Abhanga 1213
English: Burn, you, my knowing-mī-paṇa — by that my mark is established.
The verse
जाळा तुम्ही माझें जाणतें मीपण । येणें माझा खुण मांडियेला ॥१॥ खादलें पचे तरि च तें हित । ओकलिया थीत पिंड पीडी ॥ध्रु.॥ तरि भलें भोगे जोडिलें तें धन । पडिलिया खानें जीवनासी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे मज तारीं गा विठ्ठला । नेणतां चि भला दास तुझा ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Burn, you, my knowing-mī-paṇa — by that my mark is established. What is eaten is beneficial only if it digests; if vomited, the unwhole pains the body. Wealth is good only when properly experienced (digested); else it becomes waste-falling-into-the-mine-of-life. Tuka says: save me, O Viṭṭhala — your dāsa is better as the unknowing one.
मराठी: तुम्हीं माझें जाणतें मीपण जाळा — येणें-च माझी खूण (ओळख) मांडली जाते. खादलेलें पचलें तर-च तें हित — ओकलें तर अर्धवट देहास पीडा देतें. भोगानें जोडलेलें धन तें भलें — नाहींतर तें जीवन-खाणींत (पाताळांत) पडे. Tukā म्हणे — तारीं गा विठ्ठला — तुझा दास नेणताच भला.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जाळा तुम्ही माझें जाणतें मीपण | "burn (jāḷā), you, my knowing-mī-paṇa (I-am-self)" |
| येणें माझा खुण मांडियेला | "by that my khuṇa (mark/sign) is established" |
| खादलें पचे तरि च तें हित | "eaten — only if it digests (pacē) is it hita (beneficial)" |
| ओकलिया थीत पिंड पीडी | "if vomited (ōkaliyā), the unwhole (thīta) pains the piṇḍa (body)" |
| भलें भोगे जोडिलें तें धन | "wealth (dhana) gathered through proper bhoga is good" |
| पडिलिया खानें जीवनासी | "(or it becomes) falling into the khāna (mine/source) of jīvana (life — i.e. waste)" |
| तारीं गा विठ्ठला | "save me, O Viṭṭhala" |
| नेणतां चि भला दास तुझा | "your dāsa is better (bhalā) just as nēṇatā (unknowing)" |
What it means
Burn-the-knowing-self prayer with eat-don't-vomit image. The I-am-knowing-self (jāṇatē mī-paṇa) is the worst aham — the I know better, I have understood, I am awakened posture. Burn it, Tuka prays — by that very burning (yēṇē) the bhakta's khuṇa (real mark, true identity) is established.
The eat-don't-vomit image: real bhakti is digested — eaten and made part of the body. Half-grasped knowledge vomited up (the half-baked teacher's posture) is thīta (incomplete) and pains the piṇḍa (the body itself, the structure). The wealth-image follows: bhōgē jōḍilēm dhana (wealth gathered through proper experience) is good; otherwise it falls into the mine-of-life (a waste-pit).
The closing prayer is humble in the strong sense: nēṇatām chi bhalā dāsa tujhā — I am better as your dāsa precisely when I do not know. The unknowing dāsa serves; the knowing one performs.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the I-am-knowing-self is the most dangerous aham — pray it be burned; better to be the unknowing dāsa who digests rather than vomits the teaching.
Where this applies
- Burn-knowing-self.* Jāḷā-jāṇatē-mīpaṇa.
- Digest-don't-vomit.* Khādalēm-pacē-vs-ōkaliyā-thīta-piṇḍa-pīḍī.
- Unknowing-dāsa-is-better.* Nēṇatām-chi-bhalā-dāsa.