Abhanga 662
Admitting how much of life has been spent on autopilot, chasing food, sleep, fear and desire, is the first honest step toward finally waking up and examining your life.
The verse
संसारसिंधु हा दुस्तर । नुलंघवे उलंघितां पार । बहुत वाहाविलें दूर । न लगे चि तीर पैल थडी ॥१॥ किती जन्म जाला फेरा । गणित नाहीं जी दातारा । पडिलों आवर्ति भोंवरा । बहुता थोरा वोळसिया ॥ध्रु.॥ वाढलों परी नेणती बुद्धी । नाहीं परतली धरिली शुद्धी । मग म्यां विचारावें कधीं । ऐसी संधी सांडुनिया ॥२॥ अनेक खाणीं आहार निद्रा । भयमैथुनाचा चि थारा । बाळत्व तारुण्य जरा । प्रधान पुरा भोग तेथें ॥३॥ ऐसीं उलंघूनि आलों स्थळें । बहु भोवंडिलों काळें । आतां हें उगवावें जाळें । उजेडा बळें दिवसाच्या ॥४॥ सांडीन या संसाराची वाट । बहु येणें भोगविले कष्ट । दावी सत्या ऐसें नष्ट । तुका म्हणे भ्रष्ट जालों देवद्रोही ॥५॥
Literal translation
Samsāra-sindhu is dustara — cannot-be-crossed even-while-trying — much-carried far — far-shore not-reached. How many janmas was the cycle? — no count, O Giver — fell into whirling-eddy — much-great-curls. Grew up — but buddhi doesn't-know — no return, no śuddhi held — when shall I now vicāra? — this sandhī cast-aside. Many khāṇī — āhāra-nidrā — bhaya-maithuna's resting-place — childhood-youth-old-age — chief-full bhoga there. Such places I crossed-coming — much-spun by kāḷa — now this net should-be-unravelled by the day-light's-power. I will-abandon this samsāra-path — much-experienced kaṣṭa by this — show satya, such naṣṭa — Tuka says: I have-become bhraṣṭa — deva-drōhī.
मराठी: Samsāra-sindhu — dustara — पाहूनही पार न-होय — दूर वाहलो — पैल-थडी न-लगे. किती जन्म फेरा? — दातार, गणित नाही — आवर्ति-भोंवरा-वोळसिया त पडलो. वाढलो पण buddhi नेणती — परतलो नाही, śuddhi धरली नाही — आतां केव्हा विचार? — संधी सांडली. अनेक खाणी — आहार-निद्रा — भय-मैथुन-थारा — बाळत्व-तारुण्य-जरा — पुरा भोग. अशीं स्थळें ओलांडून आलो — काळाने बहु भोवंडलो — आतां हें जाळें उगवावें — दिवसाच्या उजेडा-बळें. Samsāra ची वाट सांडीन — येणें कष्ट भोगविले — सत्य दाखवा, असा नष्ट — Tuka म्हणे: bhraṣṭa जालो, deva-drōhī.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| संसारसिंधु हा दुस्तर | "samsāra-sindhu — dustara" |
| नुलंघवे उलंघितां पार | "nulanghavē — ulanghitām pāra" |
| बहुत वाहाविलें दूर | "much-carried — far" |
| न लगे चि तीर पैल थडी | "paila-thaḍī (far-shore) not-reached" |
| किती जन्म जाला फेरा | "how many janma — was the cycle?" |
| गणित नाहीं जी दातारा | "no count, O Giver" |
| पडिलों आवर्ति भोंवरा | "fell — āvarti (whirling) — bhōmvarā (eddy)" |
| बहुता थोरा वोळसिया | "much-great — vōḷasiyā (curls)" |
| वाढलों परी नेणती बुद्धी | "grew-up — but buddhi doesn't-know" |
| नाहीं परतली धरिली शुद्धी | "no return — śuddhi (pure-thought) not-held" |
| मग म्यां विचारावें कधीं | "then when shall I vicāra?" |
| ऐसी संधी सांडुनिया | "such sandhī — cast-aside" |
| अनेक खाणीं आहार निद्रा | "many khāṇī — āhāra-nidrā" |
| भयमैथुनाचा चि थारा | "bhaya-maithuna — thāra (resting-place)" |
| बाळत्व तारुण्य जरा | "bāḷatva-tāruṇya-jarā" |
| प्रधान पुरा भोग तेथें | "pradhāna full bhoga — there" |
| ऐसीं उलंघूनि आलों स्थळें | "such places — crossed-coming" |
| बहु भोवंडिलों काळें | "much-spun — by kāḷa" |
| आतां हें उगवावें जाळें | "now this jāḷa — should-be-unravelled" |
| उजेडा बळें दिवसाच्या | "by ujēḍa — power — of day" |
| सांडीन या संसाराची वाट | "I will-abandon — samsāra-vāṭa" |
| दावी सत्या ऐसें नष्ट | "show satya — such naṣṭa (faulty)" |
| भ्रष्ट जालों देवद्रोही | "have-become bhraṣṭa — deva-drōhī" |
What it means
A samsāra-sindhu-dustara-bhraṣṭa-deva-drōhī-show-truth abhang. Samsāra-rebirth-cycle-and-confession register. Six claims:
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संसार-सिंधु — दुस्तर — पैल-थडी न-लगे — samsāra-sindhu — dustara — paila-thaḍī not-reached. The opening-ocean-claim: samsāra-sindhu is dustara (hard-to-cross);cannot-be-crossed even-when-trying;much-carried-far;the paila-thaḍī (far-shore) not-reached.Samsāra-as-impassable-ocean.
