Abhanga 307
Gambling with your attention, sleeping without remembering God, chasing reckless pleasure, and habitually mocking holy people all waste a hard-won life; give your mind wholly to God's name instead.
The verse
अरे हें देह व्यर्थ जावें । ऐसें जरी तुज व्हावें । द्यूतकर्म मनोभावें । सारीपाट खेळावा ॥१॥ मग कैचें हरिचें नाम । निजेलिया जागा राम । जन्मोजन्मींचा अधम । दुःख थोर साधिलें ॥ध्रु.॥ विषयसुखाचा लंपट । दासीगमनीं अतिधीट । तया तेचि वाट । अधोगती जावया ॥२॥ अणीक एक कोड । नरका जावयाची चाड । तरी संतनिंदा गोड । करीं कवतुकें सदा ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे ऐसें । मना लावी राम पिसें । नाहीं तरी आलिया सायासें । फुकट जासी ठकोनी ॥४॥
Literal translation
If you want this body to go in vain — play dyūta-karma sāripāṭ with mano-bhāva. Then where is Hari-nāma? — sleeping, jāgā Rāma. Janma-janmā's adhama — greatduḥkha produced. Viṣaya-sukha-lampaṭa, dāsi-gamana over-bold — for him, that very path — to adho-gati. And one more kōḍa — if (you have) ambition for naraka — do sant-nindā sweetly, with kautuka, always. Tuka says: such (paths) — make the mind Rāma-piśā — otherwise, coming with sāyāsa — fukaṭ jāsī ṭhakōnī.
मराठी: हें देह व्यर्थ जावें — ऐसें जरी तुज व्हावें — द्यूतकर्म मनोभावें — सारीपाट खेळावा. मग कैचें हरिचें नाम — निजेलिया जागा राम — जन्मोजन्मींचा अधम — दुःख थोर साधिलें. विषयसुखाचा लंपट — दासीगमनीं अतिधीट — तया तेचि वाट — अधोगती जावया. अणीक एक कोड — नरका जावयाची चाड — तरी संतनिंदा गोड — करीं कवतुकें सदा. तुकाराम म्हणतात — ऐसें — मना लावी राम पिसें — नाहीं तरी आलिया सायासें — फुकट जासी ठकोनी.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| हें देह व्यर्थ जावें | "this body to go in vain" |
| द्यूतकर्म मनोभावें सारीपाट खेळावा | "playdyūta-karma(gambling)sāripāṭwithmano-bhāva" |
| मग कैचें हरिचें नाम | "then where (is) Hari-nāma?" |
| निजेलिया जागा राम | "sleeping,jāgā Rāma(= Rāma awake-while-sleeping?)" |
| जन्मोजन्मींचा अधम | "janma-janmā's adhama" |
| दुःख थोर साधिलें | "greatduḥkhaobtained / produced" |
| विषयसुखाचा लंपट दासीगमनीं अतिधीट | "viṣaya-sukha-lampaṭa(greedy),dāsi-gamana(going-to-the-maid)over-bold" |
| तया तेचि वाट अधोगती जावया | "for him, that very path — to go toadho-gati" |
| अणीक एक कोड नरका जावयाची चाड | "and one morekōḍa(wonder) — if (you have) ambition for naraka" |
| तरी संतनिंदा गोड करीं कवतुकें सदा | "dosant-nindāsweetly, withkautuka(cleverness), always" |
| मना लावी राम पिसें | "make the mindRāma-piśā(Rāma-mad)" |
| नाहीं तरी आलिया सायासें फुकट जासी ठकोनी | "otherwise — coming withsāyāsa— you go for free, deceived" |
What it means
A sharp-warning abhang on body-going-in-vain. Five claims:
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If body to go in vain — play dyūta-karma sāripāṭ. Sarcastic-instruction. If you want the body to go in vain, the recipe is dyūta (gambling) with mano-bhāva. The gambling-with-full-attention is the body-wasting recipe.
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Where is Hari-nāma? Sleeping, jāgā Rāma. The bhakta-alternative: even in sleep, Rāma is awake (= the Hari-nāma continues even when the body sleeps). The gambler doesn't have this; the bhakta does.
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Janma-janmā's adhama, great duḥkha. The life-after-life adhama — the cumulative-fall. Great duḥkha is produced by dyūta-karma + sleeping-without-Rāma.
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Viṣaya-sukha-lampaṭa, dāsi-gamana = adho-gati path. Greedy for viṣaya-sukha + bold for dāsi-gamana (going-to-the-maid / sex-with-prohibited-women). That very path leads to adho-gati (downward-going).
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Sant-nindā sweetly = naraka-recipe. The most-subtle critique. If you have ambition for naraka, do sant-nindā (slander-of-saints) gōḍa (sweetly), with kautuka (cleverness) — as a habit. The sweet, clever, habitual sant-nindā is the naraka-recipe. (This is sarcastic-direct: Tukaram is naming the active-cultivation of slander-of-saints as the deliberate-naraka-path.)
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Closing: make the mind Rāma-piśā or go fukaṭ-deceived. Mana lāvī Rāma piśē. Make the mind Rāma-mad (= fully-given-over to Rāma like a piśā). Otherwise, coming-with-sāyāsa, you go fukaṭ jāsī ṭhakōnī — you came with effort and go for-free deceived. (The body-life is the sāyāsa-arrival; if not Rāma-piśā, the arrival is wasted.)
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For someone today
Tukaram names the ways a life quietly gets thrown away: gambling your attention away, falling asleep without ever remembering God, chasing sensual pleasure and reckless affairs, and mocking or slandering holy people as a habit you find sweet and clever. Each of these leads somewhere specific, toward deeper trouble, a downward fall, and eventual ruin. His alternative is simple and total, give your mind over to God's name the way a person overtaken by madness holds nothing back. This life came to you through real effort, so don't let it slip away for nothing while you were busy being clever.
मराठी: तुकाराम सांगतात की आयुष्य कसे हळूहळू वाया जाते: जुगारात लक्ष घालवणे, देवाचे स्मरण न करता झोपी जाणे, विषयसुखाच्या मागे लागणे आणि बेजबाबदार संबंधांत धीट होणे, आणि संतांची निंदा गोड व हुशारीने सवयीने करणे. यातील प्रत्येक गोष्ट एका विशिष्ट दिशेने घेऊन जाते — अधिक दुःखाकडे, अधोगतीकडे, अखेर नरकाकडे. त्यांचा उपाय साधा आणि संपूर्ण आहे — मन देवाच्या नामाला असे वाहून द्या जसे वेडा माणूस काहीही राखून ठेवत नाही. हे जीवन मोठ्या परिश्रमाने मिळाले आहे, म्हणून हुशारी दाखवण्याच्या नादात ते फुकट गमावू नका.
Where this applies
- Four body-in-vain recipes. Gambling, sleeping-without-Rāma, viṣaya-greed, sant-nindā.
- Rāma-piśā mind = the alternative. Fully-given-over.
- Life is sāyāsa-arrival. Don't go fukaṭ-deceived.