Abhanga 518
English: Going to Vārāṇasī — leaving cows-horses-buffaloes.
The verse
जातो वाराणसी । निरवी गाई घोडे म्हैसी ॥१॥ गेलों येतों नाहीं ऐसा । सत्य मानावा भरवसा ॥ध्रु.॥ नका काढूं माझीं पेवें । तुम्हीं वरळा भूस खावें ॥२॥ भिकारियाचे पाठीं । तुम्ही घेउनि लागा काठी ॥३॥ सांगा जेवाया ब्राम्हण । तरी कापा माझी मान ॥४॥ वोकलिया वोका । म्यां खर्चिला नाहीं रुका ॥५॥ तुम्हीं खावें ताकपाणी । जतन करा तूपलोणी ॥६॥ नाहीं माझें मनीं । पोरें रांडा नागवणी ॥७॥ तुका म्हणे नीट । होतें तैसें बोले स्पष्ट ॥८॥
Literal translation
English: Going to Vārāṇasī — leaving cows-horses-buffaloes. Gone, not coming back — believe the trust. Don't dig up my pēvē — you eat varaḷā-bhūsa. Take a kāṭhī to beggars' backs. If you call brāhmaṇa to feed — cut my throat. Vomit the vōka — I didn't spend a rūkā. You eat tāka-pāṇī — preserve tūpa-lōṇī. Not in my mind — sons-widows-naked-girls. Tuka says: straight — as it was — speaks spaṣṭa.
मराठी: जातो वाराणसी — निरवी गाई घोडे म्हैसी. गेलों येतों नाहीं ऐसा — सत्य मानावा भरवसा. नका काढूं माझीं पेवें — तुम्हीं वरळा भूस खावें. भिकारियाचे पाठीं — तुम्ही घेउनि लागा काठी. सांगा जेवाया ब्राम्हण — तरी कापा माझी मान. वोकलिया वोका — म्यां खर्चिला नाहीं रुका. तुम्हीं खावें ताकपाणी — जतन करा तूपलोणी. नाहीं माझें मनीं — पोरें रांडा नागवणी. तुकाराम म्हणतां — नीट — होतें तैसें — बोले स्पष्ट.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जातो वाराणसी निरवी गाई घोडे म्हैसी | "going Vārāṇasī — leaving cows-horses-buffaloes" |
| गेलों येतों नाहीं ऐसा | "gone — not coming-back" |
| सत्य मानावा भरवसा | "believe — the trust" |
| नका काढूं माझीं पेवें | "don't dig up my pēvē" |
| तुम्हीं वरळा भूस खावें | "you eat — varaḷā-bhūsa" |
| भिकारियाचे पाठीं | "beggars' backs" |
| तुम्ही घेउनि लागा काठी | "take a kāṭhī (stick) to them" |
| सांगा जेवाया ब्राम्हण तरी कापा माझी मान | "if you call brāhmaṇa to feed — cut my throat" |
| वोकलिया वोका म्यां खर्चिला नाहीं रुका | "vomit the vōka — I didn't spend a rūkā" |
| तुम्हीं खावें ताकपाणी जतन करा तूपलोणी | "you eat tāka-pāṇī — preserve tūpa-lōṇī" |
| नाहीं माझें मनीं पोरें रांडा नागवणी | "not in my mind — sons-widows-naked-girls" |
| नीट होतें तैसें बोले स्पष्ट | "straight — as it was — spaṣṭa" |
What it means
A famous and dark pre-Vārāṇasī-final-instructions abhang. Eight verses of biting candor about household-greed. The traditional context: Tukaram is announcing his final-renunciation, leaving for Vārāṇasī (the pilgrimage-place where one goes to die), and giving his household final-orders that mock-exaggerate the family's-greed. Eight claims:
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जातो वाराणसी — निरवी गाई घोडे म्हैसी — going Vārāṇasī — leaving cows-horses-buffaloes. The opening-departure: I am going to Vārāṇasī; I am niravī (entrusting, formally-handing-over) the cows-horses-buffaloes. Final-departure-with-cattle-handover.
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गेलों येतों नाहीं ऐसा — सत्य मानावा भरवसा — gone, not coming back — believe the trust. The not-coming-back-claim: I have gone, not coming back like-this; believe (satya mānāvā) the bharavasā (trust, certainty). This-time-it's-final.
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नका काढूं माझीं पेवें — तुम्हीं वरळा भूस खावें — don't dig up my pēvē — you eat varaḷā-bhūsa. The no-grain-bin-greed-instruction: don't kāḍhūm (dig up, open) my pēvē (grain-bins, underground-storage); you eat varaḷā-bhūsa (rough-chaff, the husk-with-some-grain). Don't-greed-the-stored-grain.