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किती जन्म — गणित नाही — आवर्ति-भोंवरा-वोळसिया — how many janmas — no count — āvarti-bhōmvarā-vōḷasiyā. The uncountable-births-claim: how manyjanmaswas the cycle?; no count, O Giver; fell intoāvarti(whirling),bhōmvarā(eddy),vōḷasiyā(curls); much-great. Uncountable-births-and-eddies.
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वाढलो — buddhi नेणती — śuddhi नाही — संधी सांडली — grew-up — buddhi doesn't-know — no śuddhi — sandhī cast-aside. The missed-opportunity-claim: grew-up butbuddhidoesn't-know; no return, nośuddhi(pure-thought) held; when shall I nowvicāra(consider)?; thissandhī(opportunity, junction) cast-aside. Grew-up-but-without-buddhi-and-cast-aside-the-opportunity.
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खाणी — आहार-निद्रा — भय-मैथुन — बाळत्व-तारुण्य-जरा — पुरा भोग — khāṇī — āhāra-nidrā — bhaya-maithuna — bāḷatva-tāruṇya-jarā — full bhoga. The inventory-of-samsāric-bhoga-claim: manykhāṇī(wombs / kinds); āhāra-nidrā (food-and-sleep); bhaya-maithuna (fear-and-mating) the resting-place;bāḷatva-tāruṇya-jarā(the three life-stages childhood-youth-old-age); the chief-fullbhoga(experience) there. Samsāric-existence-classified-into-the-four-functions-and-three-stages. (This is the classic āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna list — the four common to humans-and-animals.)
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ओलांडून आलो — काळाने बहु भोवंडलो — आतां जाळें उगवावें — दिवसा-उजेडा-बळें — crossed places — kāḷa spun much — unravel net — day-light power. The unravel-the-net-by-day-light-claim: such places I have crossed-coming; much-spun bykāḷa; now thisjāḷa(net) should-be-unravelled; by theujēḍa(light) of the day's-power. Now-by-day-light-power-let-the-net-be-unravelled. (The day-light image is interesting: the samsāra is night-ignorance-net, and the unravelling needs the light-of-day = the jñāna-prakāśa / deva's grace-light.)
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संसार-वाट सांडीन — कष्ट भोगविले — सत्य दाखवा — नष्ट — Tuka: bhraṣṭa, deva-drōhī — I'll abandon samsāra-path — kaṣṭa experienced — show satya — naṣṭa — Tuka: bhraṣṭa, deva-drōhī. The closing-confession-claim: I will-abandon thissamsāra-vāṭa; much-experiencedkaṣṭaby-this; showsatya(truth), such-naṣṭa(faulty-one) am I; Tuka says: I have-becomebhraṣṭa(fallen) —deva-drōhī(a traitor-to-deva, one who has-betrayed-deva). Tuka-confesses-fallen-and-deva-traitor-and-asks-deva-show-truth. (This is one of Tuka's strongest self-condemnations.)
[T]
For someone today
Life's ordinary rounds of eating, sleeping, fear, and desire can quietly use up an entire lifetime without you ever pausing to ask a real question. Tukaram admits he let birth after birth pass by this way, spinning in the same eddies of habit, and grew up without ever gaining real understanding. He does not excuse himself; he names the drifting honestly and asks for a light strong enough to finally untangle the net he feels caught in. The verse gives you permission to feel the weight of wasted time, and to trust that today is still another chance to stop and truly look at your life.
मराठी: आपलं आयुष्य खाणं, झोपणं, भीती आणि इच्छांच्या रोजच्या फेऱ्यांत कधी संपून जातं हे कळतही नाही. तुकाराम महाराज इथे स्वतःची प्रामाणिक कबुली देतात, किती जन्म असेच फिरत गेले, कधी थांबून खरा विचारच केला नाही, वाढलो पण खरी समज कधी आलीच नाही. ते स्वतःला माफ करत नाहीत, तर हे वाहवत जाणं स्पष्टपणे मान्य करतात आणि खऱ्या आत्मपरीक्षणाच्या प्रकाशाची याचना करतात, जो प्रकाश हे गुंतागुंतीचं जाळं उलगडू शकतो. वाया गेलेल्या वेळेचं ओझं जाणवणं आणि आजच, याच क्षणी, थांबून पाहण्याची आणखी एक संधी आहे यावर विश्वास ठेवणं, हीच या ओवीची शिकवण आहे.
Where this applies
- Samsāra-sindhu—dustara. Impassable-ocean.
- Uncountablejanma—bhōmvarā. Uncountable.
- Āhāra-nidrā-bhaya-maithuna. Samsāric-functions.
- Day-light unravels net. Light-image.
- Bhraṣṭa—deva-drōhī. Confession.