Abhanga 1046
Tukaram begs the saints around him not to praise him, because praise easily turns into pride, and pride sneaks into your own words before you notice it. He compares that pride to a heavy load: carrying it, you cannot cross the river of everyday struggles and troubles, and it pushes you further away from God rather than closer. Tuka's fear is plain and honest: if pride keeps following him, it will eventually break the very bond of closeness he has with Vitthal, the God he loves. The lesson is that even sincere compliments about your devotion or goodness can become dangerous if you let them swell your ego.
The verse
न करावी स्तुति माझी संतजनीं । होईंल या वचनीं अभिमान ॥१॥ भारें भवनदी नुतरवे पार । दुरावती दूर तुमचे पाय ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे गर्व पुरवील पाठी । होईंल माझ्या तुटी विठोबाची ॥३॥
Literal translation
Stuti — don't do — samta-jana — abhimāna — vacana. Bhāra — bhava-nadī — pāra — pāya — dūra. Tuka says: garva — pāṭhī — tuṭi — Viṭhōbā.
मराठी: माझी स्तुति न करावी, संत-जनीं — या वचनीं अभिमान होईंल. भारें भव-नदी पार न उतरवे — तुमचे पाय दूर दुरावती. Tuka म्हणे: गर्व पाठीं पुरवील — माझ्या Viṭhōbāची तुटी होईंल.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| न करावी स्तुति माझी संतजनीं | "stuti — don't do — samta-jana" |
| होईंल या वचनीं अभिमान | "abhimāna — vacana" |
| भारें भवनदी नुतरवे पार | "bhāra — bhava-nadī — pāra" |
| दुरावती दूर तुमचे पाय | "dūra — pāya" |
| तुका म्हणे गर्व पुरवील पाठी | "garva — pāṭhī" |
| होईंल माझ्या तुटी विठोबाची | "tuṭi — Viṭhōbā" |
What it means
A don't-do-my-praise-saint-people-there'll-be-pride-in-my-words-by-this-with-the-burden-the-river-of-becoming-cannot-be-crossed-your-feet-would-become-far-pride-will-follow-at-the-back-there'll-be-a-break-with-Viṭhōbā abhang. Don't-praise-me-pride-will-cause-tuṭi-with-Viṭhōbā register. Tukaram's anti-flattery prayer. Three claims:
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स्तुति-न — अभिमान-वचनीं. Don't-praise-me-claim. Don't do mystuti (praise),samta-jana;there'll be abhimāna in (my) vacana from this. (Praise breeds pride in my own words.)
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भार-भव-नदी-पार-न — पाय-दूर. With-burden-river-can't-be-crossed-feet-far-claim. Withbhāra (load — i.e. the load of pride from praise),bhava-nadīcannot be crossedpāra;your pāya would become dūra (far).
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Tuka: गर्व-पाठीं — Viṭhōbा-तुटी. Pride-follows-tuṭi-with-Viṭhōbā-claim. Tuka says: garva (pride) will follow at the pāṭhī (back); there'll betuṭi (break) of Viṭhōbā for me. (Pride-following will cause my break with Viṭhōbā.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram begs the saints around him not to praise him, because praise easily turns into pride, and pride sneaks into your own words before you notice it. He compares that pride to a heavy load: carrying it, you cannot cross the river of everyday struggles and troubles, and it pushes you further away from God rather than closer. Tuka's fear is plain and honest: if pride keeps following him, it will eventually break the very bond of closeness he has with Vitthal, the God he loves. The lesson is that even sincere compliments about your devotion or goodness can become dangerous if you let them swell your ego.
मराठी: तुकाराम संतांना विनवतात की त्यांची स्तुती करू नका, कारण स्तुतीमुळे सहज अभिमान निर्माण होतो आणि तो अभिमान न कळत आपल्याच बोलण्यात शिरतो. हा अभिमान म्हणजे एक जड ओझे आहे असे ते सांगतात, ते वागवत असताना संसाराची नदी पार करता येत नाही आणि देवाचे पाय जवळ येण्याऐवजी दूर जातात. तुका स्पष्टपणे सांगतात की जर हा गर्व असाच पाठीशी लागून राहिला, तर त्यांचे विठोबाशी असलेले प्रेमाचे नाते तुटेल. यातून हा धडा मिळतो की आपल्या भक्तीबद्दल किंवा चांगुलपणाबद्दल केलेली प्रामाणिक स्तुतीसुद्धा अहंकार वाढवू लागली तर धोकादायक ठरू शकते.
Where this applies
- Praise-breeds-pride. Stuti.
- Burden-distances. Bhāra.
- Tuṭi-with-Viṭhōbā. Garva.