Abhanga 298
This abhang is Tukaram's direct-address mode:
The verse
कोणें तुझा सांग केला अंगीकार । निश्चिति त्वां थोर मानियेली ॥१॥ कोणें ऐसा तुज उपदेश केला । नको या विठ्ठला शरण जाऊं ॥ध्रु.॥ तेव्हां तुज कोण घालील पाठीसी । घासील भूमीसी वदन यम ॥२॥ कां रे नागवसी आयुष्य खातो काळ । दिसेंदिस बळ क्षीण होतें ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे यासि सांगा कोणी तरी । विसरला हरी मायबाप ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: Who took your angīkāra sānga? You took the niścīti as great. Who instructed you (in this manner) — don't go saraṇa to Viṭṭhal? Then who will put-you-behind? Yama will grind your face on the bhūmi. Why are you naked? — kāḷa eats āyuṣya — day by day, strength weakens. Tuka says: someone tell him — he forgot Hari, the māy-bāp.
मराठी: कोणें तुझा सांग केला अंगीकार — निश्चिति त्वां थोर मानियेली. कोणें ऐसा तुज उपदेश केला — नको या विठ्ठला शरण जाऊं. तेव्हां तुज कोण घालील पाठीसी — घासील भूमीसी वदन यम. कां रे नागवसी — आयुष्य खातो काळ — दिसेंदिस बळ क्षीण होतें. तुकाराम म्हणतात — यासि सांगा कोणी तरी — विसरला हरी मायबाप.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कोणें तुझा सांग केला अंगीकार | "who took your angīkāra (responsibility-acceptance) sānga (full)?" |
| निश्चिति त्वां थोर मानियेली | "you took the niścīti (settled-conviction) as great" |
| कोणें ऐसा तुज उपदेश केला | "who instructed you (in this manner)" |
| नको या विठ्ठला शरण जाऊं | "don't go saraṇa to Viṭṭhal" |
| तेव्हां तुज कोण घालील पाठीसी | "then who will pāṭhīsī (put behind / protect) you" |
| घासील भूमीसी वदन यम | "yama will grind your vadana (face) on the bhūmi*" |
| कां रे नागवसी | "why are you nāgavasī (naked / dispossessed)" |
| आयुष्य खातो काळ | "kāḷa eats āyuṣya**" |
| दिसेंदिस बळ क्षीण होतें | "day by day, baḷa weakens" |
| यासि सांगा कोणी तरी विसरला हरी मायबाप | "someone tell him — he forgot Hari, the māy-bāp**" |
What it means
A direct-address-to-the-un-saraṇa-person abhang. Four claims:
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कोणें तुझा सांग केला अंगीकार — निश्चिति त्वां थोर मानियेली — who took your angīkāra sānga? You took the niścīti as great. The opening question. Who has taken responsibility for you, complete? You have settled it (niścīti) as great — but who is the actual responsibility-taker?*
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कोणें ऐसा तुज उपदेश केला — नको या विठ्ठला शरण जाऊं — who instructed you not to go saraṇa to Viṭṭhal? The direct-question. What advisor told you to not-go-saraṇa-to-Viṭṭhal? This is sarcastic-direct: the un-saraṇa person has been instructed by their own avoidance, by social-pressure, by jāṇa-paṇa — but the result is the not-saraṇa state.
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तेव्हां तुज कोण घालील पाठीसी — घासील भूमीसी वदन यम — then who will put you behind / protect you? Yama will grind your face on the bhūmi. The consequence. No saraṇa = no pāṭhī-protection. When yama arrives, no-one is there to put you behind; yama will grind your face on the ground. (Pāṭhī ghālaṇē — to put behind — to protect, defend, place-as-shelter.)
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कां रे नागवसी — आयुष्य खातो काळ — दिसेंदिस बळ क्षीण होतें — why are you naked? — kāḷa eats āyuṣya — day by day strength weakens. The universal-fact. Kāḷa (time / death) is eating your āyuṣya day-by-day; strength is weakening; you are nāgavasī (naked, dispossessed). Why? — because you have no saraṇa to protect you from kāḷa.
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तुका म्हणे यासि सांगा कोणी तरी — विसरला हरी मायबाप — Tuka says: someone tell him — he forgot Hari the māy-bāp. The closing-diagnosis. The un-saraṇa person forgot Hari the māy-bāp — forgot the mother-father. Someone needs to tell him; he cannot see this himself.
