Abhanga 455

Tukaram exposes the hypocrite who performs renunciation while secretly chasing pleasure, and insists that honest, ordinary living, feeding the body first, beats staged self punishment.

The verse

Literal translation

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:

1. ऐक सांगतों एका भावें — सांपडे घरीं तें जीवउनि खावें — listen — one bhāva — what's caught at home, eat alive. The anti-show opening: theone-bhāvatruth is — eat what's caught at home alive, don't perform-renunciation.

2. 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 worshipsbhaga(genitalia / sensuality). Hypocrite-image.

3. 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.

4. 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).

5. शिवों नये ती अंतरीं माया — संपादणीविण विटंबिली काया — untouchable māyā in heart — without sampādaṇī, kāyā mocked. The inner-māyā-and-no-completion: untouchablemāyā(illusion) sits in his heart; withoutsampādaṇī(completion / fulfillment), thekāyā(body) is mocked.

6. 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 atupastha-roots(= sex-organs). The hypocrite's mouth says one thing, body desires another.

7. 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, theṭakamaṭikā(proper-rest / proper-thinking) comes. Eat first, philosophize after; this is the only honest-order.

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram delivers a blistering satire on religious showmanship, calling on Vitthal as witness in every line. He points to the ascetic who begs with an open hand while claiming to have given everything up, who performs public piety while secretly chasing the very desires he pretends to have renounced. He mocks people who inflict suffering and self punishment on their own bodies for show, calling it a foolish walk straight into hell that they refuse to turn back from. He notices how such people smell sweet and holy to onlookers while something hidden and hungry rots underneath. The poem ends with blunt, earthy honesty: eat when your stomach is hungry, then let clear thinking come once you are fed, instead of starving yourself to prove your holiness.

मराठी: तुकाराम या अभंगात धार्मिक देखाव्यावर तिखट टीका करतात, प्रत्येक ओळीत विठ्ठलाला साक्षी ठेवतात. ते अशा साधकाकडे बोट दाखवतात जो हात पसरून भीक मागतो पण सगळं सोडल्याचा दावा करतो, जो सार्वजनिक ठिकाणी भक्तीचा देखावा करतो पण गुप्तपणे तीच इच्छा पूर्ण करत असतो जी त्याने सोडल्याचे नाटक केले आहे. ते स्वतःच्या शरीराला दाखवण्यासाठी त्रास आणि शिक्षा देणाऱ्या लोकांची खिल्ली उडवतात, आणि हे नरकात जाणारा मूर्खपणाचा मार्ग असल्याचे म्हणतात, जिथून तो माणूस मागे फिरतही नाही. ते नमूद करतात की असे लोक इतरांना सुगंधी आणि पवित्र वाटतात पण आतून काहीतरी लपलेली आणि भुकेली गोष्ट कुजत असते. कवितेचा शेवट रोखठोक, साध्या प्रामाणिकपणाने होतो, पोटात भूक लागली की आधी जेवा, मग पोट भरल्यावर खरी सुबुद्धी येते, उपाशी राहून पावित्र्य सिद्ध करण्याऐवजी.

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.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2374 — Rather than scattering devotion among many lesser deities who demand offerings, Tukaram sa
• Abhanga 2377 — This detailed meditation on Vitthal standing on a brick at Pandharpur, out of love for his
• Abhanga 2387 — Accept whatever life brings with reverence, and place the burden on God rather than carryi
• Abhanga 2402 — For today: happily take rebirths — IF among the Paṇḍharī-Vārkarīs ; Hari-dāsas' company is