Abhanga 672
English: What shall I eat now?
The verse
काय खावें आतां कोणीकडे जावें । गांवांत राहावें कोण्या बळें ॥१॥ कोपला पाटील गांवचे हे लोक । आतां घाली भीक कोण मज ॥ध्रु.॥ आतां येणें चवी सांडिली म्हणती । निवाडा करिती दिवाणांत ॥२॥ भल्या लोकीं यास सांगितली मात । केला माझा घात दुर्बळाचा ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे याचा संग नव्हे भला । शोधीत विठ्ठला जाऊं आतां ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: What shall I eat now? — where shall I go? — in the gāva, by what baḷa shall I stay? The pāṭīla is angry — these gāva-lōka — now, who will give me alms? — They say: he has now cavī sāṇḍilī — they will-decide in the divāṇa. The matter has been told to the bhalē-lōka — ghāta has been struck against me, the durbaḷa. Tuka says: this sanga is not good — now I will-go śōdhīta (searching) Viṭhṭhal.
मराठी: काय खावें आतां? — कुठें जावें? — गांवांत कोण्या-बळें राहावें?. पाटील कोपला, हे गांव-लोक — आतां भीक कोण घालील?. म्हणतात: ह्याची चवी सांडली — दिवाण-कोर्टांत निवाडा करतील. भल्या-लोकांना मात सांगितली — दुर्बळाचा घात केला. Tuka म्हणे: ह्यांचा संग भला नव्हे — आतां विठ्ठला शोधीत जाऊं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| काय खावें आतां कोणीकडे जावें | "what eat — where go?" |
| गांवांत राहावें कोण्या बळें | "in gāva — by what baḷa?" |
| कोपला पाटील गांवचे हे लोक | "pāṭīla angry — gāva-lōka" |
| आतां घाली भीक कोण मज | "now — alms — who?" |
| येणें चवी सांडिली म्हणती | "cavī sāṇḍilī (lost-taste) — they-say" |
| निवाडा करिती दिवाणांत | "nivāḍā — divāṇa — will-decide" |
| भल्या लोकीं यास सांगितली मात | "bhalē-lōka — māta (matter) told" |
| केला माझा घात दुर्बळाचा | "ghāta — against durbaḷa" |
| याचा संग नव्हे भला | "this sanga — not good" |
| शोधीत विठ्ठला जाऊं आतां | "śōdhīta Viṭhṭhalā — now go" |
What it means
A what-to-eat-where-to-go-village-pāṭīla-angry-Viṭhṭhal-search abhang. Tukaram's autobiographical-distress register. This is a strikingly autobiographical-sounding lament — the gāva (Tukaram's Dehu) has turned against him; the pāṭīla is angry; the matter is being raised in the divāṇa (court of the local revenue / authority); even the alms-giving has stopped. The bhakta's response: leave-the-village-and-go-search-for-Viṭhṭhal.
-
काय खावें — कोठें जावें — गांवांत बळें कोण्या? Opening-distress-claim. No food, no place to go, no strength to stay in the village.
-
पाटील कोपला — गांव-लोक — आतां भीक कोण? Village-rejection-claim. The pāṭīla (village-headman, the authority) is angry; the gāva-lōka are too; now who will-give-me alms? (Tukaram's source-of-living, alms, has stopped.)
-
चवी सांडली म्हणती — दिवाण-निवाडा. Court-charge-claim. They say he has cavī sāṇḍilī (literally, lost-taste; idiomatically, lost-grasp / become-derelict / become-eccentric); they will nivāḍā (decide) the matter in the divāṇa (court / official-court)*. (This is a charge-being-prepared.)
-
भल्या-लोकींना मात — दुर्बळाचा घात. Charge-spread-claim. The māta (matter) has been told to the bhalē-lōka (the noble-ones, the elders, the influential); they have struck a ghāta (blow / harm) against me, the durbaḷa (helpless). Notable-people-have-been-recruited-against-the-helpless.
-
Tuka: ह्यांचा संग न-भला — विठ्ठला शोधीत जाऊं. Closing-resolution-claim. This sanga (company) is not good; now I will-go śōdhīta (searching) Viṭhṭhal. Leave-the-village-and-search-for-Viṭhṭhal.
[T]
For someone today
This abhang names the village-rejection-and-search-for-Viṭhṭhal register:
-
No food, no place, no village-strength. Distress.
-
Pāṭīla angry; village-people too; alms stopped. Village-rejection.
-
Charge: he's lost-taste; court-case in divāṇa. Court-charge.
-
Notable-people have been recruited against me, the durbaḷa. Charge-spread.
-
This company is not good — now I'll search for Viṭhṭhal. Resolution.
For today: when the village rejects you and the powerful turn against you, and even the alms-giving stops — the answer is not to defend or appease, but to leave-the-sanga and go-searching-for-Viṭhṭhal.
This abhang is Tukaram's autobiographical-distress-and-Viṭhṭhal-search register — one of the few abhangs that read autobiographically about Tukaram's own social-rejection. Echoes the historical-context: Tukaram, a non-brahmin saint, was reportedly opposed by the local-orthodoxy and faced charges that his bhakti-poetry was inappropriate for his caste. The cavī sāṇḍilī (lost-taste) charge is sharply-realistic — neighbors saying "he's gone-strange". Compare 0673 anti-hypocrite-water-for-dāsī-not-saint (Tuka's mudra, same fire); same village-anti-hypocrite-tone but here turned-inward to autobiography.
मराठी: ही ओवी village-rejection-and-search-for-Viṭhṭhal register नाव सांगते:
-
खाणं नाही, जागा नाही, बळ नाही. Distress.
-
पाटील-कोपला; गांव-लोक; भीक थांबली. Village-rejection.
-
चवी-सांडली; divāṇa-court निवाडा. Court-charge.
-
भल्या-लोकांना मात; दुर्बळाचा घात. Charge-spread.
-
ह्यांचा-संग न-भला — विठ्ठला शोधीत जाऊं. Resolution.
आज: गांव-rejects, powerful-turn-against, भीक-थांबली — answer defend-appease नाही, sanga-सोडून-Viṭhṭhal-शोधीत-जा**.
Tukaram च-autobiographical-distress-and-Viṭhṭhal-search-register — Tukaram च्या own social-rejection-बद्दल autobiographically-read होणाऱ्या few-abhangs पैकी एक. Historical-context echo: Tukaram, non-brahmin saint, local-orthodoxy ने opposed आणि his bhakti-poetry inappropriate for caste च्या charges सामना केला. Cavī-sāṇḍilī (lost-taste) charge sharply-realistic — neighbors म्हणतात "he's gone-strange". 0673 anti-hypocrite-water-for-dāsī-not-saint (Tuka mudra, same fire) compare; तीच village-anti-hypocrite-tone पण इथे autobiography त turned-inward.
Where this applies
- No food, no place.* Distress.
- Pāṭīla angry.** Village-rejection.
- Cavī sāṇḍilī.** Court-charge.
- Ghāta against *durbaḷa.* Charge-spread.
- Śōdhīta Viṭhṭhalā jāūm.** Resolution.