संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 522 of 4582

Abhanga 522

When the mind has truly turned toward God's name, worldly pulls like wealth and beauty stop mattering and lose their grip entirely.

When only Hari-nāma is likable, everything else disgusts — and you have to recognize this register
When gold and gems become clay and stones — and you accept this radical-belittlement
When even women appear repulsive — and you receive this brahmacarya-stance

The verse

मृत्युलोकीं आम्हां आवडती परी । नाहीं एका हरिनामें विण ॥१॥ विटलें हें चित्त प्रपंचापासूनि । वमन हें मनीं बैसलेंसे ॥ध्रु.॥ सोनें रूपें आम्हां मृत्तिके समान । माणिकें पाषाण खडे तैसे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तैशा दिसतील नारी । रिसाचियापरी आम्हांपुढें ॥३॥

Literal translation

In mṛtyu-loka we have āvaḍī — none except Hari-nāma. Citta — viṭalē — from prapamca — vamana sat in mana. Sōnē-rūpē — for us — mṛttikā-samāna — māṇikēm-pāṣāṇa-khaḍē same. Tuka says: women too — appear — rīsa-cyā parī.

मराठी: मृत्युलोकीं आम्हां आवडती परी — नाहीं एका हरिनामें विण. विटलें हें चित्त प्रपंचापासूनि — वमन हें मनीं बैसलेंसे. सोनें रूपें आम्हां मृत्तिके समान — माणिकें पाषाण खडे तैसे. तुकाराम म्हणतां — तैशा दिसतील नारी — रिसाचियापरी आम्हांपुढें.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
मृत्युलोकीं आम्हां आवडती परी "in mṛtyu-loka — we have āvaḍī"
नाहीं एका हरिनामें विण "none — except Hari-nāma"
विटलें हें चित्त प्रपंचापासूनि "citta — viṭalē — from prapamca"
वमन हें मनीं बैसलेंसे "vamana — sat in mana"
सोनें रूपें आम्हां मृत्तिके समान "sōnē-rūpē — for us — mṛttikā-samāna"
माणिकें पाषाण खडे तैसे "māṇikēm-pāṣāṇa-khaḍē — same"
तैशा दिसतील नारी रिसाचियापरी "women — appear — rīsa-cyā parī"

What it means

A only-Hari-nāma-likable-here-everything-else-disgusts abhang. Strong vairāgya-register. Four claims:

  1. मृत्युलोकीं आम्हां आवडती परी — नाहीं एका हरिनामें विण — in mṛtyu-loka we have āvaḍī — none except Hari-nāma. The exclusive-liking-claim: inmṛtyu-loka(death-world = this earthly-world) — we haveāvaḍī(liking, fondness); but none except for theHari-nāma(Hari's-name). Hari-nāma-only-likable.

  2. विटलें हें चित्त प्रपंचापासूनि — वमन हें मनीं बैसलेंसे — citta viṭalē from prapamca — vamana sat in mana. The disgust-claim: thecitta(mind) hasviṭalē(turned-away, sickened, become-disgusted) fromprapamca(worldly-affairs); thevamana(vomit / what-was-vomited-out) hasbaisalēm(sat) inmana. Worldly-affairs-as-vomit-in-the-mind. (The vamana image: once you have vomited something out, the disgust-of-it sits in the mind; you don't go back to it.)

  3. सोनें रूपें आम्हां मृत्तिके समान — माणिकें पाषाण खडे तैसे — sōnē-rūpē mṛttikā-samāna — māṇikēm-pāṣāṇa-khaḍē same. The gold-equals-clay-claim: sōnē (gold) and rūpē (silver)— for us —mṛttikā-samāna(clay-equal, mud-equal); māṇikēm (rubies, gems), pāṣāṇa (rocks), khaḍē (pebbles) — same.Precious-and-worthless-equalized.Wealth-in-equal-with-mud.

  4. तुका म्हणे तैशा दिसतील नारी — रिसाचियापरी आम्हांपुढें — Tuka says: women too — appear — rīsa-cyā parī. The closing-brahmacarya-claim: Tuka says: even women will disatīla (appear) before us taiśā (in-the-same-way);like a rīsa (a base-creature, a wretched-thing — possibly a bear, a beast, or anything-repulsive).Even-women-appear-repulsive.Strong-brahmacarya-stance. (Therīsa image is deliberately ugly: women whose-attractiveness-pulls-the-mind appear like wretched-beasts to the disenchanted-bhakta.)

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram describes a mind that has genuinely turned away from the pull of the world, so much that nothing satisfies it anymore except chanting God's name. He compares worldly entanglement to something already vomited out: once you've truly let go of it, you don't go back and taste it again. He pushes the point to its extreme, saying gold and silver feel no different to him than clay, and gems no different than ordinary stones. It is a strong statement about what real detachment can feel like, once the mind has stopped being pulled around by the usual things people chase.

मराठी: मन खरोखर संसाराच्या ओढीतून बाहेर पडलं की देवाच्या नामाशिवाय दुसऱ्या कशातच समाधान वाटेनासं होतं, असं तुकाराम सांगतात. एकदा एखादी गोष्ट पूर्णपणे सोडून दिली की तिच्याकडे परत वळून पाहायचं नसतं, ओकून टाकलेल्या अन्नाकडे जसं परत पाहत नाहीत तसंच. हा मुद्दा ते टोकाला नेतात — सोनं-चांदी त्यांना मातीसारखीच वाटते आणि रत्नं साध्या दगडांसारखी. मन खऱ्या अर्थाने विरक्त झालं की माणसं ज्या गोष्टींच्या मागे धावतात, त्यांचं आकर्षणच उरत नाही, हेच ही ओवी ठामपणे मांडते.

Where this applies

Nāma (the Name) Bhakti

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