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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 743 of 4582

Abhanga 743

This abhang names the anti-fake-jñānī register:

When upper-words have rasa but the kathā's jñāna is hollow — and you have to recognize this register
When for fakes, neither this world nor the other — and you accept this image
When bones thrown to dogs make them fight — and you receive this final image

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

English: 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:

  1. 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), the bōla (spoken-words) have rasa (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*.

  2. परिस-एक-सांगे — अंगा-धुळी-न-लगे. Philosopher-stone-no-dust-sticks-claim. The parisa (philosopher's-stone, the touchstone-that-turns-iron-to-gold) says only (this) one thing; dust doesn't stick to its anga. 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.)

  3. Tuka: हाडें — कुत्र्यांना झगडें लाविलें. Bones-dogs-fight-claim. Tuka says: hāḍē (bones); set kutaryām (dogs) to a jhagaḍē (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

This abhang names the anti-fake-jñānī register:

  1. Surface-rasa with hollow-jñāna; fakes get neither this world nor the other. Surface-but-hollow.

  2. The philosopher-stone says one — dust doesn't stick. Parisa-image.

  3. Bones thrown make dogs fight. Bones-and-dogs.

For today: fake-jñānīs have rasa on the surface but jñāna hollow-in-the-middle; they get neither yēhē nor para-lōka; the genuine parisa keeps-itself-clean-of-dust; throwing bones to dogs makes them fight — fake-jñāna sets bhaktas at-each-other's-throats.

This abhang is Tukaram's anti-fake-jñānī-and-bones-dogs-fight register — one of the sharpest anti-hypocrite-jñānī polemics. Compare 0673 anti-hypocrite-water-for-dāsī (Tuka's mudra); same anti-hypocrite-polemic but here directed-at-fake-jñānīs rather than ordinary-hypocrites. The hāḍē-kutaryām-jhagaḍē (bones-set-dogs-to-fight) is one of Tukaram's most-vivid critiques of fake-philosophical-talk.

मराठी: ही ओवी anti-fake-jñānī register नाव सांगते:

  1. वरि-rasa, कथीं-jñāna-phōsa; लटिके-ठक — येहे-ना-पर-लोक. Surface-but-hollow.

  2. परिस-एक — धुळी-न-लगे. Parisa-image.

  3. हाडें-कुत्र्यांना-झगडें. Bones-and-dogs.

आज: Fake-jñānī-ला surface-rasa पण jñāna middle-त-hollow; त्यांना yēhē नाही, para-lōka नाही; Genuine parisa dust-clean; Bones dogs-throw — dogs fight — fake-jñāna bhaktas-at-each-other's-throats.

Tukaram च-anti-fake-jñānī-and-bones-dogs-fight-register — Sharpest anti-hypocrite-jñānī polemics पैकी एक. 0673 anti-hypocrite-water-for-dāsī (Tuka mudra) compare; तीच anti-hypocrite-polemic पण इथे fake-jñānīs वर directed, ordinary-hypocrites-नाही. Hāḍē-kutaryām-jhagaḍē Tukaram च्या most-vivid critiques of fake-philosophical-talk पैकी एक.

Where this applies

Bhakti fakes-no-this-no-other-world bones-set-dogs-to-fight

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