Abhanga 456
Even a well arranged outward life bears no real fruit if something within is false or neglected, so wake up, be honest, and give the sustained devotion the fruit actually needs.
The verse
ऐक बाई तुज वो कांहीं सांगतें शकुन । निजलिया भुर होसी जागें म्हणउन ॥१॥ मान्य माझें केलें सांगतें एका बोलें । न येतां हे भलें कळों कोणा लोकांसि ॥ध्रु.॥ सांगतें गुण जीवीची खुण ऐक माझी मात । बैस एका भावें माझे हातीं दे वो हात ॥२॥ बरवा घरचार तुज सांपडला ठाव । फळ नाहीं पोटीं येथें दिसे खोटा भाव ॥३॥ आहे तुझे हातीं एका नवसाचें फळ । भावा करीं साहए चहूं अठरांच्या बळें ॥४॥ करीं लागपाठ चित्त वित्त नको पाहों । अखई तो चुडा तुज भोगईल ना हो ॥५॥ कुळींची हे मुळी तुझे लागलीसे देवी । पडिला विसर नेदी फळ नाहीं ठावी ॥६॥ तुका म्हणे नांद सुखें धरीं आठवण । माझ्या येती कोणी त्यांचा राख बरा मान ॥७॥
Literal translation
Listen, lady — I tell śakuna — sleeping bhura, wake up. Accept what I say in ēka bōla — if it doesn't come, let no one know. Tell the guṇa — jīvīcī khūṇa — listen my māta — sit ēkā bhāvē — give hand to my hand. Well-arranged gharacāra — found a place — no fala in belly — khōṭā bhāva visible. In your hand is the navasa-fala — bring help by cahūm-aṭhārām strength. Do lāgapāṭha — don't look at citta-vitta — that akhayī cuḍā will not enjoy you. Kuḷī-cī mūḷī devī settled — visara fallen — gives no fala, no place known. Tuka says: live happily, hold āṭhavaṇa — for those of mine who come, keep the māna.
मराठी: ऐक बाई तुज वो कांहीं सांगतें शकुन — निजलिया भुर होसी जागें म्हणउन. मान्य माझें केलें सांगतें एका बोलें — न येतां हे भलें कळों कोणा लोकांसि. सांगतें गुण जीवीची खुण — ऐक माझी मात — बैस एका भावें — माझे हातीं दे हात. बरवा घरचार तुज सांपडला ठाव — फळ नाहीं पोटीं येथें दिसे खोटा भाव. आहे तुझे हातीं एका नवसाचें फळ — भावा करीं साहए चहूं अठरांच्या बळें. करीं लागपाठ चित्त वित्त नको पाहों — अखई तो चुडा तुज भोगईल ना हो. कुळींची हे मुळी तुझे लागलीसे देवी — पडिला विसर नेदी फळ नाहीं ठावी. तुकाराम म्हणतां — नांद सुखें धरीं आठवण — माझ्या येती कोणी त्यांचा राख बरा मान.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ऐक बाई तुज वो कांहीं सांगतें शकुन | "listen, lady — I tell you some śakuna" |
| निजलिया भुर होसी जागें म्हणउन | "sleeping, bhura — wake up" |
| मान्य माझें केलें सांगतें एका बोलें | "accept what I say in ēka bōla" |
| न येतां हे भलें कळों कोणा लोकांसि | "if it doesn't come — let no one know" |
| सांगतें गुण जीवीची खुण | "tell the guṇa — jīvīcī khūṇa" |
| ऐक माझी मात | "listen my māta" |
| बैस एका भावें माझे हातीं दे वो हात | "sit ēkā bhāvē — give hand to my hand" |
| बरवा घरचार तुज सांपडला ठाव | "well-arranged gharacāra — found a place" |
| फळ नाहीं पोटीं येथें दिसे खोटा भाव | "no fala in belly — khōṭā bhāva visible" |
| आहे तुझे हातीं एका नवसाचें फळ | "in your hand is the navasa-fala" |
| भावा करीं साहए चहूं अठरांच्या बळें | "bring help — cahūm-aṭhārām strength" |
| करीं लागपाठ चित्त वित्त नको पाहों | "do lāgapāṭha — don't look at citta-vitta" |
| अखई तो चुडा तुज भोगईल ना हो | "that akhayī cuḍā — won't enjoy you" |
| कुळींची हे मुळी तुझे लागलीसे देवी | "kuḷī-cī mūḷī devī — settled on you" |
| पडिला विसर नेदी फळ नाहीं ठावी | "visara fallen — gives no fala, no place known" |
| नांद सुखें धरीं आठवण | "live happily, hold āṭhavaṇa" |
| माझ्या येती कोणी त्यांचा राख बरा मान | "for my-people who come, keep the māna" |
What it means
A fortune-telling-style folk-bhakti abhang. The voice is of a gōmdhaḷī / sākṣīṇa-female-fortune-teller speaking to a woman seeking divinatory advice. Tukaram assumes the folk-fortune-teller voice to deliver bhakti-counsel. Six claims:
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ऐक बाई तुज वो कांहीं सांगतें शकुन — निजलिया भुर होसी जागें म्हणउन — listen, lady — I tell some śakuna — sleeping bhura, wake up. The opening-call: the fortune-teller addresses the woman; tells someśakuna(omen); you've becomebhura(lazy / sluggish) sleeping; wake up.
