Abhanga 1083
Tukaram describes total poverty here: he has nothing left to cover himself with, not even the ragged cloth he once used for begging. He notes, almost wryly, that thieves never bother the poor, because an empty house has nothing worth breaking in for. He does not own even a single broken coin; the one blanket he has was given to him by five villagers, not earned by his own hands. He ends by saying he has become set apart from ordinary people, because the one thing that was truly his was taken by the One, Hari himself. This poverty is not simply loss. When you own nothing of your own, what remains is a complete belonging to God.
The verse
आतां मी देवा पांघरों काईं । भिकेचें तें ही उरे चि ना ॥१॥ सदैव दुबळें नेणें चोर । देखोनि सुनाट फोडितो घर ॥ध्रु.॥ नाहीं मजपाशीं फुटकी फोडी । पांचांनीं घोंगडी दिली होती ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे जना वेगळें जालें । एक चि नेलें एकल्याचें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Pāngharōm — bhikā doesn't remain. Sadaiva dubaḷē — sunāṭa — ghara. Phuṭakī phōḍī — pāñca — ghōngaḍī. Tuka says: jana vēgaḷē — ēka-ci ēkalyācē.
मराठी: आतां मी, Dēvā, पांघरों काईं? — भिकेचें तें ही उरे-च ना. सदैव दुबळें — चोर नेणें — सुनाट देखोनि घर फोडितो. नाहीं मज-पाशीं फुटकी फोडी — पांचांनीं घोंगडी दिली होती. Tuka म्हणे: जना वेगळें जालें — एक-च नेलें एकल्याचें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आतां मी देवा पांघरों काईं | "pāngharōm" |
| भिकेचें तें ही उरे चि ना | "bhikā doesn't remain" |
| सदैव दुबळें नेणें चोर | "sadaiva dubaḷē" |
| देखोनि सुनाट फोडितो घर | "sunāṭa — ghara" |
| नाहीं मजपाशीं फुटकी फोडी | "phuṭakī phōḍī" |
| पांचांनीं घोंगडी दिली होती | "pāñca — ghōngaḍī" |
| जना वेगळें जालें | "jana vēgaḷē" |
| एक चि नेलें एकल्याचें | "ēka-ci ēkalyācē" |
What it means
Ghōngaḍyācē abhanga 9. Four claims:
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पांघरों-काईं — भिकें-उरे-न. Even-bhikā-doesn't-remain-claim. Now what shall Ipāngharōm (cover with), Dēvā?;even bhikā (begging-cover) doesn't remain. (Even what was held back as begging-bowl-cover is gone.)
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दुबळ-नेणे-चोर — सुनाट-घर-फोडे. Poor-doesn't-recognize-thief-claim. Thesadaiva dubaḷē(always-poor) doesn't recognize thecōra;seeing sunāṭa (deserted, lonely), the cōra breaks the ghara.
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फुटकी-फोडी-न — पांच-घोंगडी. Pāñca-gave-blanket-claim. I don't have even aphuṭakī phōḍī (broken-coin); thepāñca (five — five co-villagers / five elements) had given a ghōngaḍī. (My only blanket was a gift from the pāñca — and even that's gone.)
-
Tuka: जना-वेगळ — एक-एकलें. Only-one-took-only-one's-thing-claim. Tuka says: separated fromjana;only-one took only-one's-thing. (Lone-from-the-people,only-one took the only-one's. Theēka — the singular Hari — took the singular thing — Tuka's all.)
[T]
For someone today
Tukaram describes total poverty here: he has nothing left to cover himself with, not even the ragged cloth he once used for begging. He notes, almost wryly, that thieves never bother the poor, because an empty house has nothing worth breaking in for. He does not own even a single broken coin; the one blanket he has was given to him by five villagers, not earned by his own hands. He ends by saying he has become set apart from ordinary people, because the one thing that was truly his was taken by the One, Hari himself. This poverty is not simply loss. When you own nothing of your own, what remains is a complete belonging to God.
मराठी: तुकाराम इथे अत्यंत गरिबीचं चित्र मांडतात. अंगावर पांघरायला काहीच उरलेलं नाही, अगदी भीक मागताना वापरलेलं जुनं फडकंही शिल्लक नाही. ते जरा गमतीने सांगतात की चोर गरिबाच्या घरी चोरी करत नाहीत, कारण रिकाम्या घरात लुटण्यासारखं काही नसतं. त्यांच्याकडे एक फुटकी कवडीही नाही; जी एक घोंगडी आहे तीही पाच गावकऱ्यांनी दिलेली आहे, स्वतः कमावलेली नाही. शेवटी ते म्हणतात की आपण इतर लोकांपासून वेगळे झालो आहोत, कारण जे काही खरोखर आपलं होतं तेही एकट्या हरीने नेलं. ही गरिबी केवळ अभाव नाही; ज्याच्याजवळ स्वतःचं काहीच उरत नाही, तो पूर्णपणे देवाचा होतो.
Where this applies
- Even-bhikā-gone. Pāngharōm.
- Poor-deserted. Sunāṭa.
- Pāñca-blanket. Phuṭakī.
- Only-one-took. Ēka-ci.