Abhanga 569
Tukaram records his wife's honest protest that his devotion left the family without support, and admits plainly that the hardship it caused was still unresolved.
The verse
आतां पोरा काय खासी । गोहो जाला देवलसी ॥१॥ डोचकें तिंबी घातल्या माळा । उदमाचा सांडी चाळा ॥ध्रु.॥ आपल्या पोटा केली थार । आमचा नाहीं येसपार ॥२॥ हातीं टाळ तोंड वासी । गाय देउळीं । देवापासीं ॥३॥ आतां आम्ही करूं काय । न वसे घरीं राणा जाय ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे आतां धीरी । आझुनि नाहीं जालें तरी ॥५॥
Literal translation
Now, pōrā — what eat? — gōhō — dēvalasī. Head-tied, māḷā put-on — udama abandoned. Own belly — thāra — no yēsapāra for us. Ṭāḷa hand — mouth-open — sings — dēuḷa — near deva. Now what to do? — won't dwell home — rāṇā goes. Tuka says: now — dhīrī — even now — not crossed.
मराठी: आतां पोरा काय खासी — गोहो जाला देवलसी. डोचकें तिंबी घातल्या माळा — उदमाचा सांडी चाळा. आपल्या पोटा केली थार — आमचा नाहीं येसपार. हातीं टाळ तोंड वासी — गाय देउळीं देवापासीं. आतां आम्ही करूं काय — न वसे घरीं राणा जाय. तुकाराम म्हणतां — आतां धीरी — आझुनि नाहीं जालें तरी.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आतां पोरा काय खासी | "now, pōrā — what eat?" |
| गोहो जाला देवलसी | "gōhō — dēvalasī" |
| डोचकें तिंबी घातल्या माळा | "head-tied, māḷā put-on" |
| उदमाचा सांडी चाळा | "udama — abandoned habit" |
| आपल्या पोटा केली थार | "for own belly — thāra" |
| आमचा नाहीं येसपार | "for us — no yēsapāra" |
| हातीं टाळ तोंड वासी | "ṭāḷa hand — mouth-open" |
| गाय देउळीं देवापासीं | "sings — dēuḷa — near deva" |
| आतां आम्ही करूं काय | "now what to do?" |
| न वसे घरीं राणा जाय | "won't dwell home — rāṇā goes" |
| तुका म्हणे आतां धीरी | "now — dhīrī (patience)" |
| आझुनि नाहीं जालें तरी | "even now — not crossed" |
What it means
A famous wife's-protest-Tukaram-temple-abandoned-trade abhang. The voice is the wife's, recorded by Tukaram. Five claims:
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आतां पोरा काय खासी — गोहो जाला देवलसी — now, pōrā — what eat? — gōhō — dēvalasī. The opening-wife-statement: now, child — what will you eat?; yourgōhō(husband) has becomedēvalasī(a temple-haunter, one-who-stays-at-the-temple-and-doesn't-trade). Wife-to-child: father has gone temple-haunting.
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डोचकें तिंबी घातल्या माळा — उदमाचा सांडी चाळा — आपल्या पोटा केली थार — आमचा नाहीं येसपार — head-tied, māḷā put-on — udama abandoned — own belly — thāra — no yēsapāra for us. The abandoned-trade-claim: (he) tied his head, put onmāḷā(garlands of tulsi-beads, the bhakti-marker); abandoned theudama(trade, business, livelihood) habit; arranged athāra(perch, hold, place-of-sustenance) for his own belly; has noyēsapāra(concern, accountability) for ours. He-tends-his-own-spiritual-belly-but-not-our-physical-one.
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हातीं टाळ तोंड वासी — गाय देउळीं देवापासीं — ṭāḷa hand — mouth-open — sings — dēuḷa — near deva. The image-of-bhakti-life: withṭāḷa(cymbal) in hand, mouth-open, he sings in thedēuḷa(temple), near the deva. Bhakti-life-image as wife's-complaint. (The same images that elsewhere are bhakti-celebration here become the wife's-grievance.)
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आतां आम्ही करूं काय — न वसे घरीं राणा जाय — now what to do? — won't dwell home — rāṇā goes. The abandonment-claim: now what should we do?; won't dwell at home — therāṇā(man / male / king) goes (to the temple). Husband-doesn't-stay-home.
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तुका म्हणे आतां धीरी — आझुनि नाहीं जालें तरी — Tuka says: now — dhīrī — even now — not crossed. The closing-Tukaram-self-aside: Tuka says: now patience (dhīrī); even now — (the family-suffering) hasn't crossed (i.e., still goes on). Tukaram acknowledges: I-am-still-the-cause-of-this-distress; the-family-suffering-isn't-yet-crossed. Self-honest-closing.
[T]
For someone today
This abhang records his wife's own voice of protest, not softened or defended, simply set down as it was spoken. She asks their child what they are supposed to eat now that the husband has become absorbed in temple life, tying on his beads and singing with cymbals in hand while abandoning the trade that once fed the family. She says plainly that he tends to his own spiritual hunger but shows no concern for theirs, and asks what the family is supposed to do now that he will not stay home. Tukaram does not defend himself against this, he closes by admitting that even now, the family's hardship has not been resolved. It is a striking moment of honesty about the real cost that one person's devotion can place on the people who depend on them.
मराठी: या अभंगात तुकाराम त्यांच्या पत्नीचा स्वतःचा निषेधाचा आवाज नोंदवतात, तो मऊ करून किंवा त्याचे समर्थन न करता, जसा बोलला गेला तसाच मांडतात. ती आपल्या मुलाला विचारते की आता काय खायचे, कारण नवरा माळ घालून, हातात टाळ घेऊन गाणी गात मंदिरजीवनात हरवला आहे आणि जे व्यापार त्यांच्या कुटुंबाला पोसत होता तो सोडून दिला आहे. ती स्पष्टपणे सांगते की तो स्वतःच्या आध्यात्मिक भुकेची काळजी घेतो पण त्यांच्या भुकेची नाही, आणि विचारते की आता घरी न राहणाऱ्या याच्यामुळे कुटुंबाने काय करावे. तुकाराम याविरुद्ध स्वतःचा बचाव करत नाहीत, ते शेवटी कबूल करतात की आतासुद्धा कुटुंबाचे कष्ट संपलेले नाहीत. एका व्यक्तीच्या भक्तीची खरी किंमत त्याच्यावर अवलंबून असणाऱ्या लोकांना किती चुकवावी लागते याबद्दलचा हा एक विलक्षण प्रामाणिक क्षण आहे.
Where this applies
- Gōhō dēvalasī. Husband-temple-haunter.
- Belly thāra; no yēsapāra. Family-cost.
- Bhakti-image becomes grievance. Two-sides.
- Not yet crossed. Honest-closing.