संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 997 of 4582

Abhanga 997

This abhang names the stick-discipline-essential register:

When no pancake without grinding; laziness drops the stone — and you have to recognize this register
When don't be angry in mind; rascal, I'm telling you — and you accept this image
When the pestle of impurity dances well before sackcloth — and you allow this image

The verse

कुटल्याविण नव्हे मांडा । अळसें धोंडा पडतसे ॥१॥ राग नको धरूं मनीं । गांडमणी सांगतों ॥ध्रु.॥ तरटापुढें बरें नाचे । सुतकाचें मुसळ ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे काठी सार । करी फार शाहाणें ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: Kuṭalē-without — māṇḍā — aḷasa — dhōṇḍā — falls. Rāga — don't — mana — gāṇḍa-maṇī — telling. Taraṭa — well dances — sūtaka-musaḷa. Tuka says: kāṭhī — sāra — much śāhāṇē.

मराठी: कुटल्याविण मांडा नव्हे — अळसें धोंडा पडतसे. रागा मनीं नको धरूं — गांडमणी, सांगतों. तरटापुढें बरें नाचे — सुतकाचें मुसळ. Tuka म्हणे: काठी सार — करी फार शाहाणें.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
कुटल्याविण नव्हे मांडा "kuṭalē-without — māṇḍā"
अळसें धोंडा पडतसे "aḷasa — dhōṇḍā — falls"
राग नको धरूं मनीं "rāga — don't hold — mana"
गांडमणी सांगतों "gāṇḍa-maṇī — telling"
तरटापुढें बरें नाचे "taraṭa — well dances"
सुतकाचें मुसळ "sūtaka-musaḷa"
तुका म्हणे काठी सार "kāṭhī — sāra"
करी फार शाहाणें "makes — much śāhāṇē"

What it means

A no-pancake-without-grinding-laziness-drops-stone-don't-be-angry-rascal-I'm-telling-you-pestle-of-impurity-dances-before-sackcloth-stick-discipline-essential-makes-very-wise abhang. Stick-discipline-essential register. Rough-pithy proverb-string. Three claims:

  1. कुटलें-विण-मांडा-नव्हे — अळस-धोंडा-पडे. No-pancake-without-grinding-laziness-drops-stone-claim. Without kuṭalē (grinding, pounding the grain), there is no *māṇḍā (pancake); by aḷasa (laziness), the dhōṇḍā* (stone — i.e. the dead-weight, the lazy person himself) falls. (Without effort, no result; with sloth, you become an immovable stone.)

  2. राग-नको — गांडमणी-सांगतों. Don't-be-angry-rascal-I'm-telling-you-claim. Don't hold rāga (anger) in (your) mana; I'm telling (you), gāṇḍa-maṇī (rough Marathi address: rascal-jewel, idiot-fellow — a coarse familiar form)*. (The brusque pastoral voice: "don't get mad at me, you fool — I'm just telling you the truth.")

  3. तरट-पुढें-मुसळ-नाचे — Tuka: काठी-सार-शहाणें. Pestle-dances-before-sackcloth-stick-makes-wise-claim. In front of taraṭa (sackcloth, coarse cloth) the musaḷa of sūtaka (impurity) dances well — the worthless dances only before its own kind. Tuka says: the kāṭhī (stick, the rod-of-discipline) is the *sāra (essence); it makes (one) very śāhāṇē (wise). (Pastoral wisdom: discipline beats speech; the stick teaches when words don't.)

[T]

For someone today

This abhang names the stick-discipline-essential register:

  1. No pancake without grinding; laziness drops the stone. No-effort-no-result.

  2. Don't be angry; rascal, I'm telling you. Brusque-truth.

  3. The pestle of impurity dances before sackcloth; the stick is essential — makes one very wise. Discipline-teaches.

For today: kuṭalē-without no māṇḍā, aḷasa drops dhōṇḍā; don't hold rāga, gāṇḍa-maṇī, I'm telling; the musaḷa dances only before its like; kāṭhī is sāra, makes *śāhāṇē.

This abhang is Tukaram's stick-discipline-essential register — one of the most-pithy rough-proverb statements. The kāṭhī sāra karī phāra śāhāṇē (the stick is essential, makes very wise) is the precise discipline-teaches claim.

मराठी: ही ओवी stick-discipline-essential register नाव सांगते:

  1. कुटलें-मांडा; अळस-धोंडा. No-effort-no-result.

  2. राग-नको; गांडमणी-सांगतों. Brusque-truth.

  3. मुसळ-तरट-नाचे; काठी-शहाणें. Discipline-teaches.

आज: Kuṭalē-विण māṇḍā नाहीं, aḷasē dhōṇḍā पडे; Rāga मनीं नको — gāṇḍa-maṇī सांगतों; Musaḷa तरटापुढें नाचे; kāṭhī sāra, śāhāṇē करी*.

Tukaram च-stick-discipline-essential-register — Most-pithy rough-proverb statements पैकी एक. Kāṭhī sāra karī phāra śāhāṇē precise discipline-teaches claim.

Where this applies

Bhakti

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