Abhanga 572

Tukaram says he wants no visitors and no praise, yet admits people come out of genuine affection while unwanted fame follows him anyway, like a yapping dog he cannot shake off.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

A don't-come-home-prīti-but-bhūṣaṇa-doesn't-please abhang. Anti-public-attention register. Three claims:

1. कोण घरा येतें आमुच्या काशाला — काय ज्याचा त्याला नाहीं धंदा — why come home — for what? — no own dhamdā each? The opening-question: why does anyone come to my house — for what reason?; doesn't each-person have his-owndhamdā(work)? Don't-come-go-do-your-own-work.

2. देवासाटीं जालें ब्रम्हांड सोइरें — कोमळ्या उत्तरें काय वेचे — मानें पाचारितां नव्हे आराणुक — ऐसे येती लोक प्रीतीसाटीं — for deva — brahmāṇḍa-soyarē — kōmaḷa-uttara — what vēmcē? — māna — called — no āraṇuka — people come — for prīti. The for-deva-not-for-me-claim: for the deva —brahmāṇḍa-soyarē(the cosmos-becomes-relation) is made; what does akōmaḷa-uttara(gentle-word)vēmcē(cost)? (= it costs nothing); called bymāna(honor) — there is noāraṇuka(place / room to receive, time to receive); thus — people come — forprīti-sāṭīm(for affection). People-come-for-affection-not-honor; the bhakta-has-no-room-for-honor.

3. तुका म्हणे रांडे नावडे भूषण — कांतेलेंसें श्वान पाठीं लागे — Tuka says: rāṇḍa — bhūṣaṇa — doesn't like — kāntēlēsē śvāna — pāṭhī lāgē. The closing-image: Tuka says: therāṇḍa(woman / wife) doesn't likebhūṣaṇa(ornament / praise / decoration); (but) akāntēlēsē śvāna(a gnashing / yelping dog) — pāṭhī lāgē (goes-after-the-back, follows-from-behind).The bhakta-doesn't-want-the-honor; but the gnashing-dog-of-fame follows-after-his-back.Bhakta-doesn't-want-the-ornament; but the unwanted-praise pursues like a yapping-dog. (Thekāntēlēsē-śvāna image is a precise self-implicating warning: praise-like-a-yapping-dog-can't-be-shaken-off.)

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram opens by pushing back at visitors: everyone has their own work to do, so why come to his house at all? Yet he admits that for the sake of the divine the whole world becomes kin, and a gentle word costs nothing to give, so people keep coming, not for honor, but simply out of affection. What he truly does not want is praise and public recognition, but fame, once it starts, follows a person around like a yapping dog nipping at his heels, impossible to shake off.

मराठी: तुकाराम सुरुवातीलाच पाहुण्यांना नाकारतात, प्रत्येकाला स्वतःचे काम असते, मग घरी येण्याचे कारण काय? तरीही ते कबूल करतात की देवासाठी सारे विश्वच नाते बनते आणि एक गोड शब्द देण्यास काहीच खर्च येत नाही, म्हणून लोक येतात ते मानासाठी नव्हे तर निखळ प्रेमापोटी. त्यांना खरोखर नकोसे असते ते कौतुक आणि प्रसिद्धी, पण एकदा कीर्ती सुरू झाली की ती माणसाच्या मागे भुंकणाऱ्या कुत्र्यासारखी लागते, झटकणे अशक्य होते.

Where this applies

• Why come home? Own dhamdā. Don't-come.
• Brahmāṇḍa-soyarē; gentle-word free. For-deva.
• Bhūṣaṇa unwanted; dog follows. Praise-pursued.
• Don't-be-flattered. Self-warning.

Related verses

• Abhanga 2448 — The easiest path to God is repeating divine names with love at home, right where you are,
• Abhanga 2467 — What looks like your whole world, like a fig to the insect living inside it, is only a tin
• Abhanga 2494 — Living in devotion turns an ordinary day into a festival and removes the fear of birth and
• Abhanga 4481 — Tukaram promises that sincerely calling on the Lord's name, knowingly or unknowingly, with