संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 566 of 4582

Abhanga 566

This abhang names the household-collapse-protest register:

When household-collapse from extreme poverty is the bhakta's lived reality — and you have to recognize this register
When the wife groans under the load without thinking — and you accept this domestic-image
When the bhakta protests with humor-and-bitterness about extreme household-poverty — and you receive this honest voice

The verse

मज चि भोंवता केला येणें जोग । काय याचा भोग अंतरला ॥१॥ चालोनियां घरा सर्व सुखें येती । माझी तों फजीती चुके चि ना ॥ध्रु.॥ कोणाची बाईल होऊनियां वोढूं । संवसारीं काढूं आपदा किती ॥२॥ काय तरी देऊं तोडितील पोरें । मरतीं तरी बरें होतें आतां ॥३॥ कांहीं नेदी वांचों धोवियेलें घर । सारवावया ढोर शेण नाहीं ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे रांड न करितां विचार । वाहुनियां भार कुंथे माथां ॥५॥

Literal translation

English: For me — jōga — what bhōga missed? Sukha walking-to-gharafajīta doesn't end. Whose bāīlavōḍhūmsamsāra's āpadā — how many? What to give — pōrē tear — if died — better now. Dhōvīyēlēm ghara — doesn't survive — sārava — no ḍhōra-śēṇa. Tuka says: rāṇḍa — without thinking — bhārakumthē māthām.

मराठी: मज चि भोंवता केला येणें जोग — काय याचा भोग अंतरला?. चालोनियां घरा सर्व सुखें येती — माझी तों फजीती चुके चि ना. कोणाची बाईल होऊनियां वोढूं — संवसारीं काढूं आपदा किती?. काय तरी देऊं तोडितील पोरें — मरतीं तरी बरें होतें आतां. कांहीं नेदी वांचों धोवियेलें घर — सारवावया ढोर शेण नाहीं. तुकाराम म्हणतां — रांड न करितां विचार — वाहुनियां भार कुंथे माथां.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
मज चि भोंवता केला येणें जोग "for me — jōga"
काय याचा भोग अंतरला "what bhōga missed?"
चालोनियां घरा सर्व सुखें येती "sukha — to ghara — walking"
माझी तों फजीती चुके चि ना "fajīta — doesn't end"
कोणाची बाईल होऊनियां वोढूं "whose bāīlavōḍhūm"
संवसारीं काढूं आपदा किती "samsāra's āpadā — how many?"
काय तरी देऊं तोडितील पोरें "what to give — pōrē tear"
मरतीं तरी बरें होतें आतां "if died — better now"
कांहीं नेदी वांचों धोवियेलें घर "dhōvīyēlēm ghara — doesn't survive"
सारवावया ढोर शेण नाहीं "sārava — no ḍhōra-śēṇa"
रांड न करितां विचार "rāṇḍa — without thinking"
वाहुनियां भार कुंथे माथां "bhārakumthē māthām"

What it means

A household-collapse-protest-rāṇḍa-doesn't-think abhang. Biographical-poverty-distress register. Six claims:

  1. मज चि भोंवता केला येणें जोग — काय याचा भोग अंतरलाfor me — jōga — what bhōga missed? The opening-bitter-protest: for me only — He has done this jōga (contrivance, yoga-arrangement); what bhōga (enjoyment) of His was amtaralā (missed, set-apart)? Why-did-this-happen-only-to-me; what-of-His-bhōga-is-missed? Bitter-irony.

  2. चालोनियां घरा सर्व सुखें येती — माझी तों फजीती चुके चि नाsukha walking to ghara — fajīta doesn't end. The contrast-claim: sukha (good-things) walks-to-the-(other-people's)-house; but my fajīta (humiliation, public-shame) doesn't cukē (end, miss). Others-get-sukha-I-get-fajīta*.

  3. कोणाची बाईल होऊनियां वोढूं — संवसारीं काढूं आपदा कितीwhose bāīla — vōḍhūm — samsāra's āpadā how many? The desperate-question: whose bāīla (wife) do I become and vōḍhūm (pull-through, drag-along)?; the samsāra's āpadā (calamities) — how many to kāḍhūm (extract, pull through)? Endless-domestic-calamity*.

  4. काय तरी देऊं तोडितील पोरें — मरतीं तरी बरें होतें आतांwhat to give — pōrē tear — if died — better now. The darker-protest: what to give? — the pōrē (children, kids) will tōḍitīla (tear, break); if they died — it would be barē (better) now. Bitter-darker-protest about poverty's-effect-on-children.

