Abhanga 912
Endless argument, like churning empty chaff, never yields real truth, so don't waste your life on debate and pride.
The verse
कुशळ गुंतले निषेधा । वादी प्रवर्तले वादा ॥१॥ कैसी ठकलीं बापुडीं । दंभविषयांचे सांकडीं ॥ध्रु.॥ भुस उपणुनि केलें काय । हारपले दोन्ही ठाय ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे लागे हातां । काय मथिलें घुसळितां ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kuśaḷa — guṇtalē — niṣēdha. Vādī — vāda. Ṭhakalīm — bāpuḍīm — dambha-viṣaya — sānkaḍa. Bhusa — upaṇuni — hārapalē — both — ṭhāya. Tuka says: hātām — mathilē — ghusaḷitām.
मराठी: कुशळ निषेधा-त गुंतले — वादी वादा-त प्रवर्तले. कैसी बापुडीं ठकलीं — दंभ-विषयांच्या सांकडीं. भुस उपणुनि केलें काय — दोन्ही ठाय हारपले. Tuka म्हणे: लागे हातां — काय मथिलें, घुसळितां?.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कुशळ गुंतले निषेधा | "kuśaḷa — guṇtalē — niṣēdha" |
| वादी प्रवर्तले वादा | "vādī — vāda" |
| कैसी ठकलीं बापुडीं | "ṭhakalīm — bāpuḍīm" |
| दंभविषयांचे सांकडीं | "dambha-viṣaya — sānkaḍa" |
| भुस उपणुनि केलें काय | "bhusa — upaṇuni" |
| हारपले दोन्ही ठाय | "hārapalē — both — ṭhāya" |
| लागे हातां | "hātām" |
| काय मथिलें घुसळितां | "mathilē — ghusaḷitām" |
What it means
A clever-entangled-in-niṣēdha-vādīs-in-vāda-wretched-cheated-in-dambha-and-viṣayas-tight-spot-winnowing-chaff-both-places-lost-churning-chaff-yields-nothing abhang. Anti-debate-yield-is-zero register. Three claims:
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कुशळ-निषेधा-गुंतले — वादी-वादा-प्रवर्तले — बापुडीं-दंभ-विषय-सांकडीं. Each-trapped-in-his-own-claim. Thekuśaḷa(clever) entangled inniṣēdha; vādīs went into vāda; bāpuḍīm cheated in the sānkaḍa of dambha-viṣaya. Each-class-trapped-in-its-own-fault.
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भुस-उपणुनि-काय — दोन्ही-ठाय-हारपले. Both-places-lost-claim. Winnowing thebhusayields what?; bothṭhāyas (this-world and the next) are lost. Both-worlds-lost-by-debate.
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Tuka: हातां-लागे — मथिलें-घुसळितां. Churning-chaff-yields-nothing-claim. Tuka says: what comes-to-hātām— when onemathilētheghusaḷitām? Churning-chaff-yields-nothing. (Beautiful-image: just-as churning chaff yields-no-butter, vāda yields-no-truth.)
[T]
For someone today
Clever people get tangled up defending what's forbidden, debaters lose themselves in endless argument, and ordinary folks get cheated by pride and the pull of sense pleasures. Everyone falls into their own particular trap. Winnowing empty husks gets you nothing, and chasing that emptiness costs you both this world and the next. Just as churning chaff never yields butter, arguing back and forth never yields truth. It's effort spent on something that was never going to give anything back.
मराठी: हुशार लोक निषेधाच्या वादात अडकतात, वादी वादातच हरवून जातात, आणि सामान्य लोक अहंकार व विषयांच्या मोहात फसतात. प्रत्येकजण आपापल्या सापळ्यात अडकतो. रिकामं भुस उपणल्याने काहीच हाती लागत नाही, आणि अशा फोलपणाच्या मागे लागल्याने हे जग आणि पुढचं जग दोन्ही हातातून निसटतात. जसं भुस घुसळल्याने लोणी मिळत नाही, तसंच नुसत्या वादाने सत्य मिळत नाही. ते श्रम फुकट जातात.
Where this applies
- Each-trapped. Class-fault.
- Both-lost. Worlds.
- Yields-nothing. Chaff-churning.