Abhanga 998
Knowing what is right does not automatically save you from ruin, because greed can still pull you toward the trap, and the force of karma is larger than knowledge alone.
The verse
कळों येतें तरि कां नव्हे । पडती गोवें भ्रमाचे ॥१॥ जाणतां चि होतो घात । परिसा मत देवा हें ॥ध्रु.॥ आंविसासाटीं फासा मान । पाडी धनइच्छा ते ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे होणार खोटें । कर्म मोटें बिळवंत ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kaḷōm-yētē — why not — gōvē — bhrama. Jāṇatām-ci — ghāta — listen — mata — Deva. Āmvisa — phāsā — māna — dhana-icchā — makes-fall. Tuka says: hōṇāra — khōṭē — karma — mōṭē — biḷavamta.
मराठी: कळों येतें तरि कां नव्हे? — भ्रमाचे गोवें पडती. जाणतां-च घात होतो — परिसा मत, Deva. आंविसा-साटीं फासा मानेस — धन-इच्छा पाडी ते. Tuka म्हणे: होणार खोटें — कर्म मोटें-बिळवंत.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कळों येतें तरि कां नव्हे | "kaḷōm-yētē — why not" |
| पडती गोवें भ्रमाचे | "gōvē — bhrama" |
| जाणतां चि होतो घात | "jāṇatām-ci — ghāta" |
| परिसा मत देवा हें | "listen — mata — Deva" |
| आंविसासाटीं फासा मान | "āmvisa — phāsā — māna" |
| पाडी धनइच्छा ते | "dhana-icchā — makes-fall" |
| तुका म्हणे होणार खोटें | "hōṇāra — khōṭē" |
| कर्म मोटें बिळवंत | "karma — mōṭē — biḷavamta" |
What it means
A if-becoming-known-why-doesn't-it-stick-we-fall-into-knots-of-delusion-knowing-itself-the-downfall-happens-for-the-bait-the-neck-falls-in-noose-greed-makes-it-fall-what's-going-to-happen-is-fated-karma-is-large-and-mighty abhang. Karma-is-large-and-mighty register. Three claims:
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कळों-येतें-तरि-नव्हे — गोवें-भ्रम-पडे. If-known-why-doesn't-it-stick-claim. If it iskaḷōm-yētē(becoming-known, dawning-on-us), why doesn't (it stick)?; we fall into thegōvē(knots, entanglements) ofbhrama(delusion). (We know the right path but somehow keep tangling in the wrong one.)
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जाणतां-घात — परिसा-Deva. Knowing-itself-downfall-happens-claim. Knowing-itself, theghāta(downfall) happens; listen to (my)mata(opinion, view), O Deva. (Knowledge alone doesn't save — the ghāta (ruin) happens despite knowledge. Tuka asks Deva to hear this.)
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आंविस-फासा-मान — धन-इच्छा-पाडी — Tuka: कर्म-मोटें-बिळवंत. Bait-greed-noose-claim — karma-is-large-and-mighty-claim. For the sake ofāmvisa(bait, the dangle), themāna(neck) gets caught in thephāsa(noose); thedhana-icchāmakes (it) fall. Tuka says: what's-going-to-happen iskhōṭē (false, inevitable, fated-falsely-but-fixed);karmaismōṭē(large),biḷavamta(mighty). (The fish-and-bait image — greed-for-bait makes the neck fall in the noose. Karma is so mighty that even knowing doesn't escape it.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram points out a strange truth: even when we clearly understand what's right, that understanding doesn't always stick, and we keep tangling ourselves in the same confusions. Knowing better doesn't automatically protect us from ruin. He paints the picture of a creature whose neck falls into a noose chasing bait, greed pulls us in even when we should know better. In the end, he says, karma is vast and powerful, larger than mere knowledge.
मराठी: तुकाराम एक विचित्र पण खरी गोष्ट सांगतात, काय बरोबर आहे हे स्पष्ट कळत असूनही ते मनात टिकत नाही, आणि आपण पुन्हा तेच भ्रमाचे गुंते करत राहतो. नुसते कळणे हे नाशापासून वाचवत नाही. आमिषासाठी गळ्यात फास अडकतो, हावरटपणा आपल्याला ओढून नेतो, हे माहीत असूनही. शेवटी ते म्हणतात की कर्म खूप मोठे आणि शक्तिशाली आहे, नुसत्या ज्ञानापेक्षाही मोठे.
Where this applies
- Knowledge-doesn't-stick. Bhrama.
- Knowing-doesn't-save. Ghāta.
- Karma-mighty. Bait-and-noose.