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 1084 of 4582

Abhanga 1084

I thought I was carefully guarding what was mine, but the thief inside had already gotten into my stores. He was there before I ever arrived, hidden within me without my even knowing it. They say my blanket was taken — but really, I was naked all along, and the cover was never truly mine to lose. Tuka says: the thief and the witness turned out to be one and the same, so naturally there is no ordinary justice to be found here.

When I was doing my jatana; inner thief took food-store — and you have to recognize this register
When without my coming, He was; without my knowing, in-me — and you accept this image
When blanket taken; made naked, already naked — and you allow this image

The verse

मी माझें करित होतों जतन । भीतरिल्या चोरें घेतलें खानें ॥१॥ मज आल्याविण आधीं च होता । मज न कळतां मज माजी ॥ध्रु.॥ घोंगडें नेलें घोंगडें नेलें । उघडें केलें उघडें चि ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे चोरटा चि जाला साव । सहज चि न्याय नाहीं तेथें ॥३॥

Literal translation

Jatana — bhītarilyā cōrē — khāṇē. Ādhī-ci — maja mājī. Ghōngaḍa — ughaḍē-already. Tuka says: cōraṭā — sāva — no nyāya.

मराठी: मी माझें जतन करित होतों — भीतरिल्या चोरें खानें घेतलें. मज आल्या-विण आधीं-च होता — मज न-कळतां, मज माजी. घोंगडें नेलें, घोंगडें नेलें — उघडें केलें, उघडें-च. Tuka म्हणे: चोरटा-च साव जाला — तेथें सहज-च न्याय नाहीं.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
मी माझें करित होतों जतन "jatana"
भीतरिल्या चोरें घेतलें खानें "bhītarilyā cōrē — khāṇē"
मज आल्याविण आधीं च होता "without coming, ādhī-ci"
मज न कळतां मज माजी "maja mājī"
घोंगडें नेलें घोंगडें नेलें "ghōngaḍa taken"
उघडें केलें उघडें चि "ughaḍē-already"
चोरटा चि जाला साव "cōraṭā — sāva"
सहज चि न्याय नाहीं तेथें "nyāya — none"

What it means

Ghōngaḍyācē abhanga 10. The most-philosophical of the sub-series — the thief was already inside, was already me. Four claims:

  1. जतन — भीतरि-चोर — खानें. Inner-thief-took-food-store-claim. I was doing my-minejatana (careful-keeping); thebhītarilyā cōrē (the one-inside-thief) took the khāṇē (food-store / pantry). (The thief was inside.)

  2. आल्या-विण-आधी-च — माजी. Without-coming-already-there-claim. Without my coming,ādhī-ciHe was; without my knowing,maja mājī (within me). (He was already there before I arrived; without my knowing, in-me.)

  3. घोंगडें-नेलें — उघडें-च. Already-naked-claim. Ghōngaḍa nēlē;made ughaḍē, ughaḍē-ci (already naked itself). (The blanket was taken;I was already naked— what was taken was acover-over-already-nakedness.)

  4. Tuka: चोरटा-साव — न्याय-नाहीं. Thief-became-witness-no-nyāya-claim. Tuka says: thecōraṭāitself becamesāva (witness, judge); there is nonyāya(justice) theresahaja-ci (naturally). (The thief is also the witness — so naturally there's nojustice to be had.)

[T]

For someone today

I thought I was carefully guarding what was mine, but the thief inside had already gotten into my stores. He was there before I ever arrived, hidden within me without my even knowing it. They say my blanket was taken — but really, I was naked all along, and the cover was never truly mine to lose. Tuka says: the thief and the witness turned out to be one and the same, so naturally there is no ordinary justice to be found here.

मराठी: मला वाटत होते की मी माझे सामान जपून ठेवत आहे, पण आतलाच चोर आधीच माझी शिदोरी घेऊन गेला होता. मी येण्याआधीच तो तिथे होता, मला कळण्याआधीच माझ्यातच लपलेला होता. म्हणतात माझी घोंगडी नेली — पण खरे तर मी आधीपासूनच उघडा होतो, ते पांघरूण कधी खरेच माझे नव्हतेच. तुका म्हणतात, चोर आणि साक्षीदार दोघेही एकच निघाले, त्यामुळे तिथे साहजिकच नेहमीचा न्याय लागू पडत नाही.

Where this applies

Bhakti

Related verses