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 1111 of 4582

Abhanga 1111

Tukaram admits that fear presses down on him and worldly life will not loosen its grip, so he is caught in a painful bind and cries out for help. When he tries to think his way through it, he finds his own mind is not even in his control. He concludes that merely stepping onto the spiritual path is not enough - real, sustained commitment is needed, not just a foot in the door.

When bhaya on top; samsāra not loosening — and you have to recognize this register
When fallen into kāñcaṇī; call dhāvā — and you accept this image
When vicāra but mana not in hand — and you allow this image

The verse

भय वाटे पर । न सुटे हा संसार ॥१॥ ऐसा पडिलों कांचणी । करीं धांवा म्हणउनी ॥ध्रु.॥ विचारितों कांहीं । तों हें मन हातीं नाहीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे देवा । येथें न पुरे रिघावा ॥३॥

Literal translation

Bhaya parasamsāra not loose. Kāñcaṇīdhāvā. Vicāramana hātī. Tuka says: Dēvā — yēthē na purē rigāvā.

मराठी: भय वाटे पर — हा संसार न सुटे. ऐसा कांचणींत पडिलों — म्हणऊनी धांवा करीं. विचारितों कांहीं — तों हें मन हातीं नाहीं. Tuka म्हणे: Dēvā — येथें रिघावा न पुरे.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
भय वाटे पर "bhaya para"
न सुटे हा संसार "samsāra not loose"
ऐसा पडिलों कांचणी "kāñcaṇī"
करीं धांवा म्हणउनी "dhāvā"
विचारितों कांहीं "vicāra"
तों हें मन हातीं नाहीं "mana hātī"
येथें न पुरे रिघावा "rigāvā"

What it means

Four claims:

  1. भय-पर — संसार-न-सुटे. Samsāra-not-loose-claim.

  2. कांचणी — धांवा. Kāñcaṇī-call-claim.

  3. विचार — मन-न-हातीं. Mana-not-in-hand-claim.

  4. Tuka: रिघावा-न-पुरे. Mere-entry-doesn't-suffice-claim. (Just entering the bhakti-path isn't enough — there must be more.)

[T]

For someone today

Tukaram admits that fear presses down on him and worldly life will not loosen its grip, so he is caught in a painful bind and cries out for help. When he tries to think his way through it, he finds his own mind is not even in his control. He concludes that merely stepping onto the spiritual path is not enough - real, sustained commitment is needed, not just a foot in the door.

मराठी: तुकाराम कबूल करतात की भीती त्यांना दाबून टाकते आणि हा संसार काही केल्या सुटत नाही, म्हणून ते अशा बिकट कोंडीत सापडून मदतीसाठी हाक मारतात. विचार करून मार्ग काढायचा प्रयत्न करतात, पण त्यांच्या लक्षात येते की स्वतःचे मनच त्यांच्या हातात नाही. शेवटी ते सांगतात, नुसते या मार्गावर पाऊल टाकणे पुरेसे नाही, खरी बांधिलकी आणि खोल प्रयत्न आवश्यक आहेत.

Where this applies

Related verses