Abhanga 373
It is easy to claim a good name, but only real preparation and an actual test reveal whether the substance behind it is genuine.
The verse
भले भणवितां संतांचे सेवक । आइत्याची भीक सुखरूप ॥१॥ ठसावितां बहु लागती सायास । चुकल्या घडे नास अल्प वर्म ॥ध्रु.॥ पाकसिद्धी लागे संचित आइतें । घडतां सोई तें तेव्हां गोड ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे बरे सांगतां चि गोष्टी । रणभूमि दृष्टी न पडे तों ॥३॥
Literal translation
Easy — to be called bhalē — saints' sēvaka — āitā-bhīkā — sukharūpa. To ṭhasāvitām — much sāyāsa needed — missing small varma — destruction comes. Pāka-siddhi — needs sañcita prepared — (conditions) match — then gōḍa. Tuka says: easy to speak the words — until the raṇa-bhūmi falls into sight.
मराठी: भले भणवितां — संतांचे सेवक — आइत्याची भीक सुखरूप. ठसावितां बहु लागती सायास — चुकल्या घडे नास अल्प वर्म. पाकसिद्धी लागे संचित आइतें — घडतां सोई तें तेव्हां गोड. तुकाराम म्हणतां — बरे सांगतां चि गोष्टी — रणभूमि दृष्टी न पडे तों.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भले भणवितां संतांचे सेवक | "easy — to be called bhalē — saints' sēvaka" |
| आइत्याची भीक सुखरूप | "āitā-bhīkā — sukharūpa" |
| ठसावितां बहु लागती सायास | "to ṭhasāvitām (establish-firmly) — much sāyāsa needed" |
| चुकल्या घडे नास अल्प वर्म | "if missed — small varma — destruction" |
| पाकसिद्धी लागे संचित आइतें | "pāka-siddhi — needs sañcita prepared" |
| घडतां सोई तें तेव्हां गोड | "(conditions) match — then it is gōḍa" |
| बरे सांगतां चि गोष्टी | "easy — to speak the words" |
| रणभूमि दृष्टी न पडे तों | "until the raṇa-bhūmi — falls into sight" |
What it means
A easy-to-claim-hard-to-establish abhang. Three claims:
-
भले भणवितां संतांचे सेवक — आइत्याची भीक सुखरूप — easy to be called bhalē, saints' sēvaka — āitā-bhīkā, sukharūpa. The opening-self-irony: easy to be calledbhalē(good), saints'sēvaka. Āitā-bhīkā — ready-alms (= alms received without effort); sukharūpa (joy-form). Calling oneself a saint's servant is easy and gets one ready-alms. (Tukaram is naming the ease-of-the-label without yet the substance.)
-
ठसावितां बहु लागती सायास — चुकल्या घडे नास अल्प वर्म — to ṭhasāvitām — much sāyāsa needed — missing small varma — destruction. The substance-claim: to actually establish (ṭhasāvitām) the bhakta-status, much sāyāsa is needed; and missing even a small-varma causes destruction. (Varma — secret-essence, weak-spot. The small-varma if missed leads to nāśa.) (Compare 358 muḷīm varma nasatōm cukalōm; same varma-as-cause-of-failure register.)
-
पाकसिद्धी लागे संचित आइतें — घडतां सोई तें तेव्हां गोड — pāka-siddhi needs sañcita prepared — (conditions) match — then gōḍa. The cooking-analogy: the pāka-siddhi (cooking's completion) needs sañcita-prepared; only when conditions match is it gōḍa. Without prepared-sañcita, no completion. (Compare 340 cook so vīṭa doesn't take it; same cooking-as-bhakti register.)
-
तुका म्हणे बरे सांगतां चि गोष्टी — रणभूमि दृष्टी न पडे तों — Tuka says: easy to speak the words — until the raṇa-bhūmi falls into sight. The closing-image: easy to speak (about bhakti, about saint's-service) — until the raṇa-bhūmi (battlefield) appears. Words are easy when no test; the test reveals what is real. (Compare 364 people say hōyā-hōya but no one helps; same easy-words register.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram warns that it is easy to be called a good person or a devoted servant of the saints, and that label often brings its own comfortable rewards without much effort. But actually becoming that kind of person takes real, sustained work, and missing even one small but crucial point can undo everything. He compares it to cooking, where the meal only turns out well if the ingredients were properly prepared beforehand and the conditions come together at the right moment. In the end, he says, it is easy to talk about your devotion or your courage until you actually stand on the battlefield, because only the real test shows what you are made of.
मराठी: तुकाराम इशारा देतात की चांगला माणूस किंवा संतांचा सेवक म्हणवून घेणं सोपं असतं, आणि त्या नावामुळे फारसे कष्ट न करता काही सुखसोयी मिळतातही. पण खरोखर तसं बनणं मात्र खूप कष्टाचं काम आहे, आणि एखादा लहानसा पण महत्त्वाचा मुद्दा चुकला तरी सगळं मुसळ केरात जाऊ शकतं. ते याला स्वयंपाकाची उपमा देतात, जिथे जेवण चांगलं होण्यासाठी आधीच सगळी तयारी नीट झालेली असावी लागते आणि योग्य वेळी सगळ्या गोष्टी जुळून याव्या लागतात. शेवटी ते म्हणतात, बोलणं सोपं असतं, पण खरी परीक्षा रणांगणावर उभं राहिल्यावरच कळते, कारण फक्त तीच खरी कसोटी दाखवते तुम्ही खरंच कसे आहात.
Where this applies
- Easy to be called bhalē. Label-vs-substance.
- Ṭhasāvitāmneedssāyāsa. Effort-required.
- Missing small-varma destroys. Caution.
- Raṇa-bhūmi reveals reality. Test-rule.