Abhanga 568
Even a painful, chaotic scene of household anger and scarcity can be met with an attempt to understand its causes rather than only condemning it.
The verse
गोणी आली घरा । दाणे खाऊं नेदी पोरा ॥१॥ भरी लोकांची पांटोरी । मेला चोरटा खाणोरी ॥ध्रु.॥ खवळली पिसी । हाता झोंबे जैसी लांसी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे खोटा । रांडे संचिताचा सांटा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Gōṇī came home — doesn't let pōrā eat dāṇē. Fills others' pāmṭōrī — dead-cōraṭā khāṇōrī. Khavaḷalī pisī — strikes hand — lāmsī. Tuka says: khōṭā — rāṇḍa — samcita sāmṭā.
मराठी: गोणी आली घरा — दाणे खाऊं नेदी पोरा. भरी लोकांची पांटोरी — मेला चोरटा खाणोरी. खवळली पिसी — हाता झोंबे जैसी लांसी. तुकाराम म्हणतां — खोटा — रांडे संचिताचा सांटा.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| गोणी आली घरा | "gōṇī — came home" |
| दाणे खाऊं नेदी पोरा | "doesn't let pōrā eat dāṇē" |
| भरी लोकांची पांटोरी | "fills others' pāmṭōrī" |
| मेला चोरटा खाणोरी | "dead-cōraṭā khāṇōrī" |
| खवळली पिसी | "khavaḷalī pisī" |
| हाता झोंबे जैसी लांसी | "strikes hand — like lāmsī" |
| तुका म्हणे खोटा | "khōṭā" |
| रांडे संचिताचा सांटा | "rāṇḍa — samcita sāmṭā" |
What it means
A gōṇī-came-but-children-don't-eat-wife-samcita's-stock abhang. Continues the household-distress-cluster. Three claims:
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गोणी आली घरा — दाणे खाऊं नेदी पोरा — gōṇī came home — doesn't let pōrā eat dāṇē. The opening-mismanagement-claim: thegōṇī(sack of grain) came home (= some grain came in); but (someone in the household) doesn't let thepōrā(child) eat thedāṇē(grain). Resource-came-but-doesn't-reach-children.
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भरी लोकांची पांटोरी — मेला चोरटा खाणोरी — खवळली पिसी — हाता झोंबे जैसी लांसी — fills others' pāmṭōrī — dead-cōraṭā khāṇōrī — khavaḷalī pisī — strikes hand — lāmsī. The redirection-and-rage-claim: (she) fills others'pāmṭōrī(bag / lap-load) instead; (this) dead-cōraṭā(thief),khāṇōrī(consumer); (she is)khavaḷalī pisī(excitedly-enraged); strikes the hand — like alāmsī(lash). Resource-redirected-to-others-not-to-own-children; she-is-in-a-frenzy-and-strikes-like-a-lash.
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तुका म्हणे खोटा — रांडे संचिताचा सांटा — Tuka says: khōṭā — rāṇḍa — samcita sāmṭā. The closing-karmic-explanation: Tuka says:khōṭā(false / cursed); therāṇḍa(wife) — is thesamcita-cā sāmṭā(the accumulated-stock-of-past-karma). Wife-as-samcita-stock-explanation. The bhakta explains the wife's-rage as past-karma's-fruit.
[T]
For someone today
This abhang paints a raw scene of household chaos: a sack of grain finally comes into the house, yet the children still aren't allowed to eat from it, because it gets funneled off elsewhere instead of feeding them. The household is thrown into a fury over it, someone lashing out with a hand that strikes like a whip. Rather than simply condemning the anger, Tukaram reaches for an explanation: he says this bitterness in his wife is the fruit of accumulated karma finally coming due, a way of trying to understand the pain and chaos rather than only being crushed by it.
मराठी: हा अभंग घरातल्या अस्ताव्यस्त, कडवट प्रसंगाचं थेट चित्रण करतो: घरात धान्याची गोणी येते, पण तरीही मुलांना ते धान्य खाऊ दिलं जात नाही, कारण ते इतरत्र वळवलं जातं, मुलांपर्यंत पोहोचतच नाही. यावरून घरात प्रचंड संताप उफाळतो, कोणाचा तरी हात चाबकासारखा आदळतो. या रागाला फक्त दोष देण्याऐवजी तुकाराम त्यामागचं कारण शोधण्याचा प्रयत्न करतात: ते म्हणतात की पत्नीमधली ही कडवटपणा साचलेल्या संचिताचं, जुन्या कर्मांचं फळ आहे — म्हणजे या वेदना आणि गोंधळाला फक्त सहन न करता समजून घेण्याचा प्रयत्न.
Where this applies
- Resource doesn't reach children. Mismanagement.
- Rage like a lash. Volatility.
- Wife as samcita-sāmṭā. Karmic-explanation.