संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 400 of 4582

Abhanga 400

English: Some woman — bhulalī — selling gōrasa says take Hari.

When the absorbed-bhakta in the marketplace says take Hari instead of take gōrasa — and you have to recognize this register
When Govinda-kaḷā plays in kautuka through the bhakta — and you accept this register
When people laugh because they have no ears at that place — and you receive this honest-fact

The verse

कोणी एकी भुलली नारी । विकितां गोरस म्हणे घ्या हरी ॥१॥ देखिला डोळां बैसला मनीं । तो वदनीं उच्चारी ॥ध्रु.॥ आपुलियाचा विसर भोळा । गोविंद कळा कौतुकें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे हांसे जन । नाहीं कान ते ठायीं ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: Some woman — bhulalī — selling gōrasa says take Hari. Saw with eyes — sat in mana — utters in vadana. Forgot her own — bhōḷā — Govinda-kaḷā by kautuka. Tuka says: people laugh — no ears at that place.

मराठी: कोणी एकी भुलली नारी — विकितां गोरस म्हणे घ्या हरी. देखिला डोळां बैसला मनीं — तो वदनीं उच्चारी. आपुलियाचा विसर भोळा — गोविंद कळा कौतुकें. तुकाराम म्हणतां — हांसे जन — नाहीं कान ते ठायीं.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
कोणी एकी भुलली नारी "some woman — bhulalī (lost senses)"
विकितां गोरस म्हणे घ्या हरी "selling gōrasa — says take Hari"
देखिला डोळां बैसला मनीं "saw with eyes — sat in mana"
तो वदनीं उच्चारी "utters in the vadana"
आपुलियाचा विसर भोळा "forgot her own — bhōḷā"
गोविंद कळा कौतुकें "Govinda-kaḷā — by kautuka"
हांसे जन "people laugh"
नाहीं कान ते ठायीं "no ears — at that place"

What it means

A gōrasa-seller-says-take-Hari abhang. Four claims:

  1. कोणी एकी भुलली नारी — विकितां गोरस म्हणे घ्या हरी — some woman, bhulalī — selling gōrasa says take Hari! The opening-image: some woman, lost-in-Krishna-absorption, while selling gōrasa (milk-curds) — calls out take Hari (instead of take gōrasa). The bhakti-absorption replaces the marketplace-call.

  2. देखिला डोळां बैसला मनीं — तो वदनीं उच्चारी — saw with eyes — sat in mana — utters in vadana. The interior-trajectory: what was seen with eyes — sat in the mana — utters in the vadana (mouth). Eyes → mana → vadana — the deva pervades the whole faculty-chain.

  3. आपुलियाचा विसर भोळा — गोविंद कळा कौतुकें — forgot her own — bhōḷā — Govinda-kaḷā by kautuka. The forgetting-self image: she forgot her own (status, role, mission); she is bhōḷā (innocent / simple-minded); Govinda's kaḷā (art) plays through her — by kautuka (wonder-play). Govinda's-art operates in the bhōḷā-innocent-bhakta.

  4. तुका म्हणे हांसे जन — नाहीं कान ते ठायीं — Tuka says: people laugh — no ears at that place. The closing-claim: people laugh; (but they) have no ears at that place. People hear (the absurdity) but don't have-ears-for-the-bhakti-place. Their laughter is from deafness, not insight.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the absorbed-bhakta-in-the-marketplace register:

  1. Bhakti-absorption can replace your marketplace-call. Vikitām gōrasa mhaṇē ghyā Harī. Don't be alarmed if the Hari-name surfaces in unexpected places (work, marketplace, conversation); the absorption replaces the worldly-script.

  2. Eyes → mana → vadana*. Dēkhilā ḍoḷām — baisalā manīm — vadanīm uccārī. The deva-darśana propagates through the faculty-chain: what is seen sits in the mind and surfaces in the mouth. No artifice; natural-propagation*.

  3. The bhōḷā is the Govinda-kaḷā*'s vehicle. Bhōḷā Govinda-kaḷā kautukē. Don't despise simple-minded innocence; Govinda's-art plays through the bhōḷā as kautuka*.

  4. People laugh because they have no ears at that place. Hāmsē jana — nāhīm kāna tē ṭhāyīm. Public-mockery is from deafness, not insight; the people laugh because they cannot hear the bhakti-event. Don't be wounded by mockery; recognize the deafness.

For today: don't be alarmed if Hari-name surfaces in unexpected places; trust the eye-mind-mouth propagation; honor the bhōḷā-vehicle; recognize public-laughter as deafness, not insight.

This abhang is one of Tukaram's most-tender on the absorbed-bhakta in everyday-life: the gōrasa-seller's slip is the bhakti-event. The bhōḷā-Govinda-kaḷā-kautuka image is especially-rich.

मराठी: ही ओवी absorbed-bhakta-in-the-marketplace register नाव सांगते:

  1. Bhakti-absorption तुमचा marketplace-call replace करू शकतं. विकितां गोरस म्हणे घ्या हरी. Hari-name unexpected places (work, marketplace, conversation) मध्ये surface झालं तर alarmed नका; Absorption worldly-script replace करतं.

  2. Eyes → mana → vadana*. देखिला डोळां — बैसला मनीं — वदनीं उच्चारी. Deva-darśana faculty-chain मधून propagate होतं: जे पाहिलं ते mind मध्ये बसून मुखातून surface होतं. Artifice नाही; natural-propagation*.

  3. Bhōḷā Govinda-kaḷā चं vehicle. भोळा गोविंद कळा कौतुकें. Simple-minded innocence ला despise नका; Govinda's-art bhōḷā मधून kautuka म्हणून play करते*.

  4. लोक हसतात कारण त्यांच्या त्या ठिकाणी कान नाहीत. हांसे जन — नाहीं कान ते ठायीं. Public-mockery deafness मधून, insight नाही; लोक हसतात कारण bhakti-event ऐकू शकत नाहीत. Mockery ने wounded नका; deafness ओळखा.

आज: Hari-name unexpected places मध्ये surface झालं तर alarmed नका; Eye-mind-mouth propagation trust करा; Bhōḷā-vehicle honor करा; Public-laughter deafness म्हणून ओळखा, insight नाही.

Tukaram च्या absorbed-bhakta in everyday-life वर most-tender पैकी एक: Gōrasa-seller चं slip bhakti-event. Bhōḷā-Govinda-kaḷā-kautuka image especially-rich.

Where this applies

Cosmology / Avatāra Bhakti deva-saw-sat-uttered no-ears-at-that-place

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