  5. कांहीं नेदी वांचों धोवियेलें घर — सारवावया ढोर शेण नाहींdhōvīyēlēm ghara — doesn't survive — sārava — no ḍhōra-śēṇa. The ultimate-poverty-image: the dhōvīyēlēm ghara (washed-clean house) doesn't survive; for sārava (smearing-the-floor with cow-dung, the basic household-cleaning ritual) — no ḍhōra-śēṇa (cattle-dung). No-cattle-dung-for-floor-smearing = ultimate-poverty. (In village-Maharashtra, smearing-the-floor with diluted-cow-dung is a daily-cleaning-ritual; no-cattle-dung means no-cattle, no-ritual-cleansing — the absolute-bottom of poverty.)

  6. तुका म्हणे रांड न करितां विचार — वाहुनियां भार कुंथे माथांTuka says: rāṇḍa — without thinking — bhāra — kumthē māthām. The closing-domestic-image: Tuka says: the rāṇḍa (wife / woman) — na karitām vicāra (without thinking, without considering); vāhuniyām bhāra (carrying the load); kumthē māthām (groans on her head). Wife-carries-load-without-thinking-groans-on-head. Image of patient-domestic-suffering.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the household-collapse-protest register:

  1. Why-this-only-to-me; what bhōga is missed? Jōga — bhōga amtaralā? Bitter-irony: did the deva miss-no-enjoyment-of-mine to give me this? Honest-protest.

  2. Others get sukha; I get fajīta*. Sukha cālōnī ghara — fajīta cukē nā. The contrast-claim: others get walking-good-fortune; I get unending-humiliation. Honest-comparison*.

  3. Endless samsāra-calamities; whose wife do I become? Bāīla vōḍhūm — āpadā kitī? Desperate-question: how many calamities to pull-through? Domestic-distress.

  4. Children will tear; if they died, better now. Pōrē tōḍitīla — maratīm barē. The darker-protest about poverty's-effect-on-children. Honest-bitterness.

  5. Even cow-dung is missing for sārava*. Sārava — ḍhōra-śēṇa nāhīm. Ultimate-poverty-image: no-cattle, no-ritual-cleansing. Bottom-poverty*.

  6. The wife groans under the load without thinking. Rāṇḍa — bhāra — kumthē māthām. Domestic-image of patient-suffering. Wife-carries-the-load.

For today: Tukaram's biographical-poverty was extreme; this abhang preserves the household-distress-honesty; bhakti-poetry can include the bitterest-protest about household-collapse. Don't-cleanse-the-bhakta's-suffering.

This abhang is Tukaram's biographical-household-protest registerone of the most-honest about extreme poverty. Compare 0518 jātō Vārāṇasī; same biographical-protest but here with the household-image. The sārava-ḍhōra-śēṇa-nāhīm image is precise and devastating: the absolute-bottom of village-poverty.

मराठी: ही ओवी household-collapse-protest register नाव सांगते:

  1. मलाच का; bhōga* काय missed? जोग — भोग अंतरला? Bitter-irony: देवाने माझा कोणताच-bhōga miss नाही केला म्हणून हे दिलं का? Honest-protest*.

  2. Others sukha; मला fajīta*. सुख चालोनी घरा — फजीती चुके ना. Contrast-claim: इतरांना walking-good-fortune; मला unending-humiliation. Honest-comparison*.

  3. Endless samsāra-calamities; कोणाची bāīla* होऊं? बाईल वोढूं — आपदा किती? Desperate-question: किती calamities pull-through? Domestic-distress*.

  4. Children tear; मरतीं तरी better. पोरें तोडितील — मरतीं बरें. Darker-protest poverty-च्या-children-वर-effect बद्दल. Honest-bitterness.

  5. Sārava साठी सुद्धा cow-dung नाही. सारवावया — ढोर-शेण नाही. Ultimate-poverty-image: no-cattle, no-ritual-cleansing. Bottom-poverty*.

  6. Wife load-खाली-thinking-शिवाय groans. रांड — भार — कुंथे माथां. Patient-suffering च domestic-image. Wife-load-carries.

आज: Tukaram च biographical-poverty extreme होतं; हा abhang household-distress-honesty preserve करतो; Bhakti-poetry household-collapse बद्दल bitterest-protest include करू शकते. Bhakta च suffering cleanse नका.

Tukaram च-biographical-household-protest-registerExtreme poverty बद्दल most-honest पैकी एक. 0518 jātō Vārāṇasī compare; तीच biographical-protest पण इथे household-image सोबत. Sārava-ḍhōra-śēṇa-nāhīm image precise and devastating: village-poverty चं absolute-bottom.

Where this applies

Related verses