संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 829 of 4582

Abhanga 829

A mind clouded by its own faults sees good as its opposite, the way a blind man cannot tell a diamond from a hailstone or a dog barks without knowing where it stands.

When the ugly-face is shamed before the mirror; the pure shows it as-it-is — and you have to recognize this register
When by faults' bondage, even-good appears opposite — and you accept this image
When to the blind, diamond and hailstone are the same; the dog barks not-knowing its-place — and you receive this final image

The verse

दर्पणासी नखटें लाजे । शुद्ध खिजे देखोनि ॥१॥ ऐसें अवगुणांच्या बाधें । दिसे सुदें विपरीत ॥ध्रु.॥ अंधळ्यास काय हिरा । गारां चि तो सारिखा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे भुंके सुनें । ठाया नेणे ठाव तो ॥३॥

Literal translation

Before-darpaṇa — nakhaṭa — lājē. Śuddha — khijē — when-seen. So — by-avaguṇa — bādha — appears — sudē — viparīta. To-andhaḷā — what — hīrā. Gārā — alone — same. Tuka says: bhunkē — sunē. Ṭhāya — na-jāṇē — ṭhāva.

मराठी: दर्पणापुढे नखटें (कुरुप-तोंड) लाजतं — शुद्ध (आरसा) पाहिल्यावर खिजतो (दिसवतो). असं अवगुणांच्या बाधेनं — सुदें (चांगलं) विपरीत दिसतं. अंधळ्याला हिरा काय? — गारा-च त्याला सारखी. Tuka म्हणे: सुनें भुंकें — आपली ठाव-जागा त्याला माहीत नाहीं.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
दर्पणासी नखटें लाजे "before-darpaṇa — nakhaṭa — lājē"
शुद्ध खिजे देखोनि "śuddha — khijē — when-seen"
ऐसें अवगुणांच्या बाधें "so — by-avaguṇa — bādha"
दिसे सुदें विपरीत "appears — sudē — viparīta"
अंधळ्यास काय हिरा "andhaḷā — what — hīrā"
गारां चि तो सारिखा "gārā — alone — same"
भुंके सुनें "bhunkē — sunē"
ठाया नेणे ठाव तो "ṭhāya — na-jāṇē — ṭhāva"

What it means

A ugly-face-shamed-before-mirror-by-bondage-of-faults-good-looks-opposite-blind-can't-tell-diamond-dog-barks-without-knowing-place abhang. Slanderer-mirror-blind-dog-images register. Three claims:

  1. दर्पणापुढे-नखटें-लाजतं — शुद्ध-खिजे-देखोनि — अवगुण-बाधें-सुदें-विपरीत. Mirror-shows-and-fault-bondage-distorts-claim. Before thedarpaṇa (mirror), the nakhaṭa (ugly-face) is lājē (shamed);the śuddha (pure-mirror), when seen, khijē (shows-as-it-is — exposes the ugliness);thus, by the bādha (bondage) of avaguṇa (faults), even sudē (the good itself) appears viparīta (the opposite).Mirror-shames-the-ugly; faults-make-good-look-bad. (Thedarpaṇametaphor forHari-nāma/the saint-tradition: those who are ugly-with-faults areshamedbefore this pure-mirror; their inverted-vision of the good (= theviparītaperception ofsudēas bad) is itself proof of theiravaguṇa-bādha.)

  2. अंधळ्याला-हिरा-गारा-सारिख — सुनें-भुंकें-ठाव-नेणे. Blind-and-dog-can't-discriminate-claim. To theandhaḷā (blind-man), what is a hīrā (diamond)?—gārā (hailstone, glass-bead) is just-the-same to-him;the sunē (dog) bhunkē (barks);it does not know its-own ṭhāva (proper place / station).Blind-can't-tell-diamond-from-glass; dog-barks-without-knowing-place. (Two-images for the slanderer: blind-with-no-vision-of-the-real-jewel, and dog-barking-without-knowing-where-it-belongs. Theavaguṇa-bādhamakes the slandererblind-and-dog — incapable of discrimination, barking-without-station.)

  3. Tuka: ठाया-नेणे-ठाव-तो. Closing-dog-doesn't-know-place-claim. Tuka says: it does not know its-(own)ṭhāva. The slanderer is fundamentally place-less — barking from no-station. (Closing application: any slander — bark — comes-from-no-real-place; ignore-it accordingly.)

[T]

For someone today

When someone criticizes what is genuinely good, that often says more about them than about what they are criticizing. A true mirror does not lie; it simply shows what is there, and someone burdened by their own faults finds that reflection upsetting, so they call goodness the opposite of what it really is. A blind person cannot tell a diamond from a piece of gravel, and a dog barks without understanding where it even stands. So when you are slandered or misjudged, remember that the complaint reveals the limits of the person making it, not a flaw in you.

मराठी: जेव्हा कोणी खरोखर चांगल्या गोष्टीवर टीका करतं, तेव्हा ते त्या गोष्टीपेक्षा त्या व्यक्तीबद्दलच जास्त सांगत असतं. खरा आरसा खोटं बोलत नाही, तो जसं आहे तसंच दाखवतो; पण ज्याच्या मनात स्वतःचे दोष असतात, त्याला हे प्रतिबिंब खटकतं आणि तो चांगल्याला उलटंच समजतो. आंधळ्याला हिरा आणि गोटा दोन्ही सारखेच वाटतात, आणि कुत्रा आपली जागा न ओळखता भुंकत राहतो. म्हणून कोणी तुमची निंदा केली किंवा गैरसमज करून घेतला, तर लक्षात ठेवा की ती तक्रार तुमच्यातला दोष नसून बोलणाऱ्याच्या मर्यादा दाखवते.

Where this applies

Bhakti

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