संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 912 of 4582

Abhanga 912

English: Kuśaḷa — guṇtalē — niṣēdha.

When the clever entangled in niṣēdha; vādīs in vāda — and you have to recognize this register
When wretched cheated in the tight-spot of dambha-and-viṣayas — and you accept this image
When winnowing the chaff loses both places — and you allow this image

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

English: 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:

  1. कुशळ-निषेधा-गुंतले — वादी-वादा-प्रवर्तले — बापुडीं-दंभ-विषय-सांकडीं. Each-trapped-in-his-own-claim. The kuśaḷa (clever) entangled in niṣēdha; vādīs went into *vāda; bāpuḍīm cheated in the sānkaḍa of dambha-viṣaya. Each-class-trapped-in-its-own-fault*.

  2. भुस-उपणुनि-काय — दोन्ही-ठाय-हारपले. Both-places-lost-claim. Winnowing the bhusa yields what?; both ṭhāyas (this-world and the next) are lost. Both-worlds-lost-by-debate.

  3. Tuka: हातां-लागे — मथिलें-घुसळितां. Churning-chaff-yields-nothing-claim. Tuka says: what comes-to-hātām — when one mathilē the ghusaḷitām? Churning-chaff-yields-nothing. (Beautiful-image: just-as churning chaff yields-no-butter, vāda yields-no-truth.)

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the anti-debate-yield-is-zero register:

  1. Clever in niṣēdha; vādīs in vāda; wretched in dambha-and-viṣayas. Each-trapped.

  2. Winnowing chaff loses both places. Both-lost.

  3. What comes from churning chaff? Yields-nothing.

For today: the kuśaḷa in niṣēdha; vādīs in *vāda; bāpuḍīm in dambha-viṣaya-sānkaḍa; winnowing the bhusa loses both ṭhāyas; what comes from mathilē-ghusaḷitām? — nothing.

This abhang is Tukaram's churning-chaff-yields-nothing register — one of the most-precise anti-debate-yield-zero statements. Compare 0911 brahma-lineages-perished-by-vāda (Tuka's mudra); same anti-vāda-position but here organized through winnowing-chaff and churning-chaff. The kāya mathilē ghusaḷitām (what's churned in chaff?) is the precise yields-nothing image*.

मराठी: ही ओवी anti-debate-yield-is-zero register नाव सांगते:

  1. कुशळ-निषेधा; वादी-वादा. Each-trapped.

  2. भुस-उपणुनि; दोन्ही-ठाय-हारपले. Both-lost.

  3. मथिलें-घुसळितां. Yields-nothing.

आज: Kuśaḷa niṣēdha-त; vādī vāda-त; bāpuḍīm dambha-viṣaya-sānkaḍa-त; Bhusa upaṇuni — dōnhī ṭhāya hārapalē; Mathilē ghusaḷitām — काही नाहीं*.

Tukaram च-churning-chaff-yields-nothing-register — Most-precise anti-debate-yield-zero statements पैकी एक. 0911 brahma-lineages-perished-by-vāda (Tuka mudra) compare; तीच anti-vāda-position पण इथे winnowing-chaff आणि churning-chaff च्या मार्गाने. Kāya mathilē ghusaḷitām precise yields-nothing image.

Where this applies

Bhakti Anti-hypocrisy churning-chaff-yields-nothing anti-debate-yield-is-zero

Related verses