संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 455 of 4582

Abhanga 455

English (selected): Listen — ēkā bhāvē — what's caught at home, eat alive — re Viṭhṭhala.

When the hypocrite-renunciate's litany of failures unfolds — and you have to recognize this register

When Viṭhṭhala is invoked as witness at every line — and you accept this refrain

When the closing turns to come-eat-then-takamatika in fed-state — and you receive this earthy resolution

The verse

ऐक सांगतों एका भावें । सांपडे घरीं तें जीवउनि खावें । रे विठ्ठल ॥१॥ पसरी हात नाहीं त्याग । दावी दगड पुजी भग । रे विठ्ठल ॥२॥ वासने हातीं बांधवी नळी । त्यासि येउनि गाळी । रे विठ्ठल ॥३॥ करवी पीडा भोगवी दुःख । पडे नरकीं परी न पळे चि मूर्ख । रे विठ्ठल ॥४॥ विटंबी शरीर मागे रुका । केलें तें गेलें अवघें चि फुका । रे विठ्ठल ॥५॥ फोडोनि गुडघे कोंपर चोळी । आपला घात करोनि आपण चि तळमळे । रे विठ्ठल ॥६॥ शिवों नये ती अंतरीं माया । संपादणीविण विटंबिली काया । रे विठ्ठल ॥७॥ आपणा परिमळ आणिकां लोकां । मोलाची महिमा फजिती फुका । रे विठ्ठल ॥८॥ पाठीवरी तोबा तोंड काळें । रसना द्रवे उपस्थाच्या मुळें । रे विठ्ठल ॥९॥ चला जेवूं आधीं पोटीं लागल्या भुका । धाल्यावरी बरा टाकमटिका । रे विठ्ठल ॥१०॥

Literal translation

English (selected): Listen — ēkā bhāvē — what's caught at home, eat alive — re Viṭhṭhala. Spreads hand, no tyāga — shows stones, worships bhaga — re Viṭhṭhala. ... [10 verses each closing with re Viṭhṭhala] ... Come, let's eat — bellies hungry — fed, good ṭakamaṭikā — re Viṭhṭhala.

मराठी (निवडक): ऐक सांगतों एका भावें — सांपडे घरीं तें जीवउनि खावें — रे विठ्ठल. ... चला जेवूं आधीं पोटीं लागल्या भुका — धाल्यावरी बरा टाकमटिका — रे विठ्ठल.

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
ऐक सांगतों एका भावें	"listen — tell with one bhāva"
सांपडे घरीं तें जीवउनि खावें	"what's caught at home — eat alive"
रे विठ्ठल	"re Viṭhṭhala" (refrain)
पसरी हात नाहीं त्याग	"spreads hand — no tyāga"
दावी दगड पुजी भग	"shows stones, worships bhaga"
करवी पीडा भोगवी दुःख	"makes pīḍā, suffers duḥkha"
पडे नरकीं परी न पळे चि मूर्ख	"falls naraka — fool doesn't flee"
विटंबी शरीर मागे रुका	"mocks body, asks rukā"
शिवों नये ती अंतरीं माया	"untouchable māyā in heart"
संपादणीविण विटंबिली काया	"without sampādaṇī — kāyā mocked"
आपणा परिमळ आणिकां लोकां	"smell to oneself, glory to others"
मोलाची महिमा फजिती फुका	"mōla-mahimā — phajitī — phukā"
पाठीवरी तोबा तोंड काळें	"back-tōbā, tōṇḍa kāḷē"
रसना द्रवे उपस्थाच्या मुळें	"tongue waters at upastha-roots"
चला जेवूं आधीं पोटीं लागल्या भुका	"come, let's eat — bellies hungry"
धाल्यावरी बरा टाकमटिका	"fed-state — good ṭakamaṭikā"

What it means

A sharp ironic-litany of hypocrite-failures abhang. Each of 10 pādas closes with re Viṭhṭhala (the refrain-witness). The style is carnivalesque-satirical — Tukaram in his fierce-ironic-anti-hypocrite mode. Major claims:

ऐक सांगतों एका भावें — सांपडे घरीं तें जीवउनि खावें — listen — one bhāva — what's caught at home, eat alive. The anti-show opening: the one-bhāva truth is — eat what's caught at home alive, don't perform-renunciation.
पसरी हात नाहीं त्याग — दावी दगड पुजी भग — spreads hand, no tyāga — shows stones, worships bhaga. The false-renunciate: spreads the begging-hand but has no real-tyāga; shows stones (= performs-show-pūjā) but secretly worships bhaga (genitalia / sensuality). Hypocrite-image.
करवी पीडा भोगवी दुःख — पडे नरकीं परी न पळे चि मूर्ख — makes pīḍā, suffers duḥkha — falls naraka, fool doesn't flee. The self-imposed-suffering: the hypocrite causes his own pain and bears suffering; falls into hell — the fool doesn't even flee.
विटंबी शरीर मागे रुका — केलें तें गेलें अवघें चि फुका — mocks body, asks rukā — done went all free. The body-mockery and free-loss: mocks his own body, asks for a coin; what was done all went free (without compensation).
शिवों नये ती अंतरीं माया — संपादणीविण विटंबिली काया — untouchable māyā in heart — without sampādaṇī, kāyā mocked. The inner-māyā-and-no-completion: untouchable māyā (illusion) sits in his heart; without sampādaṇī (completion / fulfillment), the kāyā (body) is mocked.
पाठीवरी तोबा तोंड काळें — रसना द्रवे उपस्थाच्या मुळें — back-tōbā, tōṇḍa kāḷē — tongue waters at upastha-roots. The most-explicit: back-vomit, mouth-blackened; tongue waters at upastha-roots (= sex-organs). The hypocrite's mouth says one thing, body desires another.
चला जेवूं आधीं पोटीं लागल्या भुका — धाल्यावरी बरा टाकमटिका — come, let's eat — bellies hungry — fed, good takamatika. The closing-earthy claim: come, let's eat — bellies are hungry; once-fed, the ṭakamaṭikā (proper-rest / proper-thinking) comes. Eat first, philosophize after; this is the only honest-order.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the anti-hypocrite-renunciate-litany register:

