Abhanga 560
English: Phirangī-vākhara-lōkhaṇḍa viḷē — but nirāḷē — guṇa-mōla.
The verse
फिरंगी वाखर लोखंडाचे विळे । परि ते निराळे गुणमोल ॥१॥ पायरी प्रतिमा एक चि पाषाण । परि तें महिमान वेगळालें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तैशा नव्हतील परी । संतजना सरी सारिखिया ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Phirangī-vākhara-lōkhaṇḍa viḷē — but nirāḷē — guṇa-mōla. Pāyarī-pratimā — same pāṣāṇa — but mahimāna vēgaḷālē. Tuka says: not even like that — saint-jana — sarī — same.
मराठी: फिरंगी वाखर लोखंडाचे विळे — परि ते निराळे गुणमोल. पायरी प्रतिमा एक चि पाषाण — परि तें महिमान वेगळालें. तुकाराम म्हणतां — तैशा नव्हतील परी — संतजना सरी सारिखिया.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| फिरंगी वाखर लोखंडाचे विळे | "phirangī-vākhara-lōkhaṇḍa — viḷē" |
| परि ते निराळे गुणमोल | "but nirāḷē — guṇa-mōla" |
| पायरी प्रतिमा एक चि पाषाण | "pāyarī-pratimā — same pāṣāṇa" |
| परि तें महिमान वेगळालें | "but mahimāna vēgaḷālē" |
| तैशा नव्हतील परी | "not even like that" |
| संतजना सरी सारिखिया | "saint-jana — sarī — same" |
What it means
A same-material-different-mahimāna-saints-incomparable abhang. Two-analogy-image-then-fortiori register. Three claims:
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फिरंगी वाखर लोखंडाचे विळे — परि ते निराळे गुणमोल — phirangī-vākhara-lōkhaṇḍa viḷē — but nirāḷē — guṇa-mōla. The iron-analogy: phirangī (the foreign-blade, a fine European-imported sword), vākhara (regular sword), lōkhaṇḍa (iron) viḷē (sickle / scythe) — all are iron; but they are nirāḷē (different, distinct) in guṇa-mōla (quality and price). Same-iron-different-quality-and-price. (The phirangī-reference dates the abhang: the European-blade was a 17th-century import.)
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पायरी प्रतिमा एक चि पाषाण — परि तें महिमान वेगळालें — pāyarī-pratimā — same pāṣāṇa — but mahimāna vēgaḷālē. The stone-analogy: pāyarī (the step-stone of a temple-or-house) and pratimā (the consecrated-idol-image) — both are the same pāṣāṇa (stone); but the mahimāna (greatness, sacred-status) is vēgaḷālē (different). Same-stone-different-mahimāna*.
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तुका म्हणे तैशा नव्हतील परी — संतजना सरी सारिखिया — Tuka says: not even like that — saint-jana — sarī — same. The closing-incomparability-claim: Tuka says: not even like-that; saint-jana — sarī sārikhiya (equal-comparison-comparable) — there is no such-equal-comparison. Saints-cannot-even-be-compared-to-each-other-by-the-iron-or-stone-analogy. Saints-are-incomparable. (The fortiori-move: even at the level of iron-and-stone, same-material differs by quality and use; but among saints, no comparison-of-this-kind even applies — they are sui-generis.)
[T]
For someone today
This abhang names the same-material-different-mahimāna-saints-incomparable register:
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Same iron, different quality and price. Phirangī-vākhara-lōkhaṇḍa viḷē — nirāḷē guṇa-mōla. Don't conflate by material; quality-and-use differ. Material-isn't-everything.
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Same stone, different mahimāna*. Pāyarī-pratimā — pāṣāṇa — mahimāna vēgaḷālē. Step-stone and idol are both stone, but differ in sacred-greatness. Use-and-consecration-make-the-difference*.
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Saint-jana* have no comparable-equal. Samta-jana sarī sārikhiya nakō. Saints can't be compared to each other by the iron-or-stone-analogy; they are sui-generis. Don't-rank-saints-by-external-criteria*.
For today: recognize that same-material can have different quality-and-mahimāna by use; step-stone vs idol = quality-of-consecration-makes-the-difference; but saints are even-beyond this-analogy: they are incomparable. Don't-rank-saints.
This abhang is Tukaram's saints-are-incomparable register — the fortiori-move makes it precise. Compare 0552-553 false-bhakta-criticism; same discrimination-register but here positively-on-saints-not-negatively-on-frauds. The phirangī-reference is biographically-period: 17th-century European-imports.
मराठी: ही ओवी same-material-different-mahimāna-saints-incomparable register नाव सांगते:
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Same iron, different quality and price. फिरंगी-वाखर-लोखंड विळे — निराळे गुण-मोल. Material-conflate नका; quality-and-use differ. Material-everything नाही.
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Same stone, different mahimāna*. पायरी-प्रतिमा — पाषाण — महिमान वेगळालें. Step-stone आणि idol दोन्ही stone, पण sacred-greatness differ. Use-and-consecration-difference-करतात*.
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Saint-jana* ला comparable-equal नाही. संत-जना सरी सारिखिया नाही. Saints iron-or-stone-analogy ने compare करता येत नाहीत; sui-generis. External-criteria ने rank नका*.
आज: Same-material ला different quality-and-mahimāna use ने ओळखा; Step-stone vs idol = consecration-quality difference-करतो; पण saints त्याच्या-पलिकडे: incomparable. Saints rank नका.
Tukaram च-saints-are-incomparable-register — Fortiori-move precise करतो. 0552-553 false-bhakta-criticism compare; तीच discrimination-register पण इथे positively-on-saints-not-negatively-on-frauds. Phirangī-reference biographically-period: 17th-century European-imports.
Where this applies
- Same iron, different quality. Guṇa-mōla-difference.
- Same stone, different mahimāna. Use-difference.
- Saints — incomparable. Sarī-doesn't-apply.
- Don't-rank-saints. Sui-generis.