Abhanga 1238
For today: the respecter adds nothing, the disrespecter takes nothing — Viṭṭhala in all bhūtas receives both vandī and nindī; you remain untouched.
The verse
जो मानी तो देईल काई । न मनी तो नेईल काई ॥१॥ आम्हां विठ्ठल सर्वभूतीं । राहो चित्तीं भलतैसा ॥ध्रु.॥ आध्येन तें जना काई । जल्पें वांयांविण ठायीं ॥२॥ वंदी निंदी तुज तो गा । तुका म्हणे पांडुरंगा ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: What will the respecter give (more)? What will the disrespecter take? To us, Viṭṭhala is in all bhūtas — let him stay in the citta as he wants. What use is dependence on people? — vain babble in empty places. Whether they vandī or nindī — to you it (all) goes — Tuka says, Pāṇḍuranga.
मराठी: जो मानी (आदर) त्यानें तरी अधिक काय देईल? न-मानी त्यानें तरी काय नेईल? आम्हांला विठ्ठल सर्व-भूतांत — चित्तांत त्यानें भलत्या-शैलींत राहावें. लोकांवर आध्येन (अवलंबून राहाणें) काय कामाचें? — रिकाम्या ठायीं फुकट जल्प. वंदी की निंदी — तुज-च (पोचतें) — Tukā म्हणे — पांडुरंगा.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जो मानी तो देईल काई | "the māni (respecter) — what (more) will he give?" |
| न मनी तो नेईल काई | "the na-mānī (disrespecter) — what will he take?" |
| आम्हां विठ्ठल सर्वभूतीं | "to us — Viṭṭhala is in all bhūtas (beings)" |
| राहो चित्तीं भलतैसा | "let him stay in citta as he chooses (bhalataisā = however)" |
| आध्येन तें जना काई | "what use is dependence (ādhyēna) on people?" |
| जल्पें वांयांविण ठायीं | "vain (vāyām-viṇa) jalpa (noise/babble) in empty places" |
| वंदी निंदी तुज तो गा | "(whether) vandī or nindī — to you it goes" |
| तुका म्हणे पांडुरंगा | "Tuka says, Pāṇḍuranga" |
What it means
Beyond-praise-and-blame teaching. The opening symmetric question is unanswerable: the māni adds nothing, the na-mānī takes nothing — they both deal in air. Why? Because Viṭṭhala sarva-bhūtīm — Viṭṭhala is in all beings. The māni honors Viṭṭhala-in-the-other; the na-mānī disrespects Viṭṭhala-in-the-other. Either way, the bhakta is untouched.
The closing aphorism: vandī nindī tuja tō gā — Tukā mhaṇē Pāṇḍurangā — whether they praise or scorn — to you, Pāṇḍuranga, it goes. Both vandī and nindī are addressed (ultimately) to the Viṭṭhala in the bhakta; let him handle the accounting.
The ascetic stance is exact: ādhyēna (dependence) on people is vāyām-viṇa-jalpa — vain babble in empty places. The sant withdraws from the praise-blame economy not by indifference but by recognizing that the economy itself is an illusion of jaḷpa (chatter).
[T]
For someone today
For today: the respecter adds nothing, the disrespecter takes nothing — Viṭṭhala in all bhūtas receives both vandī and nindī; you remain untouched.
Where this applies
- Symmetric-question.* Mānī-dē'īla-kāī; na-mānī-nē'īla-kāī.
- Viṭṭhala-in-all.* Sarva-bhūtīm.
- Don't-depend-on-people.* Ādhyēna-jalpē-vāyām-viṇa.
- Praise-blame-go-to-Hari.* Vandī-nindī-tuja-tō.