Abhanga 1198
For today: take the Hari-nāma profit while there's time — every excuse you make for postponing it sounds reasonable until the moment dirt fills your mouth.
The verse
म्हणसी नाहीं रे संचित । न करीं न करीं ऐसी मात ॥१॥ लाहो घेई हरिनामाचा । जन्म जाऊं नेदीं साचा ॥ध्रु.॥ गळां पडेल यमफांसी । मग कैंचा हरि म्हणसी ॥२॥ पुरलासाटीं देहाडा । ऐसें न म्हणें न म्हणें मूढा ॥३॥ नरदेह दुबळा । ऐसें न म्हणें रे चांडाळा ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे सांगों किती । सेको तोंडीं पडेल माती ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: Don't say "I have no samcita" — don't make such talk. Take the lāhō of Hari-nāma; don't waste the true janma. When yama-phāmsī falls on your throat, then how will you say Hari? Don't say "the day has been used up", mūḍha. Don't say "the human deha is weak", cāṇḍāla. Tuka says: how much shall I tell you — at last (sēkō) dirt will fall in your mouth.
मराठी: "माझें संचित नाहीं" अशी मात मांडूं नकोस — Hari-नामाचा लाहो घे — हा खरा जन्म जाऊं देऊं नकोस. गळ्यांत यमाची फांस पडेल — मग कुठून हरि म्हणशील? "दिवस संपला" असें मूढा बोलूं नकोस. "नरदेह दुबळा" असें चांडाळा म्हणूं नकोस. Tukā म्हणे — किती सांगूं? — शेवटीं तोंडांत मातीच पडेल.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| म्हणसी नाहीं रे संचित | "you say I have no samcita (merit)" |
| न करीं ऐसी मात | "don't make such (lazy) talk" |
| लाहो घेई हरिनामाचा | "take the lāhō (profit) of Hari-nāma" |
| गळां पडेल यमफांसी | "yama-phāmsī (death's noose) will fall on your throat" |
| नरदेह दुबळा | "human-deha is weak (don't say this, cāṇḍāla)" |
| सेको तोंडीं पडेल माती | "at last (sēkō) dirt will fall in your mouth" |
What it means
After the Sākhyā sub-series closes at 1197, Tukaram returns to standard Marathi abhang format with a sharp direct-exhortation against procrastination. The four excuses people give — no samcita, the day's used up, deha is dubaḷā, I'm too busy — are demolished one after another. The closing image sēkō tōṇḍīm paḍēla mātī (at last dirt falls in the mouth) is brutal: at burial/cremation, dirt fills the mouth that didn't say Hari while it could.
[T]
For someone today
For today: take the Hari-nāma profit while there's time — every excuse you make for postponing it sounds reasonable until the moment dirt fills your mouth.
Where this applies
- Procrastination-excuses.* Samcita-claim, deha-dubaḷā-claim, day-finished-claim — all rejected.
- Final-image.* Sēkō-tōṇḍīm-paḍēla-mātī.
- Tuka-frustration. Sāngōm kitī?* — How much shall I tell you?