संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 705 of 4582

Abhanga 705

This abhang names the vairāgya-discipline-honesty register:

When speech is easy but doing trembles — and you have to recognize this register
When vairāgya is not easy; eating-poison-morsel-by-morsel only the endurer is dhanya — and you accept this image
When the one who does-and-shows — his feet are in my jīva — and you receive this final acknowledgement

The verse

बोल बोलतां वाटे सोपें । करणी करितां टीर कांपे ॥१॥ नव्हे वैराग्य सोपारें । मज बोलतां न वटे खरें ॥ध्रु.॥ विष खावें ग्रासोग्रासीं । धन्य तो चि एक सोसी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे करूनि दावी । त्याचे पाय माझे जीवीं ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: Bōla bōlatāmvāṭē sōpēkaraṇī karitāmṭīra kāmpē. Vairāgya — not sōpārē — for me — bōlatām na vaṭē kharē. Viṣa khāvē grāsō-grāsīmdhanya — that-one — sōsī. Tuka says: karūni dāvī — his pāya — in my jīva.

मराठी: बोल बोलतां वाटे सोपं — करणी करितां टीर कांपे. वैराग्य सोपारें नाही — मज बोलतां खरं वाटत नाही. विष खावें ग्रासो-ग्रासीं — धन्य तो च एक सोसी. Tuka म्हणे: करूनि दावी — त्याचे पाय माझे जीवीं.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
बोल बोलतां वाटे सोपें "bōla bōlatāmvāṭē sōpē"
करणी करितां टीर कांपे "karaṇī karitāmṭīra kāmpē"
नव्हे वैराग्य सोपारें "vairāgya — not sōpārē"
मज बोलतां न वटे खरें "for me — bōlatām na vaṭē kharē"
विष खावें ग्रासोग्रासीं "viṣa khāvē grāsō-grāsīm"
धन्य तो चि एक सोसी "dhanya — that-one — sōsī"
करूनि दावी "karūni dāvī"
त्याचे पाय माझे जीवीं "his pāya — in my jīva"

What it means

A speech-easy-doing-trembles-vairāgya-not-easy-eating-poison-morsel-by-morsel-only-the-endurer-dhanya-his-feet-in-my-jīva abhang. Vairāgya-discipline-honesty register. Three claims:

  1. बोल-बोलतां सोपं — करणी-करितां टीर-कांपे. Speech-easy-doing-trembles-claim. When bōla bōlatām (speaking words), vāṭē sōpē (it feels easy); when karaṇī karitām (actually-doing the doing), ṭīra kāmpē (the ṭīra — the buttocks, the back — tremble). Speech-easy-but-the-back-trembles-when-doing. (A vivid bodily image: speaking is easy; doing makes the very-back-tremble.)

  2. वैराग्य सोपारं नव्हे — बोलतां खरं-न-वाटे — विष-grāsō-grāsīm — धन्य-तो-च-सोसी. Vairāgya-not-easy-eating-poison-claim. Vairāgya is not sōpārē (easy); for me, when speaking, it doesn't vaṭē kharē (fit / apply as true) — = I can't sincerely-say I have it; (it's like) eating viṣa (poison) grāsō-grāsīm (morsel-by-morsel); only that-one is dhanya (blessed) — who sōsī (endures, can-bear). Vairāgya-is-eating-poison-morsel-by-morsel; only-the-endurer-is-dhanya. (Striking image: vairāgya* is not refreshing; it's bitter-poison eaten daily, mouthful-by-mouthful.)

  3. Tuka: करूनि-दावी — त्याचे-पाय-माझे-जीवीं. His-feet-in-my-jīva-claim. Tuka says: the one who karūni dāvī (actually does and shows it)his pāya (feet) — in my *jīva. The-doer-and-shower's-feet-are-in-my-jīva. (The bhakta honors the karūni-dāvī — the one who actually-does-and-shows-it, not just-speaks; that one's-feet are placed in the bhakta's heart-life.)

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the vairāgya-discipline-honesty register:

  1. Speech is easy; doing makes the back tremble. Speech-vs-doing.

  2. Vairāgya is not easy; eating-poison-morsel-by-morsel; only the endurer is dhanya. Vairāgya-as-poison.

  3. The one who does-and-shows — his feet in my jīva. Doer-honored.

For today: speech is easy, doing makes the body-itself-tremble; Vairāgya is not refreshing — it's daily-poison eaten morsel-by-morsel; only the endurer is dhanya; the one who karūni-dāvī (does-and-shows) — his feet in my heart.

This abhang is Tukaram's vairāgya-not-easy-and-doer-honored registerone of the most-honest vairāgya-statements in the corpus. Compare 0586 kaṣama-harder-than-yoga (Tuka's mudra); same hard-discipline-recognition but here organized through speech-easy-doing-trembles-poison-morsel-by-morsel. The viṣa-grāsō-grāsīm (poison-morsel-by-morsel) image is one of Tukaram's most-vivid: vairāgya is not exalted-feeling but daily-bitter-toil*.

मराठी: ही ओवी vairāgya-discipline-honesty register नाव सांगते:

  1. बोल-सोपं; करणी-टीर-कांपे. Speech-vs-doing.

  2. वैराग्य सोपारं-नव्हे; विष-ग्रासो-ग्रासीं; धन्य-तो च सोसी. Vairāgya-as-poison.

  3. करूनि-दावी; त्याचे-पाय-माझे-जीवीं. Doer-honored.

आज: Speech-easy, doing-body-च-trembles; Vairāgya refreshing-नाही — daily-poison morsel-by-morsel खाणं; फक्त endurer dhanya; Karūni-dāvī करणारा — त्याचे feet माझ्या जीवीं.

Tukaram च-vairāgya-not-easy-and-doer-honored-registerMost-honest vairāgya-statements corpus-त पैकी एक. 0586 kaṣama-harder-than-yoga (Tuka mudra) compare; तीच hard-discipline-recognition पण इथे speech-easy-doing-trembles-poison-morsel-by-morsel. Viṣa-grāsō-grāsīm image Tukaram च्या most-vivid पैकी एक — vairāgya exalted-feeling नाही, daily-bitter-toil*.

Where this applies

Related verses