संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 703 of 4582

Abhanga 703

English: What will darā vana do — so long as no samādhāna?

When cave and forest are useless without samādhāna — and you have to recognize this register
When bhasma and ash are useless without inner-pakṣa — and you accept this image
When only the dissolution of āśā is hita — and you receive this final criterion

The verse

काय दरा करील वन । समाधान नाहीं जंव ॥१॥ तरी काय तेथें असती थोडीं । काय जोडी तयांसी ॥ध्रु.॥ रिगतां धांवा पेंवामध्यें । जोडे सिद्धी ते ठायीं ॥२॥ काय भस्म करील राख । अंतर पाख नाहीं तों ॥३॥ वर्णाआश्रमाचे धर्म । जाती श्रम जालिया ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे सोंग पाश । निरसे आस तें हित ॥५॥

Literal translation

English: What will darā vana do — so long as no samādhāna? Then there are many already there — what jōḍa for them? Entering, run into the pēmvā — siddhi gained there (?). What will bhasma-rākha do — so long as no antara-pakha? Varṇa-āśrama dharma — they go when śrama comes. Tuka says: sōnga-pāśa — āśā dissolves — that is hita.

मराठी: दरा-वन काय करील — समाधान नसतां?. तेथें थोडे आहेत? — त्यांना काय जोडी?. रिगतां — पेंव्यात धांवा — सिद्धी तेथें जोडे?. भस्म-राख काय करील — अंतर-पक्ष नसतां?. वर्णाश्रम-धर्म — श्रम झाला तरी जातात. Tuka म्हणे: सोंग-पाश — आशा निरसली ती च हित.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
काय दरा करील वन "what — darā vana (cave-forest)"
समाधान नाहीं जंव "samādhāna — none — so long as"
तेथें असती थोडीं "(many) — there — already"
काय जोडी तयांसी "what — jōḍa (gain) — for them"
रिगतां धांवा पेंवामध्यें "entering — pēmvā (pit) — run"
जोडे सिद्धी ते ठायीं "siddhi — gained — there"
काय भस्म करील राख "what — bhasma-rākha"
अंतर पाख नाहीं तों "antara-pakha — none — so long as"
वर्णाआश्रमाचे धर्म "varṇa-āśrama — dharma"
जाती श्रम जालिया "go — śrama — comes"
सोंग पाश "sōnga-pāśa"
निरसे आस तें हित "āśā — nirasē — hita"

What it means

A cave-forest-without-samādhāna-bhasma-without-pakṣa-niraseanāst-of-āśā-is-hita abhang. Anti-form-religion register. Five claims:

  1. दरा-वन-काय? — समाधान-नसतां — थोडे-नाही-तेथें — काय-जोडी? Cave-forest-useless-claim. What will the darā vana (cave-and-forest) do — so long as no samādhāna (peace, settlement)?; (many people) are already there in the forest — what is jōḍa (gained) for them?. Cave-forest-doesn't-give-without-internal-samādhāna; many-already-there-and-have-gained-nothing.

  2. रिगतां-पेंव्यात-धांव — सिद्धी-तेथें? Pēmvā-pit-not-real-siddhi-claim. (Some) entering, run into the pēmvā (a hidden-grain-pit, a pit-trap) — (they think they have) gained siddhi there. (Implied: the pēmvā is just a pit; siddhi-claimed-there is delusion.) Hidden-pit-isn't-real-siddhi*.

  3. भस्म-राख-काय? — अंतर-पक्ष नसतां. Bhasma-rākha-without-pakṣa-useless-claim. What will the bhasma and rākha (ash, cinder — the marks of asceticism, the smear on the body) do? — so long as there's no antara-pakha (the inner-side / inner-pakṣa, internal-stance). External-ash-without-internal-side-is-useless*.

  4. वर्णाश्रम-धर्म — श्रम-झालं तरी जातात. Varṇāśrama-fades-when-śrama-comes-claim. Varṇa-āśrama dharma — jātī (they go, they fade) when (true) śrama (effort, true-disciplined-toil) comes. Varṇāśrama-dharma-fades-in-the-presence-of-true-śrama. (When real spiritual-toil comes, the varṇa-āśrama observances are no-longer-the-criterion.)

  5. Tuka: सोंग-पाश — आशा-निरसली ती च हित. Sōnga-pāśa-niraseanāst-of-āśā-is-hita-claim. Tuka says: the sōnga-pāśa (the disguise-noose, the costume-trap) — when the āśā (longing, expectation) dissolves (nirasē), that-is *hita (the good, the welfare). Only-niraseanāst-of-āśā-is-hita; the rest (cave, ash, varṇāśrama, sōnga) is disguise-and-trap. (The sōnga-pāśa is the trap of putting-on-the-form-without-the-content.)*

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the anti-form-religion-only-niraseanāst-of-āśā-is-hita register:

  1. Cave-forest is useless without samādhāna; many already there have gained nothing. Cave-useless.

  2. Running into the hidden-pit isn't real siddhi. Pēmvā-fake-siddhi.

  3. Bhasma-rākha is useless without inner-pakṣa. Ash-useless-without-inside.

  4. Varṇa-āśrama-dharma fades when true śrama comes. Varṇāśrama-fades.

  5. Sōnga-pāśa — only the dissolution of āśā is hita. Niraseanāst-of-āśā-is-hita.

For today: cave-forest-asceticism, hidden-pit-claims-of-siddhi, bhasma-marks, varṇa-āśrama observances — all are sōnga-pāśa (disguise-noose) without inner content; only the nirasanā (dissolution) of āśā (longing) is hita (the welfare).

This abhang is Tukaram's anti-form-religion-only-niraseanāst-of-āśā-is-hita register — one of the sharpest anti-formal-bhakti claims. Compare 0700 don't-search-Veda-come-to-gauḷī; same anti-formal-bhakti but here organized as a list of failed-forms (cave, pit, bhasma, varṇāśrama) and a single criterion (āśā-dissolved). The sōnga-pāśa image — costume-as-trap — is one of Tukaram's sharpest images of false-religiosity.

मराठी: ही ओवी anti-form-religion-only-niraseanāst-of-āśā-is-hita register नाव सांगते:

  1. Samādhāna-नसतां, दरा-वन-useless. Cave-useless.

  2. पेंव्यात-धांव, fake-siddhi. Pēmvā-fake.

  3. Antara-pakha-नसतां, bhasma-rākha-useless. Ash-useless.

  4. Śrama-झालं तर वर्णाश्रम-धर्म जातात. Varṇāśrama-fades.

  5. सोंग-पाश; आशा-निरसली-ती च हित. Niraseanāst-of-āśā-is-hita.

आज: Cave-forest-asceticism, hidden-pit-siddhi-claims, bhasma-marks, varṇa-āśrama observances — सर्व sōnga-pāśa without-inner-content; फक्त āśā-च्या nirasanā (dissolution) hita (welfare).

Tukaram च-anti-form-religion-only-niraseanāst-of-āśā-is-hita-register — Sharpest anti-formal-bhakti claims पैकी एक. 0700 don't-search-Veda-come-to-gauḷī compare; तीच anti-formal-bhakti पण इथे failed-forms (cave, pit, bhasma, varṇāśrama) च्या list-ने आणि single criterion (āśā-dissolved) च्या मार्गाने organized. Sōnga-pāśa image — costume-as-trap — Tukaram च्या sharpest images of false-religiosity पैकी एक.

Where this applies

Name Bhakti

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