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भिकारियाचे पाठीं — तुम्ही घेउनि लागा काठी — beggars' backs — take stick to them. The anti-charity-mockery: take a kāṭhī (stick) and chase the beggars' backs. Mock-instruction: the family is so-greedy they would chase beggars away with a stick. (This is biting-irony, not actual instruction.)
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सांगा जेवाया ब्राम्हण — तरी कापा माझी मान — if you call brāhmaṇa to feed — cut my throat. The anti-brāhmaṇa-feeding-mockery: if you call a brāhmaṇa to feed (the standard śrāddha-rite for a deceased) — cut my throat. No-brāhmaṇa-fed-in-my-name. Tukaram refusing the conventional after-death-ritual*. (Anti-clerical bite.)
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वोकलिया वोका — म्यां खर्चिला नाहीं रुका — vomit the vōka — I didn't spend a rūkā. The frugality-claim: vomit (vōkaliyā) the vōka (= what was-vomited, = anything taken-by-force or ill-gotten); I didn't spend a rūkā (penny). I-was-frugal-don't-be-greedy-after-me.
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तुम्हीं खावें ताकपाणी — जतन करा तूपलोणी — you eat tāka-pāṇī — preserve tūpa-lōṇī. The household-frugality-instruction: you eat tāka-pāṇī (whey-water, watered-buttermilk = the cheapest food); preserve (jatana karā) the tūpa-lōṇī (ghee-butter, the expensive food). Live-cheap-don't-squander.
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नाहीं माझें मनीं — पोरें रांडा नागवणी — तुका म्हणे नीट — होतें तैसें बोले स्पष्ट — not in my mind — sons-widows-naked-girls — Tuka says: straight — as it was — speaks plainly. The closing-disclaimer: not in my mind — sons-widows-naked-girls (= I-have-no-thought-for-the-children-widows-poor-girls of the family, in the same selfish-vein the family will operate); Tuka says: straight — as it was — speaks spaṣṭa (plainly, bluntly). The bhakta speaks-plainly about household-greed without sugarcoating*.
[T]
For someone today
This abhang names the pre-departure-plain-speech register:
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Final-departure: leave the cattle, don't expect return. Jātō Vārāṇasī — gēlōm yētōm nāhīm. The pilgrimage-to-Vārāṇasī is final-renunciation; don't-expect-return.
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Mock-instructions to mock-greed. Pēvē — bhūsa — kāṭhī — brāhmaṇa-māna. Tukaram speaks-as-if-instructing-greed — a mirror to reveal the household's-greedy-tendencies. Don't-take-instructions-literally-but-the-mirror-seriously.
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Frugality is the rule. Tāka-pāṇī khāvē — tūpa-lōṇī jatana karā. Live-cheap-don't-squander. Don't-greed-the-stored-wealth.
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Speak plainly. Hōtē taisē bōlē spaṣṭa. The bhakta speaks plainly about household-realities; no sugarcoating. Plain-speech-as-mirror.
For today: the final-renunciation-pose; mock-instructions reveal-greed; frugality is the rule; speak plainly about household-realities.
This abhang is Tukaram's plain-speech-mirror register — unusual in its biting-candor. The Vārāṇasī-departure is a known biographical-event in Tukaram-tradition. Compare 0517 give-me-a-śiṣya; same forward-thinking register but here much darker, focused on household-mirror not future-disciple. The spaṣṭa claim is Tukaram's signature-style.
मराठी: ही ओवी pre-departure-plain-speech register नाव सांगते:
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Final-departure: cattle leave करा, return expect नका. जातो वाराणसी — गेलों येतों नाही. Vārāṇasī-pilgrimage final-renunciation; return-expect नका.
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Mock-instructions mock-greed ला. पेवें — भूस — काठी — ब्राम्हण-मान. Tukaram greed-instruct करत असल्यासारखं — household च्या greedy-tendencies चा mirror. Literally-instructions घेऊ नका पण mirror-seriously घ्या.
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Frugality rule. ताकपाणी खावें — तूपलोणी जतन करा. Cheap-live-don't-squander. Stored-wealth-greed नका.
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Plainly बोला. होतें तैसें बोले स्पष्ट. Bhakta household-realities बद्दल plainly बोलतो; sugarcoating नाही. Plain-speech-as-mirror.
आज: Final-renunciation-pose; mock-instructions greed-reveal करतात; frugality rule; household-realities बद्दल plainly बोला.
Tukaram च-plain-speech-mirror-register — Biting-candor मध्ये unusual. Vārāṇasī-departure Tukaram-tradition मध्ये known biographical-event. 0517 give-me-a-śiṣya compare; तीच forward-thinking register पण इथे much darker, future-disciple ऐवजी household-mirror-focused. Spaṣṭa claim Tukaram च signature-style*.
Where this applies
- Final-Vārāṇasī departure. Don't-expect-return.
- Mock-greed-instructions. Mirror-mock.
- Frugality rule. Don't-squander.
- Spaṣṭa speech. Plain-mirror.