Abhanga 1207
For today: don't measure your service by the world's praise — that's contempt of Deva; serve like the mother — on your own bhāva, expecting nothing.
The verse
नये इच्छूं सेवा स्वइच्छा जगाची । अवज्ञा देवाची घडे तेणें ॥१॥ देहाचा निग्रही त्याचें तो सांभाळी । मग नये किळ अंगावरी ॥ध्रु.॥ आपलिया इच्छा माता सेवा करी । न बाधी ते थोरी येणें क्षोभें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे सांडा देखीचे दिमाख । मोडसीचें दुःख गांड फाडी ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Don't desire service that is just the world's own-wish — by that, avajñā of Deva is committed. The deha-nigrahī (body-disciplinarian) — Him He guards — no kiḷa attaches to the body. The mother serves on her own desire (without expectation); her thōrī isn't harmed by such kṣōbha. Tuka says: abandon the dēkhī-dimākha (show-pride) — the breaking-suffering tears the gāṇḍa (rear).
मराठी: जगाची स्वतःची इच्छा (असलेली) सेवा — इच्छिणें नये — त्यानें देवाची अवज्ञा घडते. देहाचा निग्रही — त्याला तो (देव) सांभाळी — मग किळ (मलिनता) अंगावर येत नाहीं. माता आपल्या इच्छेनें सेवा करते — त्या क्षोभानें थोरी बाधत नाहीं. Tukā म्हणे — देखीचे दिमाख सांडा — मोडशीचें दुःख गांड फाडतें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नये इच्छूं सेवा स्वइच्छा जगाची | "do not desire (icchūm) service of the world's own-wish" |
| अवज्ञा देवाची घडे तेणें | "by that, avajñā (contempt) of Deva is committed" |
| देहाचा निग्रही त्याचें तो सांभाळी | "the deha-nigrahī (body-disciplinarian) — He guards him" |
| मग नये किळ अंगावरी | "then no kiḷa (defilement) comes upon the body" |
| आपलिया इच्छा माता सेवा करी | "the mother serves on her own icchā (desire — without expectation)" |
| न बाधी ते थोरी येणें क्षोभें | "that thōrī (greatness) is not harmed by such kṣōbha (agitation)" |
| सांडा देखीचे दिमाख | "abandon the dēkhīcē-dimākha (show-pride, ostentation)" |
| मोडसीचें दुःख गांड फाडी | "the moḍasīcē-duḥkha (the breaking-suffering) tears the gāṇḍa (rear)" |
What it means
Anti-show service abhang. The world's praise is itself a wish of the world's — to serve in order to receive that praise is to put the world above Deva. The example is the mother: she serves the child āpaliyā icchā (on her own desire, no expectation back), and her thōrī is unshaken even when her child rages at her. Tuka closes with characteristic blunt earthiness — moḍasīcē duḥkha gāṇḍa phāḍī (the breaking-suffering tears the rear) — show-pride doesn't just disappoint, it brings shameful breakdown.
[T]
For someone today
For today: don't measure your service by the world's praise — that's contempt of Deva; serve like the mother — on your own bhāva, expecting nothing.
Where this applies
- Don't-seek-world's-praise.* Nayē-icchūm-sēvā-svaicchā-jagācī.
- Mother-serves-on-her-own-icchā.* Mātā-sēvā-karī.
- Show-pride-breaks-you.* Moḍasīcē-duḥkha-gāṇḍa-phāḍī.