Abhanga 271

This abhang gives a precise root-cause analysis:

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A sharp anti-gold-ambition abhang. Five claims:

1. ब्रम्हहत्या मारिल्या गाई — आणीक काई पाप केलें — brahma-hatyā, cow-killing — what other pāpa is left? The catalog of grave-pāpas. Brahma-hatyā (in classical-frame, the gravest sin) and go-hatyā (cow-killing) head the list.

2. विकिली कन्या — सुन्याचे पवाडे — sold the daughter — spread of the sunyā (defiled-house). Selling the daughter is added to the list. Sunyā — a defiled / impure house — spreads its corruption.

3. नरमांस खादली भाडी — human-flesh eaten as bhāḍī. Bhāḍī — rented meat — extreme-violation. (Possibly figurative: ate human-life-as-fee — i.e., worked-as-mercenary-and-killed-for-pay.)

4. अवघें पाप केलें तेणें — जेणें सोनें अभिळाषिलें — all the pāpa was done — by the one who coveted gold. The root-claim. Gold-ambition is the source of all the pāpas listed. Brahma-hatyā, cow-killing, daughter-selling, human-flesh-eating — all are downstream of gold-coveting. The gold-coveting is the root-cause; the specific pāpas are leaves.

5. उच्चारितां मज तें पाप — जिव्हे कांप सुटतसे — in uttering this pāpa — my tongue trembles. The speaker's response. Tukaram's tongue trembles in uttering this pāpa. (Compare 258's he-who-utters-the-past goes to naraka; here Tukaram is uttering not-to-blame-but-to-warn; even so, his tongue trembles.)

6. तुका म्हणे कोरान्न रांड — बेटा भांड मागे ना कां — Tuka says: the kōrānna-rāṇḍ (begging-widow) — the baṭā bhāṇḍa (brood-spawning) — does she not beg? The closing-image. Kōrānna-rāṇḍ — a widow who begs for kōrānna (uncooked / dried-rice) — baṭā bhāṇḍa — the brood-burdened one. Even she begs. The implicit-comparison: even extreme-poverty does not justify the gold-coveting that produces brahma-hatyā. The kōrānna-rāṇḍ begs honestly (= asks for kōrānna, accepts what is given); the gold-coveting one does pāpa to acquire.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang gives a precise root-cause analysis:

1. Gold-ambition is the root of all the great-pāpas. Avaghē pāpa kelē tēṇē — jēṇē sōnē abhilāṣilē. Don't treat the listed-pāpas as separate; they all flow from gold-coveting. The root is the wealth-ambition.

2. The catalog: brahma-hatyā, cow-killing, daughter-selling, human-flesh-eating. These are extreme-pāpas — but each can be done in modern-form: destroying a knower-life (= brahma-hatyā in extended-sense), destroying livelihood-of-many (= go-hatyā in extended-sense — the cow being a life-support-being), commodifying-human-relations (= daughter-selling), living-on-others'-lives (= human-flesh-as-bhāḍī).

3. Tongue trembles in uttering. Jivhē kāmpa suṭatasē. The gravity is felt in the body. Speak of grave-pāpa with tongue-tremble; don't speak casually.

4. Honest poverty begs; gold-coveting does pāpa to acquire. The kōrānna-rāṇḍ begs — honest mendicancy. The gold-coveting one — pāpa-actions for acquisition. Don't despise the begger; the begger is honest in poverty; the wealth-coveter is dishonest in violence-for-acquisition.

For today: when examining your own ambitions or others', ask: is gold-coveting the root? If yes, all the downstream-acts (even the small-ones) are flowing from it. The root-correction is the gold-coveting itself, not the individual leaves. (Compare 215's adhika-tired; here, the adhika-pursuit traced to its source.)

मराठी: ही ओवी एक precise root-cause analysis देते:

1. Gold-ambition सर्व great-pāpas चं root. अवघें पाप केलें तेणें — जेणें सोनें अभिळाषिलें. Listed-pāpas separate treat करू नका; सर्व gold-coveting मधून flow होतात. Root wealth-ambition.

2. Catalog: brahma-hatyā, cow-killing, daughter-selling, human-flesh-eating. हे extreme-pāpas — पण modern-form मध्ये प्रत्येक करता येतं: knower-life destroying (= brahma-hatyā extended-sense), अनेकांच्या livelihood destroying (= go-hatyā extended-sense — cow life-support-being), human-relations commodify (= daughter-selling), इतरांच्या-जीवनावर जगणं (= human-flesh-as-bhāḍī).

3. Uttering करताना जीभ कांपते. जिव्हे कांप सुटतसे. Body मध्ये gravity feel. Grave-pāpa बद्दल tongue-tremble सह बोला; casually बोलू नका.

4. Honest poverty मागते; gold-coveting acquire-करायला pāpa करतं. Kōrānna-rāṇḍ begs — honest mendicancy. Gold-coveting one — acquisition साठी pāpa-actions. Begger despise करू नका; begger poverty मध्ये honest; wealth-coveter violence-for-acquisition मध्ये dishonest.

आज: स्वतःच्या किंवा इतरांच्या ambitions तपासताना, विचारा: gold-coveting root आहे का? असेल — सर्व downstream-acts (अगदी small-ones) त्यातून flow होतात. Root-correction gold-coveting स्वतः, individual leaves नाही.

Where this applies

• Gold-ambition is the root of grave-pāpas. Trace to source.
• Modern-forms of the listed-pāpas. Extended-sense.
• Tongue-trembles speaking of pāpa. Don't speak casually.
• Honest poverty vs. dishonest gold-coveting. Beggar honest, coveter not.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2448
• Abhanga 2467
• Abhanga 2494
• Abhanga 4481