Abhanga 248

This abhang names three reversals worth holding in mind. Even the strong and well-prepared can fall when caught off guard in a sudden corner of crisis — strength alone doesn't protect you there. No one truly holds time in their hands; everyone, without exception, is in the grip of mortality, so don't assume you're guaranteed more of it. Roles can flip too: the one who used to give may end up begging, and the one who used to beg may become the refuge someone else turns to — so don't look down on the person asking for help, and don't be too proud of your own position as the giver. And sometimes, Tuka admits, you simply can't get the truth across to people who aren't ready to see it — all you can do is honestly bring that struggle to God.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A role-reversal abhang. Three claims:

1. सांपडला संदीं — बळिया पडे फंदीं — caught in the sandhī, the strong falls in the snare. Even the baḷiyā (strong, capable, prepared) — when caught in the sandhī (the corner / the unforeseen-moment) — falls into the snare. Strength does not protect against the sandhī. (Compare 174's hutuhutu — whoever falls into hand becomes the long-stride.)

2. ऐसी कोणी वाहे वेळ — हातीं काळाच्या सकळ — who holds the time? — all in death's hand. The universal-claim. No one holds the time; all are inkāḷa-hand. Thetime-mortalityclaim isuniversal. (Compare 156's hamāmā four-watches life-cycle.)

3. दाता मागे दान — जाय याचका शरण — the giver begs for dān, goes to the beggar for refuge. The role-reversal. The one who gives (the dātā) — becomes the begging-one. The beggar (the yācaka) — becomes the refuge. The roles flip when the sandhī arrives.

4. तुका म्हणे नेणां — काय सांगों नारायणा — Tuka says: you don't know — what shall I tell Nārāyaṇa? The closing-question. You (= the audience, the people in the world) don't know (the truth of these reversals). What shall I tell Nārāyaṇa? The bhakta cannot bring this realization to the deity because the audience is un-knowing. The closing is resigned-question, not triumphal-claim.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names three reversals worth holding in mind. Even the strong and well-prepared can fall when caught off guard in a sudden corner of crisis — strength alone doesn't protect you there. No one truly holds time in their hands; everyone, without exception, is in the grip of mortality, so don't assume you're guaranteed more of it. Roles can flip too: the one who used to give may end up begging, and the one who used to beg may become the refuge someone else turns to — so don't look down on the person asking for help, and don't be too proud of your own position as the giver. And sometimes, Tuka admits, you simply can't get the truth across to people who aren't ready to see it — all you can do is honestly bring that struggle to God.

मराठी: ही ओवी तीन उलटापालटी सांगते ज्या मनात ठेवाव्यात. बळकट आणि तयार असलेला माणूसही अचानक येणाऱ्या संकटाच्या क्षणी अडखळू शकतो — नुसतं बळ त्या क्षणी संरक्षण देत नाही. काळ कोणाच्याच हातात नसतो; प्रत्येकजण, अपवाद न करता, मृत्यूच्या कवेत असतो, त्यामुळे आपल्याला आणखी वेळ हमखास मिळेल असं गृहीत धरू नका. भूमिकाही बदलू शकतात — जो एकेकाळी दान देत होता तोच पुढे मागणारा होऊ शकतो, आणि जो मागत होता तोच पुढे कुणाचा तरी आधार बनू शकतो — त्यामुळे मागणाऱ्याला तुच्छ मानू नका, आणि देणारा असल्याचा फार गर्वही बाळगू नका. आणि कधीकधी, तुकाराम कबूल करतात, जे सत्य दिसायला तयार नसतात त्यांच्यापर्यंत ते पोहोचवणं शक्यच होत नाही — तेव्हा फक्त हे संघर्ष प्रामाणिकपणे देवाजवळ मांडणं एवढंच हातात उरतं.

Where this applies

• When you feel too strong or prepared to be caught off guard by a sudden crisis
• When you're making confident long-term plans as if you're guaranteed more time
• When someone who used to help you now needs your help, or the reverse happens
• When you try to explain a hard truth to someone and they simply don't grasp it

Related verses

• Abhanga 2448 — The easiest path to God is repeating divine names with love at home, right where you are,
• Abhanga 2464 — For today: Pāṇḍuranga is sukha-rūpa ; no wandering, no shaving, no sādhana-pressure ; Chan
• Abhanga 2477 — Like a child too absorbed in play to notice how tired he is, let go and trust the parent c
• Abhanga 2481 — Pandharpur surpasses even the greatest pilgrimage cities because people there set aside pr