Abhanga 685
True kinship is defined by who actually helps you, not by physical or blood closeness, since even your own body can produce the disease that harms you while distant medicine heals you.
The verse
पोटीं जन्मती रोग । तरि कां म्हणावे आप्तवर्ग ॥१॥ रानीं वसती औषधी । तरि कां म्हणाव्या निपराधी ॥२॥ तैसें शरीराचें नातें । तुका म्हणे सर्व आप्तें ॥३॥
Literal translation
In the pōṭa — rōga are born — then why call (the body / the family) the āpta-varga? In the rāṇa — auṣadhī reside — then why call them nipa-rādhī? Such is the body's relation — Tuka says: all are āpta.
मराठी: पोटीं रोग जन्मतात — मग आप्त-वर्ग का म्हणावा?. रानीं औषधी राहतात — मग निप-राधी (अ-संबंधी) का म्हणाव्या?. अशी शरीराची नातीं — Tuka म्हणे: सर्व आप्तीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पोटीं जन्मती रोग | "in pōṭa — rōga born" |
| तरि कां म्हणावे आप्तवर्ग | "then why — āpta-varga call" |
| रानीं वसती औषधी | "in rāṇa — auṣadhī reside" |
| तरि कां म्हणाव्या निपराधी | "then why — nipa-rādhī (un-related) call" |
| तैसें शरीराचें नातें | "such — śarīra-nātē (body-relation)" |
| तुका म्हणे सर्व आप्तें | "Tuka — all — āpta" |
What it means
A pōṭīm-rōga-vs-vana-auṣadhī-body-relation-not-real-aapta-redefinition abhang. Body-relations-aphorism register. Three claims (in just six lines):
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पोटीं रोग जन्मतात — आप्त-वर्ग का म्हणावा? Pōṭa-disease-paradox. In thepōṭa(the belly itself, the body's-very-inside) — diseases are born; then why call (the body, or those-near-the-body, the family) theāpta-varga(the kin-circle, the close-relation)?. Body-or-family-which-yields-disease-isn't-really-aapta. (The body itself, which is closer-than-anyone, generates the very rōga that harms; same for the family — being-near-by-body doesn't make-it-helpful.)
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रानीं औषधी — निप-राधी का म्हणाव्या? Rāṇa-medicine-paradox. In therāṇa(forest, far-place) —auṣadhī(medicines) reside; then why call themnipa-rādhī(=nirupa-rādhī— without-relation, un-related)?. Forest-medicine-which-helps-you-isn't-really-un-related. (The medicine in the forest, far-from-the-body, is what saves the body from the disease born-in-the-pōṭa.)
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Tuka: तसा शरीर-नातं — सर्व आप्तं. All-helpful-are-aapta-claim. Such is the body's relation; Tuka says: all (= all helpful-things, regardless of body-proximity) areāpta(kin). Body-relation-redefined: not-by-physical-nearness-but-by-helpfulness. (The redefinition: āpta should be defined by what-helps-the-jīva, not by what's-near-by-body; thus the medicine-in-the-forest is more-aapta than the body-disease.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram points out something strange, disease is born right inside your own belly, the part of you that should feel closest and most trustworthy, so why do we call the body and its kin our true intimates when they can produce the very sickness that harms us? Meanwhile, medicine grows far away in the forest, seemingly unrelated and distant, yet it is the thing that actually heals us. So Tuka concludes that closeness of blood or body isn't what makes someone truly kin. What truly makes someone your own is whether they help you, no matter how near or far they seem. All who genuinely help you are your real family.
मराठी: तुकाराम एक विचित्र गोष्ट सांगतात, रोग जन्म घेतो आपल्याच पोटात, जो भाग सगळ्यात जवळचा आणि विश्वासाचा वाटतो, मग शरीर आणि त्याच्याशी संबंधित नात्यांना आपण खरे आप्त का म्हणावं, जेव्हा तेच आपल्याला दुखावणारा रोग निर्माण करतात? दुसरीकडे, औषध उगवतं दूर रानात, दिसायला परकं आणि असंबंधित, तरी तेच खरं बरं करतं. म्हणून तुका म्हणतात, रक्ताचं किंवा शरीराचं जवळपण म्हणजे खरं नातं नव्हे. जो खरोखर मदत करतो, मग तो जवळचा असो वा दूरचा, तोच खरा आपला आहे. जे खऱ्या अर्थाने मदत करतात तेच खरे आप्त.
Where this applies
- Pōṭīm rōga. Body-disease-paradox.
- Vana-auṣadhī. Forest-medicine-paradox.
- Sarva āptē. Redefinition-by-helpfulness.