संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 810 of 4582

Abhanga 810

This abhang names the disease-of-perception register:

When jvara makes the body see milk as poison — and you have to recognize this register
When paramārtha distanced — sannipāta has set in — and you accept this image
When jaundice-eye sees moon yellow; alcohol-lover doesn't like butter — and you receive this final image

The verse

जेवीं नवज्वरें तापलें शरीर । लागे तया क्षीर विषातुल्य ॥१॥ तेवीं परमार्थ जीहीं दुराविला । तयालागीं झाला सन्निपात ॥ध्रु.॥ कामिनी जयाच्या जाहाली नेत्रासी । देखी तो चंद्रासी पीतवर्ण ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे मद्यपानाची आवडी । न रुचे त्या गोडी नवनीताची ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: Nava-jvara — tāpalē śarīra — kṣīra — viṣā-tulya. Paramārtha — distanced — sannipāta. Kāminī — nētra — moon — pīta-varṇa. Tuka says: madya-pāna — āvaḍī — nava-nīta-gōḍī — not appeal.

मराठी: जेवीं नव-ज्वरें तापलें शरीर — लागे तया क्षीर विषा-तुल्य. तेवीं परमार्थ जीहीं दुराविला — तया-लागीं झाला सन्निपात. कामिनी जयाच्या जाहाली नेत्रासी — देखी तो चंद्रासी पीत-वर्ण. Tuka म्हणे: मद्य-पानाची आवडी — न रुचे त्या गोडी नव-नीताची.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
नवज्वरें तापलें शरीर "nava-jvara — tāpalē śarīra"
लागे तया क्षीर विषातुल्य "kṣīra — viṣā-tulya"
परमार्थ जीहीं दुराविला "paramārtha — distanced"
तयालागीं झाला सन्निपात "sannipāta"
कामिनी जयाच्या नेत्रासी "kāminī — nētra"
देखी तो चंद्रासी पीतवर्ण "moon — pīta-varṇa"
मद्यपानाची आवडी "madya-pāna — āvaḍī"
न रुचे त्या गोडी नवनीताची "nava-nīta-gōḍī — not appeal"

What it means

A jvara-milk-poison-paramārtha-distanced-sannipāta-jaundice-moon-yellow-alcohol-no-butter-sweetness abhang. Disease-of-perception register. Three claims:

  1. Nava-ज्वर-तापलं-शरीर — क्षीर-विष-तुल्य — परमार्थ-दुराविला — सन्निपात. Jvara-paramārtha-sannipāta-claim. Just as a body inflamed by nava-jvara (new-fever) — milk seems viṣā-tulya (poison-equivalent); likewise, those who-have-distanced paramārtha; for them, sannipāta (the delirium that-comes-with-tridoṣa-imbalance) has-set-in. Distancing-paramārtha-causes-sannipāta-which-makes-milk-seem-poison.

  2. Kāminī-नेत्र — चंद्र-पीत-वर्ण. Jaundice-eye-moon-yellow-claim. One whose nētra have-become kāminī (jaundiced — kāminī here means kāmīla, jaundice); sees the moon as pīta-varṇa (yellow). Jaundice-eye-yellows-the-moon.

  3. Tuka: मद्य-पान-आवडी — नव-नीत-गोडी-न-रुचे. Alcohol-lover-no-butter-sweetness-claim. Tuka says: one who has madya-pāna āvaḍī (love-of-alcohol); the gōḍī of nava-nīta (fresh-butter) doesn't appeal. Alcohol-lover-can't-taste-butter.

The thematic-spine: the diseased-perception (paramārtha-distancing) makes-good-things-seem-bad. Just as fever-makes-milk-poison, paramārtha-distancing makes paramārtha-seem-poison. Just as jaundice-eyes see-moon-yellow, distorted-perception sees-paramārtha-distorted. Just as alcohol-lover-can't-taste-butter, the abhakta can't-taste paramārtha-gōḍī.

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the disease-of-perception register:

  1. Jvara makes milk seem poison; paramārtha-distanced — sannipāta has set in. Jvara-paramārtha.

  2. Jaundice-eyes see moon yellow. Jaundice-image.

  3. Alcohol-lover doesn't like butter-sweetness. Alcohol-image.

For today: the abhakta's distancing-of-paramārtha is itself a disease — like fever, jaundice, alcohol-addiction; milk-seems-poison, moon-seems-yellow, butter-seems-tasteless; the diseased-vision-distorts-the-good. (The lesson: don't blame the paramārtha-rasa — the abhakta's perception is diseased.)

This abhang is Tukaram's disease-of-perception-and-distorted-tastes-against-paramārtha register — the third in the animal-and-disease-image cluster (0808-810). Compare 0808-809 (Tuka's mudra); same anti-abhakta polemic but here using disease instead of animal imagery. The na rucē tyā gōḍī nava-nītācī (butter-sweetness doesn't appeal to him) is the precise sensory-distortion claim.

मराठी: ही ओवी disease-of-perception register नाव सांगते:

  1. Jvara-milk-poison; paramārtha-distanced-sannipāta. Jvara-paramārtha.

  2. Kāminī-नेत्र-चंद्र-पीत. Jaundice-image.

  3. Madya-pāna-नव-नीत-गोडी-न-रुचे. Alcohol-image.

आज: Abhakta-च्या paramārtha-distancing-ही स्वतः-disease — fever, jaundice, alcohol-addiction-सारखी; Milk-seems-poison, moon-seems-yellow, butter-seems-tasteless; Diseased-vision-good-distort करते. (Lesson: paramārtha-rasa-ला blame करूं नका — abhakta-ची perception diseased आहे.)*

Tukaram च-disease-of-perception-and-distorted-tastes-against-paramārtha-register — Third in animal-and-disease-image cluster (0808-810). 0808-809 (Tuka mudra) compare; तीच anti-abhakta polemic पण इथे disease imagery instead of animal. Na rucē tyā gōḍī nava-nītācī precise sensory-distortion claim.

Where this applies

Bhakti jaundice-eyes-see-moon-yellow disease-of-perception

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