संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 390 of 4582

Abhanga 390

The gopi's teasing complaints about Krishna's rough, unashamed love hide the deeper truth that his word never breaks and his delight in her is what makes her free.

When the gōpī protests Krishna's attentions even while drawn — and you have to recognize this register

When your darśana would blacken my fair skin (= mark me as His) — and you accept this paradox

When He makes you jīvanmukta by enjoying — and you receive this closing claim

The verse

हरी तुझी कांति रे सांवळी । मी रे गोरी चांपेकळी । तुझ्या दर्शनें होईन काळी । मग हें वाळी जन मज ॥१॥ उगला राहें न करीं चाळा । तुज किती सांगों रे गोवळा । तुझा खडबड कांबळा । अरे नंदबाळा आलगटा ॥ध्रु.॥ तुझिये अंगीं घुरट घाणी । बहु खासी दुध तुप लोणी । घरिचें बाहेरिल आणोनी । मी रे चांदणी सकुमार ॥२॥ मज ते हांसतील जन । धिःकारिती मज देखोन । अंगीं तुझें देखोनि लक्षण । मग विटंबणा होइल रे ॥३॥ तुज लाज भय शंका नाहीं । मज तंव सज्जन पिशुन व्याही । आणीक मात बोलूं काहीं । मसी भीड नाहीं तुज माझी ॥४॥ वचन मोडी नेदी हात । कळलें न साहे ची मात । तुकयास्वामी गोपीनाथ । जीवन्मुक्त करूनि भोगी ॥५॥

Literal translation

Hari — Your kāmti is sāmvaḷī — I am gōrī cāmpē-kaḷī — with Your darśana I will become kāḷī — people will reject me. Stay quiet — don't play cāḷā — how often to tell, gōvaḷā — Your khaḍa-baḍa kāmbaḷā — alagaṭā Nanda-bāḷā. In Your body — stinks — You eat much milk, ghee, butter — bringing from outside-house — I am tender cāmdaṇī. People will laugh at me, dishonor me on seeing — seeing Your lakṣaṇa in (my) body — viṭambanā will happen. You have no lāja, bhaya, śankā — for me, sajjana, piśuna-vyāhī — some other matter to talk — You have no bhīḍa for me. Doesn't break vacana, gives no hand — understood, can't bear the matter — Tukya-svāmī Gopīnātha — making jīvanmukta, enjoys.

मराठी: हरी तुझी कांति सांवळी — मी गोरी चांपेकळी — तुझ्या दर्शनें होईन काळी — मग हें वाळी जन मज. उगला राहें न करीं चाळा — तुज किती सांगों गोवळा — तुझा खडबड कांबळा — अरे नंदबाळा आलगटा. तुझिये अंगीं घुरट घाणी — बहु खासी दुध तुप लोणी — घरिचें बाहेरिल आणोनी — मी रे चांदणी सकुमार. मज ते हांसतील जन — धिःकारिती मज देखोन — अंगीं तुझें देखोनि लक्षण — मग विटंबणा होइल. तुज लाज भय शंका नाहीं — मज तंव सज्जन पिशुन व्याही — आणीक मात बोलूं काहीं — मसी भीड नाहीं तुज माझी. तुकाराम म्हणतां — वचन मोडी नेदी हात — कळलें न साहे ची मात — तुकयास्वामी गोपीनाथ — जीवन्मुक्त करूनि भोगी.

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
हरी तुझी कांति रे सांवळी	"Hari — Your kāmti — sāmvaḷī"
मी रे गोरी चांपेकळी	"I — gōrī — cāmpē-kaḷī"
तुझ्या दर्शनें होईन काळी	"with Your darśana — I'll become kāḷī"
मग हें वाळी जन मज	"people will reject me"
उगला राहें न करीं चाळा	"stay quiet — don't play cāḷā"
तुज किती सांगों रे गोवळा	"how often to tell, gōvaḷā"
तुझा खडबड कांबळा	"Your khaḍa-baḍa kāmbaḷā (rough blanket)"
अरे नंदबाळा आलगटा	"alagaṭā Nanda-bāḷā (mischievous Nanda-child)"
तुझिये अंगीं घुरट घाणी	"in Your body — ghuraṭa-ghāṇī (heavy-stinks)"
बहु खासी दुध तुप लोणी	"You eat much milk, ghee, butter"
घरिचें बाहेरिल आणोनी	"bringing from outside-house"
मी रे चांदणी सकुमार	"I am a tender cāmdaṇī (moon-girl)"
मज ते हांसतील जन	"people will laugh at me"
धिःकारिती मज देखोन	"dishonor me on seeing"
अंगीं तुझें देखोनि लक्षण	"seeing Your lakṣaṇa in (my) body"
मग विटंबणा होइल रे	"viṭambanā will happen"
तुज लाज भय शंका नाहीं	"You have no lāja, bhaya, śankā"
मज तंव सज्जन पिशुन व्याही	"for me — sajjana, piśuna-vyāhī"
आणीक मात बोलूं काहीं	"some other matter to talk"
मसी भीड नाहीं तुज माझी	"You have no bhīḍa (consideration) for me"
वचन मोडी नेदी हात	"doesn't break vacana — gives no hand"
कळलें न साहे ची मात	"understood, can't bear the matter"
तुकयास्वामी गोपीनाथ	"Tukya-svāmī Gopīnātha"
जीवन्मुक्त करूनि भोगी	"making jīvanmukta — enjoys"

