Abhanga 775
Do not bring overwhelming force against someone who is already weak or harmless; real strength restrains itself instead of piling on.
The verse
वाखर घेउनि आलें । त्यासी तरवारेणें हालें ॥१॥ नव्हे आपुलें उचित । करुनि टाकावें फजित ॥ध्रु.॥ अंगुळिया मोडी । त्यासी काय सिलें घोडीं ॥२॥ नपुंसकासाठीं । तुका म्हणे न लगे जेठी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Vākhara — came-with — to-him — taravāra — hālē. No — our — ucita — make — phajita. Anguḷiyā — breaker — to him — what — silē ghōḍī. Napumsaka — Tuka says: no need — jēṭhī.
मराठी: वाखर घेऊन आला — त्यासी तरवारेणें हालें. नव्हे आपुलें उचित — करुनि टाकावें फजित. अंगुळिया मोडी — त्यासी काय सिलें-घोडी?. नपुंसकासाठी — Tuka म्हणे: न लगे जेठी.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वाखर घेउनि आलें | "vākhara — came-with" |
| त्यासी तरवारेणें हालें | "to-him — taravāra — hālē" |
| नव्हे आपुलें उचित | "no — our — ucita" |
| करुनि टाकावें फजित | "make — phajita" |
| अंगुळिया मोडी | "anguḷiyā — breaker" |
| त्यासी काय सिलें घोडीं | "to him — what — silē ghōḍī" |
| नपुंसकासाठीं | "napumsaka" |
| न लगे जेठी | "no need — jēṭhī" |
What it means
A merchant-attacked-with-sword-not-right-to-mock-finger-breaker-no-horse-no-wrestler-for-impotent abhang. Anti-show-of-strength register. Three claims:
-
Vākhara-घेऊन-आला — त्यासी-तरवार-हालें — नव्हे-आपुलें-ucita — phajita-करावें. Merchant-attacked-with-sword-claim. A merchant came carryingvākhara(goods, merchandise — to trade); to him, theyhālē(moved, struck, lifted) with thetaravāra(sword); it isnot our ucita (right thing); to make himphajita(mocked, exposed, humiliated). Don't-attack-a-merchant-with-sword; not-our-right-to-mock.
-
अंगुळिया-मोडी — त्यासी-काय-silē-ghōḍī. Finger-breaker-no-horses-needed-claim. (One who) breaksanguḷiyā(fingers — i.e., one already weak, or one who breaks one's-own-fingers in distress); what (need is there) ofsilē ghōḍī (the horses-for-the-army) for him?.Finger-breaker-doesn't-need-horses-for-army.
-
Tuka: नपुंसकासाठी — न लगे जेठी. No-wrestler-for-impotent-claim. Tuka says: for anapumsaka (impotent man, a weak-one)—no jēṭhī (wrestler) is needed.No-wrestler-for-impotent.
The general-thrust: don't-bring-disproportionate-force; matching-strength-to-weakness is wrong. The bhakta is criticizing those who attack-the-weak with-disproportionate-strength — bringing-sword-against-merchant, horses-against-finger-breaker, wrestler-against-impotent.
[T]
For someone today
Using three sharp images, Tukaram condemns bringing overwhelming force against someone who is already weak or harmless. A merchant just going about his trade should not be met with a sword, and it is not right to humiliate him for it. Someone who is already broken, like a person breaking their own fingers in distress, does not need an army of horses sent after them. And a weak, powerless man does not need a wrestler to defeat him. The point is proportion: real strength shows itself in restraint toward the weak, not in piling force on people who cannot fight back.
मराठी: तुकाराम तीन थेट उदाहरणांतून एका गोष्टीवर बोट ठेवतात — जो आधीच दुर्बल किंवा निरुपद्रवी आहे, त्याच्यावर जबरदस्त शक्तीचा वापर करणं चुकीचं आहे. आपला व्यापार करणाऱ्या साध्या व्यापाऱ्यावर तलवार उगारणं आणि त्याला अपमानित करणं योग्य नाही. जो माणूस आधीच तुटलेला आहे, जसं दुःखात स्वतःची बोटं मोडणारा माणूस, त्याच्यावर सैन्याचे घोडे पाठवण्याची गरज नाही. आणि दुर्बल, शक्तिहीन माणसाला हरवण्यासाठी मल्लाची गरज नसते. यातून एकच शिकवण मिळते — खरं सामर्थ्य दुर्बलांसमोर ताकद दाखवण्यात नसून संयम राखण्यात असतं.
Where this applies
- No sword to merchant. Disproportion.
- No horses to finger-breaker. Disproportion.
- No wrestler to impotent. Disproportion.