Abhanga 743
A teaching that sounds sweet but is hollow inside is fake, and it does more harm than good, setting people fighting like dogs over worthless bones.
The verse
वरि बोला रस । कथी ज्ञान माजी फोस ॥१॥ ऐसे लटिके जे ठक । तयां येहे ना पर लोक ॥ध्रु.॥ परिस एक सांगे । अंगा धुळी हे न लगे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे हाडें । कुतर्यां लाविलें झगडें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Vari bōla rasa — kathā — jñāna — māji — phōsa. Such — laṭikē — ṭhaka — for them — yēhē — neither — para-lōka. Parisa — only says (its quality) — anga — dust — doesn't stick. Tuka says: hāḍē — kutaryām — set — jhagaḍē.
मराठी: वरि — बोला रस — कथीं — ज्ञान — माजीं फोस. असे लटिके जे ठक — त्यांना यहो ना पर लोक. परिस एक सांगे — अंगाला धुळी न लगे. Tuka म्हणे: हाडें — कुत्र्यांना झगडें लाविलें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वरि बोला रस | "above — bōla — rasa" |
| कथी ज्ञान माजी फोस | "kathā — jñāna — māji — phōsa" |
| ऐसे लटिके जे ठक | "such — laṭikē — ṭhaka" |
| तयां येहे ना पर लोक | "for them — yēhē — neither — para-lōka" |
| परिस एक सांगे | "parisa — only — says (its quality)" |
| अंगा धुळी हे न लगे | "anga — dust — doesn't stick" |
| हाडें कुतर्यां लाविलें झगडें | "hāḍē — kutaryām — set — jhagaḍē" |
What it means
A upper-rasa-talk-but-jñāna-hollow-fakes-no-this-no-other-world-philosopher-stone-bones-dogs-fight abhang. Anti-fake-jñānī register. Three claims:
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वरि-बोला-रस — कथीं-ज्ञान-माजीं-फोस — लटिके-ठक — येहे-ना-पर-लोक. Upper-words-rasa-but-hollow-jñāna-fakes-no-world-claim. On the surface (vari), thebōla(spoken-words) haverasa (sweetness, juicy-flavour);but in the kathā (their preaching, their sermon), the jñāna is māji phōsa (in-the-middle hollow, empty-inside);such laṭikē-ṭhaka (false fakes, dishonest cheats);for them, neither this yēhē (this world) nor the para-lōka (other-world).Surface-rasa-with-hollow-jñāna-fakes-have-neither-world.
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परिस-एक-सांगे — अंगा-धुळी-न-लगे. Philosopher-stone-no-dust-sticks-claim. Theparisa(philosopher's-stone, the touchstone-that-turns-iron-to-gold) says only (this) one thing; dust doesn't stick to itsanga. Parisa-keeps-itself-clean-of-dust. (The implication: the genuine touchstone (the genuine sant) keeps-itself-clean-of-dust — doesn't get-mixed with the false. The fakes don't have this quality.)
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Tuka: हाडें — कुत्र्यांना झगडें लाविलें. Bones-dogs-fight-claim. Tuka says:hāḍē(bones); setkutaryām(dogs) to ajhagaḍē(fight). Bones-thrown-make-dogs-fight. (Reading: the fake-jñānī's empty-jñāna is like bones-thrown-to-dogs — sets the listeners to fight-among-themselves over (worthless) jñāna-bones, instead of feeding-them.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram warns that some preachers' words sound sweet on the surface, but their so-called wisdom is hollow underneath — such frauds gain neither this world nor the next. He contrasts this with the philosopher's stone, which stays true to its own single nature and never lets dust cling to it. He says fake wisdom is like throwing bones to dogs: it doesn't feed anyone, it just sets people fighting each other over scraps.
मराठी: तुकाराम इशारा देतात की काही उपदेशकांचे शब्द वरवर गोड वाटतात, पण त्यांचे तथाकथित ज्ञान आतून पोकळ असते — असे ढोंगी लोक ना इहलोक मिळवतात ना परलोक. याउलट परीस आपल्या एकाच खऱ्या गुणाशी प्रामाणिक राहतो, त्याच्या अंगाला कधीही धूळ चिकटत नाही. खोटे ज्ञान म्हणजे कुत्र्यांपुढे हाडे टाकण्यासारखे आहे — त्यातून कोणाचेही पोट भरत नाही, फक्त लोक त्या उष्ट्या हाडांसाठी एकमेकांशी झगडू लागतात, असे ते म्हणतात.
Where this applies
- Surface-rasa, hollow-jñāna. Diagnostic.
- Parisa — no dust. Genuine.
- Bones-dogs-fight. Critique.