संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 901 of 4582

Abhanga 901

Even a small amount of bad company can poison an entire life, so weigh your associations carefully and choose what truly serves your own good.

When in this life, men become free and pāvana — abandon durjana-sangati — and you have to recognize this register

When much food becomes poison by even mustard-seed's measure — and you accept this image

When practice the considered nīti for your sva-hita — and you receive this final advice

The verse

जीवन हे मुक्त नर जाले पावन । तजा हो दुर्जनसंगति ही ॥१॥ बहुत अन्न विष मोहरीच्या मानें । अवघें चि तेणें विष होय ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे जेणें आपलें स्वहित । तैसी करीं नीत विचारूनि ॥३॥

Literal translation

Jīvana — mukta — pāvana. Tajā — durjana-sangati. Anna — viṣa — mōharī. All — viṣa. Tuka says: sva-hita — nīti — vicārūni.

मराठी: ह्या जीवनीं नर मुक्त, पावन झाले — तजा (टाका), हो, दुर्जन-संगति ही. बहुत अन्न मोहरीच्या मानानं विष होतं — तेणं अवघं-च विष होय. Tuka म्हणे: ज्यानं आपलं स्व-हित — तैसी नीत विचारूनि करीं.

Word-by-word gloss

Marathi	Meaning
जीवन हे मुक्त नर जाले पावन	"jīvana — mukta — pāvana"
तजा हो दुर्जनसंगति ही	"tajā — durjana-sangati"
बहुत अन्न विष मोहरीच्या मानें	"bahuta anna — viṣa — mōharī — māna"
अवघें चि तेणें विष होय	"all — by-that — viṣa"
जेणें आपलें स्वहित	"by-which — sva-hita"
तैसी करीं नीत विचारूनि	"nīti — vicārūni"

What it means

A life-men-free-pāvana-abandon-durjana-sangati-much-food-poison-by-mustard-seed-amount-practice-considered-nīti-for-sva-hita abhang. Mustard-seed-of-poison-warning register. Three claims:

जीवनीं-मुक्त-पावन — तजा-दुर्जन-संगति. Abandon-durjana-sangati-claim. In thisjīvana, men have becomemuktaandpāvana; abandon — oh! — thisdurjana-sangati. Free-and-pure-only-by-abandoning-bad-company.
बहुत-अन्न-मोहरी-मानानं-विष — अवघं-विष. Mustard-seed-of-poison-claim. Muchannabecomesviṣaby themōharī'smāna(amustard-seed's amount of poison); the whole becomesviṣa. Tiny-amount-of-poison-spoils-the-whole. (Brilliant poison-paradigm — even-a-mustard-seed's-worth of durjana-sangati poisons the bahuta anna of one's jīvana.)
Tuka: स्व-हित-नीत — विचारूनि-करीं. Practice-considered-nīti-claim. Tuka says: by-which (your)sva-hitais achieved; practice thatnīti,vicārūni. Practice-considered-nīti-for-self-good.

[T]

For someone today

This life can free you and make you pure, so let go of the company of people who pull you toward wrong. Tukaram gives a sharp image: it only takes a mustard seed's worth of poison to ruin a huge quantity of food, and once that happens, the whole thing is poison. In the same way, even a small amount of bad company can spoil everything good in your life. So think carefully and choose your conduct with your own real wellbeing in mind, rather than drifting into whatever company happens to surround you.

मराठी: हे जीवन तुम्हाला मुक्त आणि पावन करू शकतं, म्हणून जे लोक तुम्हाला चुकीच्या वाटेकडे ओढतात त्यांची संगत सोडून द्या. तुकाराम एक तीक्ष्ण उदाहरण देतात: मोहरीच्या दाण्याइतकं विष सुद्धा खूप मोठ्या अन्नाला विषारी बनवायला पुरेसं असतं, आणि एकदा तसं झालं की सगळंच अन्न विष होऊन जातं. त्याचप्रमाणे थोडीशी वाईट संगतसुद्धा तुमच्या आयुष्यातलं सगळं चांगलं बिघडवू शकते. म्हणून नीट विचार करून, स्वतःच्या खऱ्या हिताचा विचार करूनच आपलं वर्तन ठरवा, आजूबाजूला जी संगत मिळेल तिच्यात वाहवत जाऊ नका.

Where this applies

Abandon-bad-company. Sangati.
Tiny-poison. Contagion.
Considered-practice. Self-good.