Abhanga 288
Same origin does not guarantee the same outcome, since differences arise from prārabdha rather than inherent superiority, and every position, even a supporting one, has real dignity.
The verse
कुंभ अवघा एक आवा । पाकीं एकीं गुफे डावा ॥१॥ ऐसे भिन्न भिन्न साटे । केले प्रारब्धानें वांटे ॥ध्रु.॥ हिरे दगड एक खाणी । कैचें विजातीसी पाणी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे शिरीं । एक एकाची पायरी ॥३॥
Literal translation
One pot — one āvā; in the pāka, one hidden in the cellar. Such are the bhinna-bhinna sāṭē — prārabdha distributed. Jewels and stones — one quarry; what pāṇī for the vi-jāti? Tuka says: at the head — one is the pāyarī of another.
मराठी: कुंभ अवघा एक आवा — पाकीं एकीं गुफे डावा. ऐसे भिन्न भिन्न साटे — केले प्रारब्धानें वांटे. हिरे दगड एक खाणी — कैचें विजातीसी पाणी. तुकाराम म्हणतात — शिरीं — एक एकाची पायरी.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कुंभ अवघा एक आवा | "(in the) one kumbha (pot) — āvā (kiln-firing)" |
| पाकीं एकीं गुफे डावा | "in the pāka (cooking) — one — gufē ḍāvā (hidden in cellar / left aside)" |
| ऐसे भिन्न भिन्न साटे | "such are the bhinna-bhinna sāṭē (different-different exchanges)" |
| केले प्रारब्धानें वांटे | "prārabdha distributed (these)" |
| हिरे दगड एक खाणी | "jewels and stones — onekhāṇī(quarry)" |
| कैचें विजातीसी पाणी | "whatpāṇī(water / quality) for thevi-jāti(different-jāti)?" |
| तुका म्हणे शिरीं | "Tuka says: at the head" |
| एक एकाची पायरी | "one is thepāyarī(step / threshold) of another" |
What it means
A prārabdha-difference / same-source-different-result abhang. Three claims:
-
कुंभ अवघा एक आवा — पाकीं एकीं गुफे डावा — one pot, one āvā; in the pāka, one hidden in cellar. The firing-image. Same kiln, same firing-process; yet one pot becomes the cooking-vessel; another is left hidden in the cellar. Same source, different prārabdha-fates. (Āvā — the kiln-firing-cycle in pottery.)
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ऐसे भिन्न भिन्न साटे — केले प्रारब्धानें वांटे — such bhinna-bhinna sāṭē — prārabdha distributed. Sāṭē — exchanges, allotments. Prārabdha (past-karma already-set-in-motion) distributes the different-different sāṭē.
-
हिरे दगड एक खाणी — कैचें विजातीसी पाणी — jewels and stones from one quarry — what pāṇī for the vi-jāti. Same-quarry produces both jewels and stones. Pāṇī in Marathi means water and quality / luster (specifically of jewels — the diamond'spāṇī). The jewel haspāṇī; the stone does not — yet both come from one quarry. Same-source ≠ same-quality. (Vi-jāti — different-jāti / different-class; vi-jāti has nopāṇī.)
-
तुका म्हणे शिरीं — एक एकाची पायरी — Tuka says: at the head — one is the pāyarī of another. The closing-image. Pāyarī — step, threshold. At the head (= in the hierarchy / in the position-arrangement), one is the step of another. The one-above-the-other arrangement is real; some are pāyarī (stepping-stone) for others to rise. (This is structural, not insulting — every step in a staircase is necessary as the foundation for the next.)
[T]
For someone today
Two things can come from the exact same place and still turn out completely different: one pot from the kiln becomes a treasured vessel while another sits forgotten in the cellar, and one stone from a quarry becomes a jewel while another stays plain rock. Tukaram says this difference is not an insult to the plainer one; it is simply how prārabdha, the momentum of past actions, distributes outcomes. He closes with another truth: in any arrangement, one person or thing often serves as a stepping stone so another can rise, and that is not a shameful role but a necessary, structural one, the way every step of a staircase holds up the one above it.
मराठी: एकाच उगमातून आलेल्या दोन गोष्टी पूर्णपणे वेगळ्या ठरू शकतात — एकाच भट्टीतून घडलेलं एक मडकं मोलाचं भांडं बनतं, तर दुसरं तळघरात विसरलं जातं; एकाच खाणीतला एक दगड हिरा बनून चमकतो, तर दुसरा साधा दगडच राहतो. तुकाराम म्हणतात, हा फरक कुणाला कमी लेखण्यासाठी नाही, तो फक्त प्रारब्धाने ठरलेला वाटा आहे. आणि शेवटी ते आणखी एक सत्य सांगतात — कोणत्याही रचनेत एखादा घटक दुसऱ्याला वर चढण्यासाठी पायरी बनतो, आणि त्यात लाज वाटण्यासारखं काही नाही, कारण जिन्याच्या प्रत्येक पायरीसारखा तो आधारच पुढच्या पायरीला शक्य करतो.
Where this applies
- Same source, different fates by prārabdha. Don't expect uniform.
- Jewels and stones — one quarry. Anti-essentialist + real-difference.
- Vi-jātibypāṇī, not by birth. Quality-determined.
- One is the pāyarī of another. Honor the position-arrangement.