Abhanga 861
Calling yourself devoted means nothing if your deeds, your private feelings, and your public performance don't actually match.
The verse
म्हणवितों दास ते नाहीं करणी । आंत वरी दोन्ही भिन्न भाव ॥१॥ गातों नाचतों तें दाखवितों जना । प्रेम नारायणा नाहीं अंगीं ॥ध्रु.॥ पाविजे तें वर्म न कळे चि कांहीं । बुडालों या डोहीं दंभाचिया ॥२॥ भांडवल काळें हातोहातीं नेलें । माप या लागलें आयुष्यासी ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे वांयां गेलों ऐसा दिसें । होईल या हांसें लौकिकाचें ॥४॥
Literal translation
Call-myself — dāsa — karaṇī — not. Inside — outside — bhinna — bhāva. Gātōm-nācatōm — show — jana. Prēma — Nārāyaṇa — none. Varma — not — kaḷē. Buḍālōm — ḍōha — dambha. Bhāṇḍavala — kāḷa — hātō-hātīm. Māpa — āyuṣya. Tuka says: vāyām — appears — hāsē — laukika.
मराठी: दास म्हणवितो — पण करणी नाहीं — आंत-वरी, दोन्ही, भिन्न भाव. गातो-नाचतो — जनांना दाखवीतो — पण नारायणा-साठीं प्रेम अंगीं नाहीं. पावायचं वर्म कांहीं कळतच नाहीं — दंभाच्या डोहीं बुडालों. भांडवल काळानं हातो-हातीं नेलं — आयुष्याला माप लागलं. Tuka म्हणे: वांयां गेलों असा दिसें — लौकिकाचें हांसें होईल.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| म्हणवितों दास ते नाहीं करणी | "call-myself — dāsa — karaṇī — not" |
| आंत वरी दोन्ही भिन्न भाव | "inside — outside — both — bhinna — bhāva" |
| गातों नाचतों तें दाखवितों जना | "gātōm-nācatōm — show — jana" |
| प्रेम नारायणा नाहीं अंगीं | "prēma — Nārāyaṇa — anga" |
| पाविजे तें वर्म न कळे चि कांहीं | "pāvije — varma — not — kaḷē" |
| बुडालों या डोहीं दंभाचिया | "buḍālōm — ḍōha — dambha" |
| भांडवल काळें हातोहातीं नेलें | "bhāṇḍavala — kāḷa — hātō-hātīm — taken" |
| माप या लागलें आयुष्यासी | "māpa — āyuṣya" |
| वांयां गेलों ऐसा दिसें | "vāyām — gone — appears" |
| होईल या हांसें लौकिकाचें | "will-be — hāsē — laukika" |
What it means
A call-myself-dāsa-but-deeds-absent-inside-outside-bhāva-differs-sing-dance-show-but-no-prema-drowned-in-dōha-of-dambha-don't-know-varma-bhāṇḍavala-taken-by-kāḷa-āyuṣya-measured-gone-to-waste-laughter-of-laukika abhang. Drowned-in-dambha-self-confession register. Five claims:
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दास-म्हणवितों — करणी-नाहीं — आंत-वरी-भिन्न-भाव. Dāsa-name-but-no-deeds-claim. I call myself adāsa; butkaraṇī(deeds) is not there; inside and outside, thebhāvaisbhinna. Self-styled-dāsa; deeds-absent; inside-outside-different.
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गातों-नाचतों — जनांना-दाखवीतो — प्रेम-Nārāyaṇa-नाहीं-अंगीं. Sing-dance-show-no-prema-claim. Igātōm-nācatōm; show tojana; butprēmaforNārāyaṇaisn't in theanga. Sing-dance-for-show; no-prema.
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वर्म-कळत-नाहीं — दंभाच्या-डोहीं-बुडालों. Drowned-in-dōha-of-dambha-claim. Thevarmato-be-attained is notkaḷēat-all; I havebuḍālōmin theḍōhaofdambha. Don't-know-the-varma; drowned-in-dambha. (The ḍōha (deep-pool) image: dambha (hypocrisy) is a deep-pool into which one drowns.)
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भांडवल-काळानं-हातो-हातीं — आयुष्य-माप-लागलं. Bhāṇḍavala-taken-by-kāḷa-āyuṣya-measured-claim. Thebhāṇḍavala(capital) was takenhātō-hātīm(hand-by-hand, gradually) bykāḷa; theāyuṣyahas beenmāpa lāgalē (measured).Capital-being-taken-life-measured.
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Tuka: वांयां-गेलों — लौकिक-हांसें. Gone-to-waste-laukika-laughter-claim. Tuka says: I appear to have gone-vāyām (to-waste, futile);there will be the hāsē (laughter) of the laukika. Gone-to-waste; will-be-laughed-at. (Brutal closing-self-judgment: a self-styled-dāsa whose-deeds-don't-match — the laukika (the worldly-people) will laugh.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram turns a hard light on himself here. He calls himself a servant of God, but admits his actions don't match the title, his inside and outside don't agree. He sings and dances where people can see, but confesses there's no real love for Nārāyaṇa underneath the performance. He doesn't even understand the real secret of devotion, and pictures himself drowning in a deep pool of his own hypocrisy. Meanwhile time is quietly draining away his life's capital, his years are being measured out and spent without his consent. He ends by admitting he seems to have wasted it all, and that ordinary people will end up laughing at him for it.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे स्वतःवरच कठोर नजर टाकतात. ते स्वतःला देवाचा दास म्हणवतात, पण कबूल करतात की त्यांची कृती त्या नावाला साजेशी नाही, आतलं आणि बाहेरचं वेगळं आहे. लोकांसमोर गातात, नाचतात, पण खरं सांगायचं तर त्या दिखाव्याच्या मागे नारायणाबद्दल खरं प्रेम नाही. भक्तीचं खरं वर्मही त्यांना अजून कळलेलं नाही, आणि ते स्वतःला स्वतःच्याच दंभाच्या खोल डोहात बुडालेले पाहतात. दरम्यान काळ शांतपणे त्यांच्या आयुष्याचं भांडवल घेऊन जातो आहे, त्यांचं वय मोजलं जातं आहे, संपत चाललं आहे. शेवटी ते कबूल करतात की सगळं वाया गेल्यासारखं वाटतं, आणि सामान्य लोक त्यांची हसवणूक करतील.
Where this applies
- Dāsa-only-in-name. Show.
- Drowned-in-dambha. Trap.
- Capital-spent. Time-running-out.
- Laukika-laughter. Public-judgment.