāṇṭū ekamekā.) The play is one-with-another, not all-with-all-undifferentiated.

3. घाबरियांच्या मोडा काड्या — धाडा भाड्यां वळतियां — break the frightened-ones' twigs; send the rented-ones with the homing-cattle. Two exclusion-rules:

4. Frightened-ones (ghābariyām) — those who cannot stay through fear — their kāḍyā (twigs / power-sticks) should be broken. They cannot have authority-instruments in the band, even if they are present.

5. Rented-ones (bhāḍyā) — those who come for hire / for what-they-can-get — should be sent back with the homing-cattle. They do not belong with the comrades through the night.

6. देवापाशीं विटाळशी नसावी — at the deva — no viṭāḷaśī (impurity) should be. The closing-claim. Viṭāḷaśī (literally: a menstruating-woman, or by extension any ritually-impure thing) should not be near the deva. Important reading: in Tukaram's recoded register, viṭāḷaśī is NOT the literal menstruating woman — Tukaram is anti-ritual-impurity (compare 75 viṭāḷācīcha mūrti used for the wicked person, not the woman). The viṭāḷaśī here is symbolic — the morally / spiritually impure. Compare 75: the wicked-portrait is called viṭāḷācīcha mūrti — the very image of impurity. The viṭāḷaśī in 213 is the same register — spiritual-impurity, not bodily. The frightened-ones-with-power and the rented-ones of 213 lines 2-3 are the actual viṭāḷaśī Tukaram means.

[T] [Important — Tukaram's anti-ritual-impurity stance must inform reading]

For someone today

This abhang names band-sorting rules — for any community-of-practice. Three precise rules:

1. Sort out who is real-comrade. Not everyone present is a comrade. Mājhe gaḍī koṇa-koṇa? The honest sorting is the first move. Bhinna yāntunī — sort separately from these.

2. Internal-circulation: play one-with-another. Āpa-āpaṇāmadhyē miḷo. The play is among the real-comrades, not all-with-all. This is not exclusion-by-prejudice; it is protection of the real-circulation.

3. Two specific exclusions:

4. Frightened-ones with power (ghābariyām) → break their power-sticks. Those who cannot stay through fear should not have authority-instruments in the band. Their fear will use the authority badly.

5. Rented-ones (bhāḍyā) → send back with the homing-cattle. Those who come for what-they-can-get should go home when the work-cattle go home. They do not belong to the night-vigil.

6. At the deva-level, no spiritual-impurity. Devāpāśīm viṭāḷaśī nasāvī. This is not an injunction against women, lower-castes, or any human group. Tukaram's viṭāḷaśī is moral-spiritual impurity — wickedness, deceit, hypocrisy, the things he condemns in the wicked-portrait of 75. At the deva-level — at the zone of real-presence — the spiritually-impure things should not be there. This is a boundary-keeping, not a people-excluding rule.

For today: when managing a real community-of-practice — sort the comrades from the rest, circulate internally, break the power-sticks of frightened-ones-with-authority, send the hire-seekers home with the day-workers, keep the spiritually-impure away from the real-presence-zone. Each rule is practical; none are anti-human.

मराठी: ही ओवी band-sorting rules नाव सांगते — कोणत्याही community-of-practice साठी. तीन precise rules:

1. Real-comrade कोण आहे sort करा. सगळे present comrades नाहीत. माझे गडी कोण-कोण? Honest sorting पहिली हालचाल. भिन्न यांतुनी.

2. Internal-circulation: एक-एकाशी play. आपआपणामध्यें मिळो. Play real-comrades मध्ये, सगळ्यांसह सगळे नाही. Prejudice-exclusion नाही; real-circulation protect करणं.

3. दोन specific exclusions:

4. Frightened-ones-with-power (घाबरियाँ) → power-sticks तोडा. भीतीने राहू शकत नाहीत त्यांच्याकडे authority-instruments नकोत band मध्ये. त्यांची भीती authority badly वापरेल.

5. Rented-ones (भाड्यां) → vaḷatī सोबत घरी पाठवा. जे काही मिळतंय त्यासाठी आलेले — work-cattle घरी जातांना घरी जावेत. Night-vigil त्यांचं नाही.

6. देव-level वर spiritual-impurity नको. देवापाशीं विटाळशी नसावी. हे स्त्रिया, lower-caste, किंवा कोणत्याही human group विरुद्ध injunction नाही. तुकारामांचं विटाळशी — moral-spiritual impurity — wickedness, deceit, hypocrisy — 75 च्या wicked-portrait मध्ये जे condemn केलं ते. देव-level वर — real-presence च्या zone वर — spiritually-impure गोष्टी नकोत. हे boundary-keeping, people-excluding नाही.

आज: real community-of-practice manage करताना — comrades बाकीच्यां पासून sort करा, internally circulate करा, frightened-ones-with-authority चे power-sticks तोडा, hire-seekers ला day-workers सह घरी पाठवा, spiritually-impure ला real-presence-zone पासून दूर ठेवा. प्रत्येक rule practical; anti-human नाही.

Where this applies

• My comrades — who-who? Sort honestly.
• Internal-circulation among the real-comrades. Not all-with-all.
• Frightened-ones lose power-sticks; rented-ones go home. Two precise exclusions.
• No spiritual-impurity at the deva-level. Symbolic, not anti-human.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2467
• Abhanga 4481
• Abhanga 4482
• Abhanga 4497