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 796 of 4582

Abhanga 796

You do not need to explain or fix every criticism against you; find your peace within and keep doing your real work.

When we are Viṣṇu-dāsa, not asking anyone — and you have to recognize this register
When evil nindā — we don't know the cause — and you accept this image
When Your sēvā is the only business — and you receive this final stipulation

The verse

नाहीं आम्ही विष्णुदास । करीत आस कोणांची ॥१॥ कां हे नष्ट करिती निंदा । नेणों सदा आमुची ॥ध्रु.॥ असों भलते ठायीं मनें । समाधानें आपुलिया ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे करूं देवा । तुझी सेवा धंदा तो ॥३॥ ॥१३॥

Literal translation

We — Viṣṇu-dāsa — āśā — anyone's. Why — naṣṭanindānēṇōm — sadā — ours. Let-us-be — bhalatē-ṭhāyīm — mind — samādhāna — own. Tuka says: do — deva — Your sēvādhandā.

मराठी: आम्ही Viṣṇu-दास — कोणाचीही आशा-नाही करीत. कां हे नष्ट करिती निंदा — सदा आमुची, नेणों. असों भलत्या-ठायीं — आपुल्या-मनाच्या-समाधानें. Tuka म्हणे: देवा, तुझी सेवा — हाच धंदा करूं.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
नाहीं आम्ही विष्णुदास "we — Viṣṇu-dāsa"
करीत आस कोणांची "āśā — anyone's"
कां हे नष्ट करिती निंदा "why — naṣṭanindā"
नेणों सदा आमुची "nēṇōm — sadā — ours"
असों भलते ठायीं मनें "let-us-be — bhalatē-ṭhāyīm — mind"
समाधानें आपुलिया "samādhāna — own"
करूं देवा तुझी सेवा धंदा तो "do — deva — Your sēvādhandā"

What it means

A we-are-Viṣṇu-dāsa-not-asking-anyone-else-evil-nindā-no-cause-let-us-be-anywhere-with-our-samādhāna-Your-sēvā-only-business abhang. We-are-Viṣṇu-dāsa-only register. Three claims:

  1. आम्ही-Viṣṇu-दास — आशा-कोणांची-नाहीं — हे-नष्ट-निंदा-सदा-आमुची-नेणों. We-are-Viṣṇu-dāsa-evil-nindā-cause-unknown-claim. We areViṣṇu-dāsa; (we are) not makingāśā(hope, expectation) on anyone (else); why do thesenaṣṭa(wretched-evil ones) donindā(slander) — wenēṇōm(don't know) —sadā(ever / always), (the nindā) is ours (= they always-nindā us). We-Viṣṇu-dāsa-not-asking-others-but-the-naṣṭa-nindā-us-always-cause-unknown.

  2. भलत्या-ठायीं असों — आपुल्या-समाधानें. Let-us-be-anywhere-with-our-samādhāna-claim. Let-us-be in anybhalatē-ṭhāyīm(any place whatsoever); with our ownsamādhāna(mental-peace) of mind. Anywhere-with-our-mental-peace.

  3. Tuka: देवा — तुझी-सेवा — हाच-धंदा. Your-sēvā-only-business-claim. Tuka says: devalet us do — Yoursēvā— that is the (only)dhandā (business).Your-sēvā-our-only-business.

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram closes with a simple statement of who he is: a servant of Vishnu who is not waiting on anyone's approval or favor. He notices that wretched people keep slandering him and honestly says he does not know why, and more importantly, he does not need to know. Wherever he happens to be, he can stay at peace because that peace comes from within, not from his surroundings or from what others think of him. His only real work, he says, is serving God, everything else is beside the point. It is a model for how to stop being pulled around by criticism and gossip you cannot explain or control.

मराठी: तुकाराम शेवटी अगदी सोप्या शब्दांत सांगतात की ते कोण आहेत, विष्णूचे दास, जे कोणाच्याही मान्यतेची किंवा कृपेची वाट पाहत नाहीत. काही वाईट लोक सतत त्यांची निंदा करत राहतात, आणि ते प्रामाणिकपणे सांगतात की का हे त्यांना कळत नाही, आणि त्याहून महत्त्वाचं म्हणजे ते कळण्याची त्यांना गरजही नाही. ते कुठेही असले तरी शांत राहू शकतात, कारण ती शांती आतून येते, आजूबाजूच्या परिस्थितीतून किंवा इतरांच्या मतांतून नाही. त्यांचं खरं काम फक्त देवाची सेवा करणं आहे, बाकी सगळं गौण आहे. हे उदाहरण आहे की जी टीका किंवा गॉसिप समजावता किंवा नियंत्रित करता येत नाही तिच्यामागे न फरफटता कसं राहावं.

Where this applies

Related verses