Abhanga 304
Words or acts of devotion that lack real feeling in the heart are as hollow as sweet food without salt or a corpse dressed in fine clothes.
The verse
बोलविसी तैसें आणीं अनुभवा । नाहीं तरी देवा विटंबना ॥१॥ मिठेंविण काय करावें मिष्टान्न । शव जीवेंविण शृंगारिले ॥ध्रु.॥ संपादणीविण विटंबिले सोंग । गुणेंविण चांग रूप हीन ॥२॥ कन्यापुत्रेंविण मंगळदायकें । वेचिलें हें फिके द्रव्य तरी ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे तैसी होते मज परी । न देखे अंतरीं प्रेमभाव ॥४॥
Literal translation
Bring to anubhava what you make me speak — otherwise, deva, it is vitamban. Without salt, what (use) is the miṣṭānna — the śava adorned without jīva. Without sampādaṇī — the sōnga is vitambilē; without guṇa — the cānga rūpa is hīna. Without kanyā-putra — the mangaḷa-dāyaka — spent dravya is fīkē. Tuka says: such would be my (verses) — when I do not see prema-bhāva in the antara.
मराठी: बोलविसी तैसें आणीं अनुभवा — नाहीं तरी देवा विटंबना. मिठेंविण काय करावें मिष्टान्न — शव जीवेंविण शृंगारिले. संपादणीविण विटंबिले सोंग — गुणेंविण चांग रूप हीन. कन्यापुत्रेंविण मंगळदायकें — वेचिलें हें फिके द्रव्य तरी. तुकाराम म्हणतात — तैसी होते मज परी — न देखे अंतरीं प्रेमभाव.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बोलविसी तैसें आणीं अनुभवा | "bring toanubhavawhat you make me speak" |
| नाहीं तरी देवा विटंबना | "otherwise, deva, it isvitamban(mockery)" |
| मिठेंविण काय करावें मिष्टान्न | "without salt, what (use) is themiṣṭānna" |
| शव जीवेंविण शृंगारिले | "theśava(corpse) adorned withoutjīva" |
| संपादणीविण विटंबिले सोंग | "withoutsampādaṇī(completion) —sōngaisvitambilē" |
| गुणेंविण चांग रूप हीन | "withoutguṇa— thecānga rūpaishīna" |
| कन्यापुत्रेंविण मंगळदायकें | "withoutkanyā-putra—mangaḷa-dāyaka(auspicious-event)" |
| वेचिलें हें फिके द्रव्य तरी | "spentdravyaisfīkē" |
| तैसी होते मज परी न देखे अंतरीं प्रेमभाव | "such would be my (verses) — when I do not seeprema-bhāvain theantara" |
What it means
A speech-without-anubhava-is-vitamban abhang. Five image-clusters and a closing-claim:
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बोलविसी तैसें आणीं अनुभवा — नाहीं तरी देवा विटंबना — bring to anubhava what you make me speak — otherwise, deva, it is vitamban. The opening-petition. Deva, you make me speak the bhakti-verses; if you don't bring them to anubhava (= make-real-in-experience), it is vitamban (mockery / disgracing). The bhakta cannot make-real what he speaks; the deva must make-real, otherwise the speech is mockery of the deva.
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मिठेंविण काय करावें मिष्टान्न — शव जीवेंविण शृंगारिले — without salt, what use the miṣṭānna — corpse adorned without jīva. Two parallel-images: sweet-food without salt is useless; corpse adorned without jīva is grotesque. Both: the form is there, but the essential-element is missing.
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संपादणीविण विटंबिले सोंग — गुणेंविण चांग रूप हीन — without sampādaṇī, sōnga is vitambilē; without guṇa, cānga rūpa is hīna. Sōnga (mask / disguise) without sampādaṇī (completion / accomplishment) is vitambilē (disgraced). Cānga rūpa (good form) without guṇa (quality) is hīna (low). Form-alone without substance is disgraced.
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कन्यापुत्रेंविण मंगळदायकें — वेचिलें हें फिके द्रव्य तरी — without kanyā-putra, mangaḷa-dāyaka — spent dravya is fīkē. Auspicious-event without kanyā-putra (children-to-be-married) — the spent dravya is fīkē (insipid). The form of the auspicious-event without the child-recipient is empty.
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तुका म्हणे तैसी होते मज परी — न देखे अंतरीं प्रेमभाव — Tuka says: such would be my (verses) — when I do not see prema-bhāva in the antara. The closing-confession. My verses would be like the salt-less food, the adorned-corpse, the disgraced-mask, the empty-event — if I do not see prema-bhāva in the antara. The bhakta is honest: without prema-bhāva-in-the-antara, my own verses are vitamban.
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram prays that God will turn the words he speaks into real, lived experience — otherwise, he says, his speaking is just a mockery of the divine. He gives a string of images to make the point: sweet food without salt is worthless, a corpse dressed up in fine clothes is grotesque without life in it, a costume performed without real preparation is embarrassing, and a beautiful ceremony held for a wedding without the actual bride and groom present is empty and flat. In every case, the outer form is there but the one thing that matters is missing. Tukaram then turns this honestly on himself: his own verses would be exactly like this — hollow — if there is no real love in his heart behind them. The lesson is for us too: check whether what we say and do carries genuine feeling, not just the right words or the right form.
मराठी: तुकाराम प्रार्थना करतात की देवाने त्यांच्या बोलण्याला खऱ्या अनुभवात बदलावं — नाहीतर, ते म्हणतात, हे बोलणं देवाचीच थट्टा ठरतं. ते हा मुद्दा अनेक प्रतिमांतून मांडतात — मिठाशिवाय गोड जेवण निरुपयोगी असतं, प्रेत सुंदर कपड्यांनी सजवलं तरी त्यात जीव नसेल तर ते भयाण दिसतं, पुरेशी तयारी न करता केलेलं सोंग लाजिरवाणं ठरतं, आणि लग्नासाठी सजवलेला मंगल समारंभ जर प्रत्यक्ष वधू-वर तिथे नसतील तर तो निरर्थक आणि फिकट वाटतो. प्रत्येक वेळी बाह्य रूप असतं, पण जी खरी गोष्ट महत्त्वाची आहे तीच गायब असते. मग तुकाराम हाच मुद्दा स्वतःकडे वळवतात — त्यांच्या स्वतःच्याही ओव्या अशाच पोकळ ठरतील, जर त्यामागे हृदयात खरं प्रेम नसेल. हा धडा आपल्यासाठीही आहे — आपण जे बोलतो आणि करतो त्यामागे खरी भावना आहे का हे तपासा, केवळ योग्य शब्द किंवा योग्य रूप पुरेसं नाही.
Where this applies
- Speech without anubhava-arrival = vitamban. Petition the deva.
- Five missing-essential examples. Form without essential-element.
- Bhakti-essential = prema-bhāva-in-the-antara. Salt of bhakti-speech.
- Honest self-recognition. Don't always-claim prema-bhāva.