Abhanga 718
Even if you cannot fast, renounce comfort, or recite scripture properly, you can still honestly plead for God's compassion, since life itself is brief and a mystery anyway.
The verse
न संडवे अन्न । मज न सेववे वन ॥१॥ म्हणउनी नारायणा । कींव भाकितों करुणा ॥ध्रु.॥ नाहीं अधिकार । कांहीं घोकाया अक्षर ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे थोडें । आयुष्य अवघें चि कोडें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Na saṇḍavē — anna — I can't sēvavē — vana. Therefore, Nārāyaṇa — kīmva-bhākitōm karuṇā. No adhikāra — to ghōkāyā (recite) — even akṣara. Tuka says: thōḍē — āyuṣya — entirely — kōḍa.
मराठी: अन्न संडवत नाही — मला वन सेवता येत नाही. म्हणून, Nārāyaṇa — कींव भाकितों करुणा. अधिकार नाही — अक्षर सुद्धा घोकायला. Tuka म्हणे: थोडं — आयुष्य — सर्व-च कोडं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| न संडवे अन्न | "na saṇḍavē — anna" |
| मज न सेववे वन | "I — can't sēvavē — vana" |
| म्हणउनी नारायणा | "therefore — Nārāyaṇa" |
| कींव भाकितों करुणा | "kīmva-bhākitōm karuṇā" |
| नाहीं अधिकार | "no — adhikāra" |
| कांहीं घोकाया अक्षर | "ghōkāyā akṣara" |
| थोडें आयुष्य | "little — āyuṣya" |
| अवघें चि कोडें | "entirely — kōḍa" |
What it means
A can't-give-up-anna-can't-take-vana-no-adhikāra-to-recite-life-is-kōḍa abhang. Honest-old-bhakta-confession register. Three claims:
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अन्न-न-संडवे — वन-न-सेववे — कींव भाकितों करुणा. Can't-fast-can't-take-to-forest-claim. I can'tsaṇḍavē(give up)anna(food, eating); I can'tsēvavē(take to / serve) thevana(forest, wilderness for asceticism); therefore, Nārāyaṇa,kīmva bhākitōm karuṇā(I beg compassion plaintively). Neither-fast-nor-forest-only-petition. (The bhakta confesses: I can't do the standard ascetic-program — eating-renunciation, forest-dwelling.)
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नाहीं अधिकार — अक्षर घोकायला. No-adhikāra-to-recite-claim. Noadhikāra(right, qualification) — toghōkāyā(recite, intone) even anakṣara(syllable, letter — Vedic-syllable, mantra). Even-recitation-is-beyond-my-adhikāra.
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Tuka: थोडं आयुष्य — अवघं कोडं. Life-is-little-and-riddle-claim. Tuka says:thōḍē(little) —āyuṣya(life) — entirely akōḍa (riddle, mystery, enigma).Life-is-little-and-completely-a-riddle.
[T]
For someone today
You don't have to be capable of extreme religious discipline to reach out to God. This verse is an honest confession: I can't give up eating, I can't go live as a hermit in the forest, I don't even have the standing to properly recite sacred verses. All Tukaram says he can do is plead for compassion. And in the end he admits that life is short and entirely a mystery anyway, so there's no shame in asking for grace instead of performing perfection.
मराठी: देवाशी जोडलं जाण्यासाठी कठोर तपश्चर्या करता यायलाच हवी असं नाही. ही ओवी एक प्रामाणिक कबुली आहे — मला अन्नत्याग जमत नाही, मला वनवासाला जाता येत नाही, मला अक्षरही नीट घोकायचा अधिकार नाही. तुकाराम म्हणतात, एवढंच करता येतं की करुणेची याचना करावी. आणि शेवटी हेही मान्य करतात की आयुष्य तसंही थोडं आणि पूर्णपणे एक कोडं आहे, त्यामुळे परिपूर्णता दाखवण्याऐवजी कृपा मागण्यात काही लाज नाही.
Where this applies
- Can't fast. Old-householder.
- Can't recite. Limit.
- Life —kōḍa. Riddle.