Abhanga 551
English: They call themselves samta — heard — no-one dēkhīje — ḍōḷā.
The verse
म्हणविती ऐसे आइकतों संत । न देखीजे होत डोळां कोणीं ॥१॥ ऐसियांचा कोण मानितें विश्वास । निवडे तो रस घाईडाई ॥ध्रु.॥ पर्जन्याचे काळीं वाहाळाचे नद । ओसरतां बुंद न थारे चि ॥२॥ हिर्या ऐशा गारा दिसती दूरोन । तुका म्हणे घन न भेटे तों ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: They call themselves samta — heard — no-one dēkhīje — ḍōḷā. Who viśvāsa — such? — rasa — ghāī-dāī. Monsoon — vāhāḷa nada — ebbing — no bumda holds. Hīrā-like gārā from afar — Tuka says: until ghana meets.
मराठी: म्हणविती ऐसे आइकतों संत — न देखीजे होत डोळां कोणीं. ऐसियांचा कोण मानितें विश्वास — निवडे तो रस घाईडाई. पर्जन्याचे काळीं वाहाळाचे नद — ओसरतां बुंद न थारे चि. हिर्या ऐशा गारा दिसती दूरोन. तुकाराम म्हणतां — घन न भेटे तों.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| म्हणविती ऐसे आइकतों संत | "they call themselves — samta — heard" |
| न देखीजे होत डोळां कोणीं | "no-one — seen — ḍōḷā" |
| ऐसियांचा कोण मानितें विश्वास | "such — who viśvāsa?" |
| निवडे तो रस घाईडाई | "rasa — ghāī-dāī" |
| पर्जन्याचे काळीं वाहाळाचे नद | "monsoon — vāhāḷa — nada" |
| ओसरतां बुंद न थारे चि | "ebbing — bumda — no holding" |
| हिर्या ऐशा गारा दिसती दूरोन | "hīrā-like — gārā — from afar" |
| घन न भेटे तों | "ghana — until meets" |
What it means
A saint-claimants-not-seen-rocks-look-like-diamonds abhang. Three test-images for distinguishing-true-from-false. Three claims:
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म्हणविती ऐसे आइकतों संत — न देखीजे होत डोळां कोणीं — ऐसियांचा कोण मानितें विश्वास — निवडे तो रस घाईडाई — they call themselves samta — heard — no-one seen — ḍōḷā — who viśvāsa? — rasa — ghāī-dāī. The opening-test-claim: I hear (āikatōm) they call themselves (mhaṇavitī) samta; but no-one is dēkhīje (seen-as-saint) by my ḍōḷā (eye); who can have viśvāsa (trust) in such?; the rasa (essential-juice, true-quality) nivaḍē (separates, becomes-clear) only in ghāī-dāī (extremity, harshness, the harsh-test). Self-claim-isn't-the-mark; testing-in-extremity-shows-the-rasa.
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पर्जन्याचे काळीं वाहाळाचे नद — ओसरतां बुंद न थारे चि — monsoon — vāhāḷa nada — ebbing — no bumda holds. The first-test-image: in parjanya-cē kāḷīm (monsoon-time) — the vāhāḷa (drain, gully) becomes a nada (river); when ōsaratām (the rain ebbs) — no bumda (drop) holds. Monsoon-drain-isn't-a-real-river; only the seasonal-flow. True-saint-isn't-the-monsoon-drain.
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हिर्या ऐशा गारा दिसती दूरोन — तुका म्हणे घन न भेटे तों — hīrā-like gārā from afar — Tuka says: until ghana meets. The second-test-image: like hīrā (diamond) — gārā (hailstones) — seem (disatī) from afar (dūrōna); Tuka says: until the ghana (= a touchstone or a hard-substance for testing; or the cloud-of-hailstones-itself; or the testing-instrument) meets — (you can't tell). Hailstones-look-like-diamonds-from-afar; only-close-testing-reveals-truth. (Two readings of ghana*: 1. cloud of hailstones; 2. close-up testing-stone. Both work.)
[T]
For someone today
This abhang names the saint-claimants-tested-in-extremity register:
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Self-claimed saints aren't seen as saints by eye. Mhaṇavitī samta — na dēkhīje. Self-claim isn't the saint-mark. Don't-trust-self-claim.
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Rasa separates only in ghāī-dāī. Rasa nivaḍē — ghāī-dāī. True-quality reveals itself only in extremity / harsh-test. Test-in-extremity*.
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Monsoon-drain isn't a real river. Vāhāḷa nada — ōsaratām — bumda nakō. The seasonal-flow looks like a river but ebbs to nothing; the true-river holds. Don't-mistake-seasonal-bhakti for-true-bhakti.
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Hailstones look like diamonds from afar. Hīrā gārā — dūrōna — ghana na bhēṭē tō. Distance hides the difference; close-testing reveals it. Test-up-close.
For today: self-claimed saints aren't necessarily saints; the rasa shows only in extremity; the monsoon-drain ebbs while the true-river holds; hailstones look like diamonds from afar but not close-up. Test-test-test before crediting.
This abhang is Tukaram's test-the-saint-claimant register — three precise test-images. Compare 0550 jaga-deva-bhāra-vāhī; same false-saint-criticism but here with the test-images. The vāhāḷa-nada and gārā-hīrā images are agricultural-and-ordinary, drawn from the village-economy.
मराठी: ही ओवी saint-claimants-tested-in-extremity register नाव सांगते:
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Self-claimed saints eye-ने saint म्हणून दिसत नाहीत. म्हणविती संत — न देखीजे. Self-claim saint-mark नाही. Self-claim trust नका.
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Rasa फक्त ghāī-dāī मध्ये separate. रस निवडे — घाईडाई. True-quality फक्त extremity / harsh-test मध्ये reveal. Extremity-मध्ये-test*.
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Monsoon-drain real river नाही. वाहाळ नद — ओसरतां — बुंद नको. Seasonal-flow river-सारखं दिसतं पण nothing-ला-ebb होतं; true-river holds. Seasonal-bhakti-true-bhakti म्हणून मानू नका.
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Hailstones हीरा सारखी दिसतात दूरून. हिरा गारा — दुरून — घन न भेटे. Distance difference hide करतं; close-testing reveal करतं. Up-close-test.
आज: Self-claimed saints saint-असतीलच असं नाही; Rasa फक्त extremity मध्ये दिसतो; Monsoon-drain ebb होतो, true-river holds; Hailstones दूरून diamond सारखे पण close-up नाही. Test-test-test crediting च्या आधी*.
Tukaram च-test-the-saint-claimant-register — तीन precise test-images. 0550 jaga-deva-bhāra-vāhī compare; तीच false-saint-criticism पण इथे test-images सोबत. Vāhāḷa-nada आणि gārā-hīrā images agricultural-and-ordinary, village-economy मधून.
Where this applies
- Self-claim — not seen. Reject-self-claim.
- Rasa in ghāī-dāī. Test-in-extremity.
- Monsoon-drain ebbs. Seasonal-not-true.
- Hailstones from afar. Up-close-test.