Abhanga 693
This abhang names the praise-impossibility register:
The verse
स्तुति करूं तरी नव्हे चि या वेदा । तेथें माझा धंदा कोणीकडे ॥१॥ परी हे वैखरी गोडावली सुखें । रसना रस मुखें इच्छीतसे ॥ध्रु.॥ रूप वर्णावया कोठें पुरे मती । रोमीं होती जाती ब्रम्हांडें हीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तूं ऐसा एक साचा । ऐसी तंव वाचा जाली नाहीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Stuti — even Veda cannot — where is my dhandā? Yet — vaikharī sweetens with sukha — rasanā desires rasa with the mouth. Rūpa describe — where does mati suffice? — in rōma, Brahmāṇḍas come-and-go. Tuka says: You are aisā ēka sācā — (yet) such vāca has not been.
मराठी: स्तुति करायला तरी वेदाला सुद्धा झालं नाही — तेथें माझा धंदा कोणीकडे?. पण ही वैखरी सुखाने गोडावली — रसना रस मुखाने इच्छीते. रूप वर्णायला मती कोठें पुरे? — रोमीं ब्रह्मांडें होती-जाती. Tuka म्हणे: तूं असा एक साचा — अशी वाचा झाली नाही.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| स्तुति करूं तरी नव्हे चि या वेदा | "stuti — even Veda cannot" |
| तेथें माझा धंदा कोणीकडे | "where — my dhandā (business) — who?" |
| परी हे वैखरी गोडावली सुखें | "yet — vaikharī — sweetens with sukha" |
| रसना रस मुखें इच्छीतसे | "rasanā — rasa — with mouth — desires" |
| रूप वर्णावया कोठें पुरे मती | "rūpa — describe — mati suffices?" |
| रोमीं होती जाती ब्रम्हांडें हीं | "in rōma — Brahmāṇḍas — come-and-go" |
| तूं ऐसा एक साचा | "You — aisā ēka sācā" |
| ऐसी तंव वाचा जाली नाहीं | "such — vāca — has not been" |
What it means
A Veda-can't-stūti-vaikharī-sweetens-rōma-cosmoses-no-vāca-equal abhang. Praise-impossibility register. Three claims:
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Veda-स्तुति-करूं नव्हे — माझा-धंदा-कोणी-कडे — परी-वैखरी-सुखाने-गोडावली — रसना-इच्छिते. Veda-can't-and-yet-vaikharī-sweetens-claim. To do stuti — even the Veda cannot; where is my dhandā (business / capacity)?; yet — this vaikharī (gross-speech, my speech) sweetens with sukha; the rasanā (tongue) desires rasa with the mouth. Veda-can't-but-vaikharī-still-loves-to. (The yet: even though the Veda can't fully-praise, my vaikharī still happily-tries — out of bhakti, not capacity.)
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रूप-वर्णावया-मती-कोठें-पुरे — रोमीं-ब्रह्मांडें-होती-जाती. Rōma-cosmoses-claim. To describe Your rūpa — where does mati (intellect) suffice?; in (Your) very rōma (hair-pore) — Brahmāṇḍas (cosmic-eggs / cosmoses) come-and-go. Cosmoses-come-and-go-in-the-hair-pore; mati-can't-describe. (One of the boldest cosmic-images: in just one pore of His hair, whole-cosmoses come-and-go.)
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Tuka: तूं असा एक साचा — अशी वाचा झाली नाही. Closing-One-real-no-vāca-equal-claim. Tuka says: You are aisā ēka sācā (such — One — real, the One genuine-thing); (but) such vāca has not been (= no speech equal to describing You has yet happened). You-are-One-real; no-vāca-equals-You*.
[T]
For someone today
This abhang names the praise-impossibility register:
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Veda can't fully praise You; where is my business? — yet vaikharī still sweetens with bhakti. Veda-can't-but-vaikharī-tries.
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In Your rōma, cosmoses come and go. Rōma-cosmoses.
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You are One-real; no vāca has been equal to You. No-vāca-equal.
For today: the bhakta acknowledges the impossibility — even Vedas can't praise, mati can't describe, and in just-one-pore-of-Your-hair cosmoses come-and-go; yet the vaikharī sweetens itself with the trying; You are One-real; no vāca has been equal to You.
This abhang is Tukaram's praise-impossibility-and-yet-vaikharī-tries register — one of the most-precise praise-impossibility statements. Compare 0691 cosmological-vastness (Tuka's mudra); same vastness but here organized around the vaikharī's-still-trying-out-of-bhakti nuance. The rōmī-hōtī-jātī Brahmāṇḍē (cosmoses come-and-go in the hair-pore) is one of the boldest cosmic-images.
मराठी: ही ओवी praise-impossibility register नाव सांगते:
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Veda स्तुति न करूं शकत — माझा-धंदा कोणी-कडे — पण vaikharī sweetens. Veda-can't-but-vaikharī-tries.
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रोमीं ब्रह्मांडें होती-जाती. Rōma-cosmoses.
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तूं एक-साचा; अशी वाचा झाली नाही. No-vāca-equal.
आज: Bhakta impossibility acknowledge — Veda सुद्धा praise-न करे, mati describe-न करे, just-one-hair-pore-त-cosmoses-होती-जाती; पण vaikharī trying-ने sweetens; तूं One-real; No-vāca-equals-You.
Tukaram च-praise-impossibility-and-yet-vaikharī-tries-register — Most-precise praise-impossibility statements पैकी एक. 0691 cosmological-vastness (Tuka mudra) compare; तीच vastness पण इथे vaikharī's-still-trying-out-of-bhakti nuance. Rōmī-hōtī-jātī Brahmāṇḍē boldest cosmic-images पैकी एक.
Where this applies
- Veda-can't-praise.* Limit.
- Vaikharī still sweetens.** Bhakti-tries.
- Rōma-cosmoses.** Cosmic-image.
- No vāca equal.* Stamp.