What it means

A gōpī-protests-Krishna's-attentions abhang. The gōpī catalogues complaints — but the closing reveals the bhakti-truth. Six claims:

हरी तुझी कांति रे सांवळी — मी रे गोरी चांपेकळी — तुझ्या दर्शनें होईन काळी — मग हें वाळी जन मज — Hari, Your kāmti is sāmvaḷī — I am gōrī cāmpē-kaḷī — with Your darśana I'll become kāḷī — people will reject me. The opening-protest: Hari is dark-blue; the gōpī is fair; if she keeps the darśana, she will be marked as His (= becomekāḷī); people will reject. The fear of being marked as the deva's.
उगला राहें न करीं चाळा — तुज किती सांगों रे गोवळा — तुझा खडबड कांबळा — अरे नंदबाळा आलगटा — stay quiet, don't play tricks — how often to tell, gōvaḷā — Your khaḍa-baḍa kāmbaḷā — alagaṭā Nanda-bāḷā. The ironic-chiding: stay quiet; how often must I tell? — Your rough-blanket, mischievous Nanda-child. The protest is comic-affectionate.
तुझिये अंगीं घुरट घाणी — बहु खासी दुध तुप लोणी — घरिचें बाहेरिल आणोनी — मी रे चांदणी सकुमार — Your body stinks — You eat much milk-ghee-butter — bringing from outside-house — I am tender moon-girl. The catalogue-of-complaints: Your body smells (of butter); You eat much; You bring stolen-stuff from house-to-house; I am a tender moon-girl. The contrast between the rough-cowherd Krishna and the tender-moon-girl gōpī.
मज ते हांसतील जन — धिःकारिती मज देखोन — अंगीं तुझें देखोनि लक्षण — मग विटंबणा होइल रे — people will laugh, dishonor me — seeing Your sign in my body — viṭambana will happen. The social-fear: people will see Yourlakṣaṇa(mark) in my body and dishonor me; viṭambana will happen.
तुज लाज भय शंका नाहीं — मज तंव सज्जन पिशुन व्याही — आणीक मात बोलूं काहीं — मसी भीड नाहीं तुज माझी — You have no shame-fear-doubt — for me, sajjana piśuna-vyāhī — other matter — You have no bhīḍa for me. The complaint: You don't have shame, fear, doubt; (but) for me there aresajjanaandpiśuna-vyāhī(good-folk and slanderous-in-laws); You have no consideration for me.
वचन मोडी नेदी हात — कळलें न साहे ची मात — तुकयास्वामी गोपीनाथ — जीवन्मुक्त करूनि भोगी — doesn't break vacana, gives no hand — understood, can't bear matter — Tukya-svāmī Gopīnātha — making jīvanmukta, enjoys. The closing-revelation: He doesn't break His vacana (word, vow); He doesn'tgive the hand(i.e. doesn't let go); the matter understood, can't be borne; Tukya-svāmī Gopīnātha — making (her)jīvanmukta— enjoys. The closing reveals that all this protest is the rasa ofjīvanmukti-by-bhoga—Krishna makes the gōpī jīvanmukta by enjoying her.

[T]

For someone today

In this abhang a gopi teases and protests: Krishna is dark, she is fair, and if she keeps seeking his presence people will see his mark on her and reject her. She scolds him for his rough cowherd manners and the smell of butter on his skin, and worries about the mockery she will face. But underneath the complaint is deep affection, and the closing lines turn everything around: Krishna never breaks his word and never lets go, and it is precisely his delight in her that sets her free. The teaching is that the very things that invite the world's ridicule when you are visibly devoted are the marks of belonging to God, and that belonging becomes your liberation rather than your shame.

मराठी: या अभंगात एक गोपी कृष्णाची तक्रार करते आणि त्याला चिडवते. ती म्हणते, तू सावळा आहेस, मी गोरी आहे आणि तुझं दर्शन घेत राहिले तर तुझी खूण माझ्या अंगावर दिसेल आणि लोक मला नाकारतील. ती त्याच्या रांगड्या गोरगावी वागण्याला आणि अंगाला येणाऱ्या लोणी-तुपाच्या वासाला नावं ठेवते आणि जगाच्या हसण्याची भीती व्यक्त करते. पण या तक्रारीच्या आत खोल प्रेम आहे आणि शेवटच्या ओळींत सगळं पालटतं. कृष्ण आपला शब्द कधी मोडत नाही आणि हात सोडत नाही, आणि त्याचं तिच्यावरचं प्रेमच तिला मुक्त करतं. यातून शिकवण अशी की, भक्तीमुळे जगाकडून जी थट्टा होते तीच खूण खरं तर देवाशी असलेल्या नात्याची साक्ष आहे, आणि तेच नातं लाजिरवाणं न राहता मुक्तीचं कारण बनतं.

Where this applies

Darśana marks; people reject. Social-cost of bhakti.
Lakṣaṇain body bringsviṭambana. World-mockery.
Deva unconditioned; bhakta conditioned. Dual-condition.
Jīvanmukti by bhōga. Closing-revelation.