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मान्य माझें केलें सांगतें एका बोलें — न येतां हे भलें कळों कोणा लोकांसि — बैस एका भावें माझे हातीं दे वो हात — accept what I say in ēka bōla — if it doesn't come, let no one know — sit ēkā bhāvē, give hand. The consultation-instruction: accept what I tell with one word; if (some prediction) doesn't come true, let no one find out (= keep this private); sit with one-stance, give your hand to mine. Folk-divination-format.
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बरवा घरचार तुज सांपडला ठाव — फळ नाहीं पोटीं येथें दिसे खोटा भाव — well-arranged gharacāra — found a place — no fala in belly, false-stance visible. The current-state-reading: your household-arrangement is good; you've found a (settled) place; but there's no fruit (= child) in the belly; here a false-stance is visible. Diagnostic of childlessness due to inner-falsity.
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आहे तुझे हातीं एका नवसाचें फळ — भावा करीं साहए चहूं अठरांच्या बळें — करीं लागपाठ चित्त वित्त नको पाहों — अखई तो चुडा तुज भोगईल ना हो — in your hand is the navasa-fala — bring help by cahūm-aṭhārām strength — do lāgapāṭha — that akhayī cuḍā won't enjoy you. The prescription: the fruit of anavasa(vow) is in your hand; bring help by the strength of thecahūm-aṭhārām(the 4 Vedas and 18 Purāṇas); dolāgapāṭha(intense-recitation / intense-effort); don't worry aboutcitta-vitta(mind-and-money); thatakhayī cuḍā(imperishable-bangle = unbroken-marriage / married-life-through-the-husband's-life) will not enjoy you — meaning: if you don't do thelāgapāṭha, the akhayī-cuḍā state won't be available to you.
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कुळींची हे मुळी तुझे लागलीसे देवी — पडिला विसर नेदी फळ नाहीं ठावी — kuḷī-cī mūḷī devī settled — visara fallen — gives no fala, no place. The deity-diagnosis: thekuḷī-cī mūḷī devī(the deity of the family-lineage-root) has settled on you (= demanded attention); butvisara(forgetting) has fallen (= the family has forgotten her);therefore she gives no fruit; no settled-place.Family-deity-neglect causes barrenness.
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तुका म्हणे नांद सुखें धरीं आठवण — माझ्या येती कोणी त्यांचा राख बरा मान — Tuka says: live happily, hold āṭhavaṇa — for my-people who come, keep good māna. The closing-instruction: Tuka says: live happily; hold theāṭhavaṇa(remembrance); for those who come of mine (= bhaktas / fellow-travelers), keep themāna(honor). The fortune-teller speaks as Tuka here at last; the closing is bhakti-instruction.
[T]
For someone today
In this abhang Tukaram takes on the voice of a folk fortune-teller giving a woman gentle but pointed counsel: wake up from your sluggish, sleepwalking ways and pay attention to the signs in front of you. Keep this counsel between the two of you rather than broadcasting it to everyone. Your outer life may look well arranged, but if something inside you is false, that inner falseness is what is keeping the real fruit from coming. Don't fret over money or your worries — throw yourself into sustained, devoted effort, because the lasting blessing you want depends on it. You have also neglected the deity of your own family line, and that neglect is part of why nothing has borne fruit. So live at peace, keep her in your memory, and treat with honor anyone who comes to you seeking the same.
मराठी: या अभंगात तुकाराम एका लोक-भविष्यवाचकाच्या आवाजात एका स्त्रीला प्रेमळ पण थेट सल्ला देतात: तुमच्या आळशी, गुंगीत गेलेल्या वागण्यातून जागे व्हा आणि समोर दिसणाऱ्या खुणांकडे लक्ष द्या. हा सल्ला दोघांमध्येच ठेवा, सगळीकडे सांगत सुटू नका. तुमचं बाह्य आयुष्य नीट मांडलेलं दिसत असेल, पण आतमध्ये काही खोटेपणा असेल तर तोच खरं फळ येण्यापासून रोखतो. पैशाची किंवा मनाची काळजी करत बसू नका — सातत्यपूर्ण, समर्पित प्रयत्नात स्वतःला झोकून द्या, कारण जे टिकणारं फळ हवं आहे ते याच प्रयत्नावर अवलंबून आहे. तुमच्या कुळाच्या मूळ देवीकडेही तुमचं दुर्लक्ष झालं आहे, आणि तेच दुर्लक्ष फळ न येण्याचं एक कारण आहे. म्हणून सुखाने राहा, तिची आठवण ठेवा, आणि जो कोणी तुमच्याकडे हाच सल्ला मागायला येईल त्याचा आदर राखा.
Where this applies
- Wake from bhura-sleeping. Śakuna signs.
- Counsel privately. Don't broadcast.
- Outward-good, inner-false blocks fruit. Diagnostic.
- Lāgapāṭha; don't worry money-mind. Effort-prescription.
- Kuḷa-mūla-devīwithvisara. Family-deity neglect.
- Live happy; remember; honor companions. Closing.