Eat what's caught at home alive; don't perform-renunciation. Sāmpaḍē gharīm tē jīva-uni khāvē. Be honest with what your life has; don't put on the renunciate-show.
Hypocrite-features: spreads-hand-no-tyāga, shows-stone-worships-bhaga. Pasarī hāta nāhīm tyāga — pūjī bhaga. Recognize the hypocrite by these two: false-mendicancy and secret-sensuality.
Self-imposed-suffering keeps the fool in hell. Karavī pīḍā — paḍē naraka — na paḷē mūrkha. The fool causes his own pain and stays in hell; doesn't flee. Don't be that fool.
The hypocrite-body is mocked without sampādaṇī*. Sampādaṇī-vinā kāyā viṭambilī. Without true-attainment, the body itself is the mockery-display*.
Outer-perfume, inner-vomit; tongue-waters-at-upastha. Pāṭhī-tōbā, tōṇḍa kāḷē — rasanā dravē upasthā-mūḷē. The hypocrite's most-secret feature: outwardly-fragrant, internally-rotting; the tongue waters at sexual-roots. Diagnostic-honesty.
Come, let's eat first; takamaṭikā* comes after fullness. Calā jēvūm — bharalyāvarī takamaṭikā. The anti-asceticism closing: eat first; then good-thinking comes. Don't postpone the meal in the name of bhakti; bhakti comes through fed-body. Householder-realism*.

For today: be honest with what your life has; don't perform-renunciation; recognize hypocrite-features in self and others; don't impose suffering on yourself for show; eat first, philosophize after; that is the one-bhāva honesty.

This abhang is Tukaram's-most-savage-anti-hypocrite litany — the re Viṭhṭhala refrain at every line invokes Viṭhobā as the witness of the unmasking. The closing call to eat-first is householder-realism against the false-renunciate.

मराठी: ही ओवी anti-hypocrite-renunciate-litany register नाव सांगते:

घरी सापडलं ते alive खा; renunciation perform नका. सांपडे घरीं तें जीवउनि खावें. आयुष्यात जे आहे ते honestly घ्या; renunciate-show लावू नका.
Hypocrite-features: हात-पसरून-tyāga-नाही, दगड-दाखवून-bhaga-pūjā. पसरी हात नाहीं त्याग — पुजी भग. Hypocrite ला या दोन ने ओळखा: false-mendicancy आणि secret-sensuality.
Self-imposed-suffering मूर्खाला हेलमध्ये ठेवतं. करवी पीडा — पडे नरक — न पळे मूर्ख. मूर्ख स्वतःच्या पीडे करतो आणि नरकात राहतो; पळत नाही. असे मूर्ख होऊ नका.
Sampādaṇī शिवाय hypocrite-body mock होतो. संपादणी-विना काया विटंबिली. खरी attainment शिवाय, body च mockery-display*.
बाहेरून-perfume, आतून-vomit; जीभ-upastha-rooting वर पाणी. पाठी-तोबा, तोंड काळें — रसना द्रवे उपस्था-मुळें. Hypocrite चं most-secret feature: Outwardly-fragrant, internally-rotting; tongue sexual-roots वर waters. Diagnostic-honesty.
चला, आधी जेवू; takamaṭikā* fullness नंतर. चला जेवूं — भरल्यावरी टाकमटिका. Anti-asceticism closing: आधी खा; मग good-thinking येतं. Bhakti च्या नावावर meal postpone नका; Bhakti fed-body मधून. Householder-realism*.

आज: आयुष्यात जे आहे ते honestly घ्या; renunciation perform नका; Self आणि others मधले hypocrite-features ओळखा; Show साठी स्वतःवर suffering impose नका; आधी खा, मग philosophize करा; ती one-bhāva honesty.

Tukaram च most-savage-anti-hypocrite litany — Re Viṭhṭhala refrain प्रत्येक line ला Viṭhobā ला witness म्हणून invoke करतं unmasking चा. Eat-first call closing — Householder-realism false-renunciate विरुद्ध.

Where this applies

Be honest with what your life has. Anti-show.
Hypocrite features. Diagnostic.
Self-imposed suffering = fool in hell. Don't.
Body-mockery without sampādaṇī. Anti-display.
Outer-perfume, inner-rot. Honesty.
Eat first, takamaṭikā after. Householder-realism.