संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 791 of 4582

Abhanga 791

English: Hari-Hara — abandoning — bhāva on kṣullaka.

When abandoning Hari-Hara, they hold petty-deities — and you have to recognize this register
When cowries-paraḍī-knot-at-neck like dogs — and you accept this image
When worship the fierce-bellied with elephant-trunk; without Viṣṇu-Śiva, false-bhajan — and you receive this final verdict

The verse

हरिहर सांडूनि देव । धरिती भाव क्षुल्लकीं ॥१॥ ऐका त्यांची विटंबणा । देवपणा भक्तांची ॥ध्रु.॥ अंगीं कवडे घाली गळां । परडी कळाहीन हातीं ॥२॥ गळां गांठा हिंडें दारीं । मनुष्य परी कुतरीं तीं ॥३॥ माथां सेंदुर दांत खाती । जेंगट हातीं सटवीचें ॥४॥ पूजिती विकट दौंद । पशु सोंड गजाची ॥५॥ ऐशा छंदें चुकलीं वाटा । भाव खोटा भजन ॥६॥ तुका म्हणे विष्णुशिवा । वांचुनि देवा भजती ती ॥७॥

Literal translation

English: Hari-Hara — abandoning — bhāva on kṣullaka. Listen — their viṭambaṇā — bhakta-devapaṇā. Kavaḍē on neck — paraḍīkaḷā-hīna in hand. Knot at neck, wandering doors — humans yet kutarī. Sēndura on head, biting teeth — jengaṭa of Saṭvī. Worship — vikaṭa-dauṇḍapaśu-sōṇḍa of Gaja. By such chanda — missed-path — bhāva khōṭa bhajana. Tuka says: without Viṣṇu-Śiva — they bhajan deva.

मराठी: Hari-Hara सांडूनि देव — कशल्लकांत भाव धरिती. ऐका त्यांची विटंबणा — देवपणा भक्तांची. अंगीं कवडे, गळां — हातीं कळा-हीन परडी. गळ्यांत गाठा, दारीं हिंडे — माणूस-परि कुतरीं. माथीं सेंदुर, दांत खाती — हातीं सटवीचा जेंगट. पूजिती विकट-दौंद — पशू-सोंड गजाची. अशा-छंदें वाट चुकली — भाव खोटा, भजन. Tuka म्हणे: विष्णु-शिवा-वांचुनि — देवा भजती ती.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
हरिहर सांडूनि देव "Hari-Hara — abandoning — deva"
धरिती भाव क्षुल्लकीं "bhāvakṣullaka"
विटंबणा देवपणा भक्तांची "viṭambaṇādevapaṇā-bhakta"
अंगीं कवडे घाली गळां "kavaḍē (cowries) — gaḷā"
परडी कळाहीन हातीं "paraḍīkaḷā-hīna"
गळां गांठा हिंडें दारीं "gaḷāgānṭha — wanders-doors"
मनुष्य परी कुतरीं तीं "human — but — kutarī"
माथां सेंदुर दांत खाती "sēndura — biting teeth"
जेंगट हातीं सटवीचें "jengaṭaSaṭvī"
पूजिती विकट दौंद "worship — vikaṭa-dauṇḍa"
पशु सोंड गजाची "paśu-sōṇḍa — Gaja"
बीज खोटा भजन "bhāvakhōṭabhajana"
विष्णुशिवा वांचुनि देवा "Viṣṇu-Śiva — without — deva"

What it means

A abandoning-Hari-Hara-petty-deities-cowries-paraḍī-knot-neck-dogs-sēndura-jengaṭ-Saṭvī-Gaṇeśa-trunk-false-bhāva-without-Viṣṇu-Śiva abhang. Anti-village-deity-polemic register. Seven claims:

  1. Hari-Hara-सांडून — kṣullaka-वर-bhāva — देवपणा-भक्तांची-विटंबणा. Abandoning-Hari-Hara-petty-deities-claim. Abandoning Hari-Hara (the major-deities Viṣṇu-Śiva); they hold bhāva on kṣullaka (petty / minor / village) deities; their devapaṇā-bhakta (deva-ness as bhaktas) is viṭambaṇā (mockery).

  2. कवडे-गळ्यांत — परडी-कळा-हीन. Cowries-paraḍī-claim. Cowries on the neck; paraḍī (begging-bowl) — kaḷā-hīna (without-dignity / lacking-art / wretched) in hand. (The local-deity-devotee carries cowries-as-mark and a-shabby-bowl.)

