Abhanga 737
Once you see the plain truth of a thing, the crude aids and imaginary fears you once needed simply fall away on their own.
The verse
ओनाम्याच्या काळें । खडें मांडविलें बाळें ॥१॥ तें चि पुढें पुढें काई । मग लागलिया सोई ॥ध्रु.॥ रज्जु सर्प होता । तोंवरी चि न कळतां ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे साचें । भय नाहीं बागुलाचें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Onāmā-kāḷa — khaḍē — bāḷa — set-out. That-itself — ahead-ahead — what? — once sōī got. Rajju — sarpa — was — until — not-known. Tuka says: sācē — no bhaya — bāgula.
मराठी: ओनाम्याच्या-काळी — बाळ खडे मांडवतो. तें-च पुढें-पुढें राहतं काय? — एकदा सोई लागलीवर?. रज्जू-सर्प होती — तोंवरी-च न-कळतां. Tuka म्हणे: साचें — बागुलाचं भय नाहीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ओनाम्याच्या काळें | "onāmā-kāḷa (alphabet-time)" |
| खडें मांडविलें बाळें | "khaḍē — set-out — bāḷa" |
| तें चि पुढें पुढें काई | "that — ahead-ahead — what?" |
| मग लागलिया सोई | "once — sōī — got" |
| रज्जु सर्प होता | "rajju — sarpa — was" |
| तोंवरी चि न कळतां | "until — not-known" |
| भय नाहीं बागुलाचें | "no bhaya — bāgula" |
What it means
A child-pebbles-for-letters-rajju-sarpa-only-till-not-known-no-fear-of-bagul abhang. Illusion-removed-no-fear register. Three claims:
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ओनाम्याच्या-काळी — बाळ-खडे-मांडवतो — तें पुढें-पुढें राहत-नाही — सोई लागलीवर. Learning-stages-not-permanent-claim. In theonāmā(the early-alphabet, the time of learning the first-letters); thebāḷa(child)māṇḍavilē(sets out, lays-out)khaḍē(pebbles) (to count/spell letters with); does that-itself remain ahead-and-ahead? — no, only untilsōī(the way, the knack) is got. Crude-learning-aid-discarded-once-skill-attained.
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रज्जु-सर्प-होती — न-कळतां-च तोंवरी. Rajju-sarpa-classical-claim. Therajju(rope) was asarpa(snake) — only until it wasn'tkaḷa(known) (as a rope). Rope-only-snake-until-recognized. (The classical rajju-sarpa image of Vedānta: the rope-mistaken-for-snake disappears when one recognizes-the-rope.)
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Tuka: साचें — बागुलाचं भय नाहीं. No-fear-of-bāgula-claim. Tuka says:sācē(truly); nobhayaof thebāgula(the child's-bogeyman, the imaginary-monster used to frighten children). Once-truth-seen-no-fear-of-imagined-monsters.
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram reminds us that a child learning letters uses pebbles to count and spell, but once the child masters reading, the pebbles are set aside, they were never the point, only a temporary help. In the same way, a rope lying in dim light can look like a snake, but the fear vanishes the instant you actually see it is only a rope. Once you know the truth of something, the imaginary monster that used to frighten you as a child loses all its power. This verse is about outgrowing the props and false fears that once felt necessary, simply by seeing clearly what was really there all along.
मराठी: तुकाराम आठवण करून देतात की अक्षरं शिकणारं मूल मोजण्यासाठी आणि शब्द जुळवण्यासाठी खडे वापरतं, पण एकदा वाचायला जमलं की ते खडे बाजूला पडतात, ते कधीच खरा उद्देश नव्हते, फक्त तात्पुरती मदत होती. त्याचप्रमाणे, अंधुक प्रकाशात पडलेली दोरी सापासारखी भासू शकते, पण ती फक्त दोरी आहे हे कळताच भीती नाहीशी होते. एखाद्या गोष्टीचं खरं स्वरूप कळल्यावर, लहानपणी घाबरवणाऱ्या बागुलबुवाचीही ताकद संपून जाते. ही ओवी म्हणजे, जे आधी गरजेचं वाटत होतं ते आधार आणि खोटी भीती, ती नुसतं स्पष्ट पाहून सोडून देण्याबद्दल आहे.
Where this applies
- Pebbles for letters. Stage.
- Rajju-sarpa. Classical-image.
- Nobāgula fear. Final.