[T]
For someone today
This abhang is Tukaram's direct-address mode:
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Check your angīkāra* — who took it? Kōṇē tujhā sānga kelā angīkāra. The responsibility-for-your-life — who has actually taken it? If no real-angīkāra-taker (= no real-deity-or-saint-or-real-presence has taken responsibility for your life), the niścīti you have settled into is fragile*.
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Who instructed you to not-go-saraṇa? This is sarcastic-direct. Most un-saraṇa-people have been instructed by jāṇa-paṇa, social-norms, avoidance, pride — not by anyone honest. Recognize the source of your not-saraṇa; it is rarely a real adviser.
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No saraṇa = no pāṭhī-protection when yama arrives. Yama will grind your face on the bhūmi. Kāḷa eats āyuṣya; strength weakens day-by-day; who will put-you-behind? Without saraṇa, no protection.
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The un-saraṇa person forgot Hari the māy-bāp*. Visarālā Hari māy-bāp. The māy-bāp (mother-father) Hari. Forgot — not refused, not denied, but forgot. The forgetting is the problem; the remembering is the cure*. (Compare 0007 gopī-arc; 266 mother-bhāva.)
For today: check who took your angīkāra; check who instructed you to not-go-saraṇa; recognize that kāḷa eats āyuṣya day-by-day; recognize that the un-saraṇa-person forgot Hari the māy-bāp; if you yourself are in the un-saraṇa state, recognize this; if someone else is, tell them somehow**.
This abhang is important for direct-engagement with un-saraṇa people: it is honest, sharp, but also compassionate (calling Hari the māy-bāp). The forgetting-frame is more honest than the rejection-frame — most un-saraṇa-people have not consciously rejected; they have forgotten**.
मराठी: ही ओवी तुकारामांचा direct-address mode नाव सांगते:
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तुमच्या angīkāra* check करा — कोणी घेतला? कोणें तुझा सांग केला अंगीकार. तुमच्या आयुष्याची responsibility — actually कोणी घेतली आहे? Real-angīkāra-घेणारा नसेल (= real-देव-or-saint-or-real-presence ने तुमच्या आयुष्याची responsibility नाही घेतलेली) — तुम्ही जी niścīti settle केली आहे ती fragile आहे*.
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Saraṇa-न-जायला कोणी instruct केलं? Sarcastic-direct. बहुतेक un-saraṇa-people jāṇa-paṇa, social-norms, avoidance, pride ने instructed — कुणी honest ने नाही. तुमच्या not-saraṇa चं source ओळखा; ते rarely real adviser असतो.
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Saraṇa नाही = yama आल्यावर pāṭhī-protection नाही. Yama तुमचा चेहरा भूमीवर घासेल. Kāḷa āyuṣya खातो; day-by-day strength weakens; कोण तुम्हाला पाठीशी ठेवेल? Saraṇa-शिवाय protection नाही.
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Un-saraṇa-व्यक्तीने Hari, माय-बाप विसरला आहे*. विसरला हरी मायबाप. माय-बाप Hari. विसरलं — refuse नाही, deny नाही, विसरलं. विसरणं problem; आठवणं cure*.
आज: तुमचा angīkāra कोणी घेतला check करा; saraṇa-न-जायला कोणी instruct केलं check करा; kāḷa āyuṣya day-by-day खातो ओळखा; un-saraṇa-व्यक्तीने Hari माय-बाप विसरला ओळखा; तुम्ही स्वतः un-saraṇa state मध्ये असाल — हे ओळखा; कोणी इतर असेल — कसंतरी सांगा**.
ही ओवी un-saraṇa लोकांशी direct-engagement साठी महत्त्वाची: honest, sharp, पण compassionate देखील (Hari ला माय-बाप म्हणणं). Forgetting-frame rejection-frame पेक्षा more-honest — बहुतेक un-saraṇa-people consciously reject केलेले नाहीत; ते विसरलेत**.
Where this applies
- Check who took your angīkāra. Who is the actual responsibility-taker?
- Source of your not-saraṇa is rarely a real adviser. Jāṇa-paṇa, social-pressure, avoidance, pride.
- No saraṇa = no protection from yama / kāḷa. Universal-fact.
- Un-saraṇa-person forgot Hari the māy-bāp. Forgetting, not rejection.