  3. गळ्यांत-गाठा — दारीं-हिंडे — कुतरीं. Wandering-like-dogs-claim. A gānṭha (knot, a kind of bound-charm / amulet) at the neck; wanders-doors (begging); human-form-but-like kutarī (dogs).

  4. माथीं-सेंदुर — जेंगट-Saṭvī. Sēndura-jengaṭ-Saṭvī-claim. Sēndura (vermilion) on the head; biting-teeth (in fervor / shaman-mode); jengaṭa (rattle-drum / sounding-instrument) of Saṭvī (the goddess Sasthi / Saṭvī, deity-of-the-sixth-day-after-birth, often a village-folk-deity). Saṭvī-shaman-marks.

  5. पूजिती-विकट-दौंद — पशू-सोंड-गजाची. Worship-vikaṭa-dauṇḍa-Gaja-trunk-claim. Worship the vikaṭa-dauṇḍa (the fierce-bellied / fearsome-paunched); paśu-sōṇḍa (animal-trunk) of Gaja (Gaṇeśa). (The criticism: even the Gaṇeśa-pūjā, when severed-from-Viṣṇu-Śiva-priority and reduced to a village-popular-deity*, is criticized.)

  6. अशा-छंदें — वाट-चुकली — भाव-खोटा-भजन. Missed-path-false-bhāva-claim. By such chanda (passion / mode), they have-missed-the-path; bhāva is khōṭa (false), bhajana (their bhajan-too)*.

  7. Tuka: Viṣṇu-Śivā-वांचुनि — देवा-भजती. Without-Viṣṇu-Śiva-they-bhajan-claim. Tuka says: without Viṣṇu and Śiva; they bhajan (false) deva. No-Viṣṇu-no-Śiva-but-bhajan-(false)-deva.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the anti-village-deity-polemic register:

  1. Abandoning Hari-Hara, holding petty-deities; their devapaṇa is mockery. Petty-deities.

  2. Cowries-paraḍī, knot-at-neck, wandering-doors like dogs. Beggar-marks.

  3. Sēndura, jengaṭ-of-Saṭvī, worship of fierce-belly elephant-trunk. Shaman-marks.

  4. Bhāva-false, bhajan; without Viṣṇu-Śiva, they bhajan deva. No-Viṣṇu-no-Śiva.

For today: the village-deity-devotees who-abandon-Viṣṇu-Śiva and worship kṣullaka deities (with-cowries, paraḍī, sēndura, jengaṭ-of-Saṭvī, vikaṭa-dauṇḍa-Gaja) are wandering-like-dogs; bhāva is khōṭa, bhajan false; without Viṣṇu and Śiva, this is no-bhajan.

This abhang is Tukaram's anti-village-deity-polemic-and-without-Viṣṇu-Śiva-no-bhajan registerone of the most-systematic anti-village-deity-polemics in the corpus. Compare 0410-series for the broader anti-village-deity-cluster. The closing Viṣṇu-Śivā vāncuni — devā bhajatī tī is precise: only Viṣṇu-Śiva-bhajan is real-bhajan.

मराठी: ही ओवी anti-village-deity-polemic register नाव सांगते:

  1. Hari-Hara-सांडून-petty-देवा; viṭambaṇā. Petty-deities.

  2. Cowries-paraḍī, knot-at-neck, doors-wander-like-dogs. Beggar-marks.

  3. Sēndura, jengaṭa-Saṭvī, vikaṭa-dauṇḍa-Gaja-worship. Shaman-marks.

  4. Bhāva-khōṭa, bhajan; Viṣṇu-Śiva-vāncuni — false-deva-bhajan. No-Viṣṇu-no-Śiva.

आज: Village-deity-devotees who-abandon-Viṣṇu-Śiva आणि kṣullaka देव worship-करतात (cowries-paraḍī-sēndura-jengaṭ-of-Saṭvī-vikaṭa-dauṇḍa-Gaja) — wandering-like-dogs; Bhāva khōṭa, bhajan false; Viṣṇu-Śiva-वांचुनि, हें no-bhajan*.

Tukaram च-anti-village-deity-polemic-and-without-Viṣṇu-Śiva-no-bhajan-registerMost-systematic anti-village-deity-polemics corpus-त पैकी एक. 0410-series broader-anti-village-deity-cluster compare. Closing Viṣṇu-Śivā vāncuni — devā bhajatī tī precise — फक्त Viṣṇu-Śiva-bhajan real-bhajan.

Where this applies

Related verses