Abhanga 323
Ask that the trust and closeness you've been given never be carelessly lost, and try to stop harmful thoughts before they even form.
The verse
ठायींची ओळखी । येइल टाकुं टाका सुखीं ॥१॥ तुमचा जाईल ईमान । माझे कपाळीं पतन ॥ध्रु.॥ ठेविला तो ठेवा । अभिळाषें बुडवावा ॥२॥ मनीं न विचारा । तुका म्हणे हे दातारा ॥३॥
Literal translation
The ṭhāyī-cī oḷakhī — will fall by ṭāka-ṭāka sukhīm. Your īmāna will go — my forehead — patana. What was ṭhevilā — (don't) drown by abhilāṣā. Tuka says: don't think (it) in mind — dātāra.
मराठी: ठायींची ओळखी — येइल टाकुं टाका सुखीं. तुमचा जाईल ईमान — माझे कपाळीं पतन. ठेविला तो ठेवा — अभिळाषें बुडवावा. तुकाराम म्हणतां — मनीं न विचारा — हे दातारा.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ठायींची ओळखी | "theṭhāyī-cī oḷakhī(recognition-from-the-place / from-the-beginning)" |
| येइल टाकुं टाका सुखीं | "will (= might) fall byṭāka-ṭāka sukhīm(= being-carelessly-thrown-down)" |
| तुमचा जाईल ईमान | "yourīmāna(honor / faith) will go" |
| माझे कपाळीं पतन | "my forehead —patana(fall)" |
| ठेविला तो ठेवा | "what wasṭhevilā(placed / kept-in-trust)" |
| अभिळाषें बुडवावा | "(don't) drown byabhilāṣā(greed)" |
| मनीं न विचारा | "don't think (it) in mind" |
| तुका म्हणे हे दातारा | "Tuka says —dātāra(giver)" |
What it means
A short prevention-petition abhang. Three claims:
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ठायींची ओळखी — येइल टाकुं टाका सुखीं — the ṭhāyī-cī oḷakhī — will fall by ṭāka sukhīm. The recognition-from-the-place (= the recognition the deity gave from-the-very-beginning) — will fall if carelessly thrown-down. The worry: the original-recognition might be lost by careless-deva-action.
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तुमचा जाईल ईमान — माझे कपाळीं पतन — your īmāna will go — my forehead — patana. The theological-leverage. If I fall, your īmāna (honor / trust / reputation) will also go. My patana (fall) is your reputation-loss. (This is strong honest-leverage: the bhakta-deity-relation has mutual-stakes; the bhakta's-fall is the deity's reputation-fall.)
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ठेविला तो ठेवा — अभिळाषें बुडवावा — what was ṭhevilā — (don't) drown by abhilāṣā. The trust-image. What was placed (in trust) — don't let it drown by abhilāṣā (greed). (Reading: the bhakta is what the deity placed-in-trust; don't let the deity's trust-deposit drown by the deity's-or-the-bhakta's-abhilāṣā.)
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तुका म्हणे मनीं न विचारा — हे दातारा — Tuka says: don't think (it) in mind — dātāra. The closing-petition. Don't even think (the rejection) in your mind. The prevention is at the sankalpa-level (compare 278's single contrary sankalpa makes all pāpas; here, don't even sankalpa the rejection).
[T]
For someone today
This is a precise prayer of prevention. Tukaram worries that the recognition and closeness God gave him from the very start could be carelessly thrown away and lost. He reminds God that the stakes are shared: if he falls, God's own reputation and trustworthiness fall with him — this is an honest appeal, not blackmail, naming a real bond of mutual responsibility. He is something God placed in trust, and that trust should not be allowed to drown in greed or neglect. Finally he asks God not even to entertain the thought of rejection in his mind — the prevention has to happen before any such intention can even form.
मराठी: ही एक नेमकी प्रतिबंधात्मक प्रार्थना आहे. देवाने सुरुवातीपासूनच दिलेली ओळख आणि जवळीक निष्काळजीपणे हरवली जाईल, अशी भीती तुकारामांना वाटते. ते देवाला आठवण करून देतात की यात दोघांचेही हित पणाला लागले आहे — जर मी पडलो, तर तुझी प्रतिष्ठाही डागाळेल; हे प्रामाणिक साकडे आहे, धमकी नाही, आणि यातून परस्परांतील जबाबदारीचे खरे नाते दिसते. मी देवाने विश्वासाने ठेवलेली एक ठेव आहे, आणि ती ठेव हाव किंवा दुर्लक्षामुळे बुडू नये. शेवटी ते देवाला विनंती करतात की नाकारण्याचा विचारही मनात येऊ देऊ नकोस — असा प्रतिबंध विचार निर्माण होण्याआधीच व्हायला हवा.
Where this applies
- Original-recognition vulnerable to careless-rejection. Petition for prevention.
- Mutual-stakes: my fall = your reputation-loss. Honest-leverage.
- Trust-deposit shouldn't drown by abhilāṣā.
- Prevention at the sankalpa-level. Don't even think it.