Abhanga 1257
A life built on slander and theft dishonors your family and wastes the years you were given, reducing you to little more than a village stray.
The verse
ऐसे कुळीं पुत्र होती । बुडविती पूर्वजा ॥१॥ चाहाडी चोरी भांडवला । वांटा आला भागासी ॥ध्रु.॥ त्याचियानें दुःखी मही । भार तेही न साहे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे ग्रामपशु । केला नाशु अयुषा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Such sons are born in a kula — they sink the pūrvajas. Slander-and-theft is their bhāṇḍavala — that share has come to the (family) bhāga. By him, the earth is grieved — even she can't bear his load. Tuka says: village-beast — wastes the āyuṣa.
मराठी: असे पुत्र कुळांत जन्मतात — पूर्वजांना बुडवतात. चहाडी-चोरी हीच त्यांची भांडवल — हाच वांटा भागाला आला. त्यांच्यामुळें मही दुःखी — तीच त्यांचा भार सहन होत नाहीं. Tukā म्हणे — ग्राम-पशु — आयुष्य नाशवतात.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ऐसे कुळीं पुत्र होती | "such sons are born in a kula (family)" |
| बुडविती पूर्वजा | "they sink (buḍavitī) the pūrvajas (ancestors)" |
| चाहाडी चोरी भांडवला | "slander (cāhāḍī), theft (cōrī) — (their) bhāṇḍavala (capital)" |
| वांटा आला भागासी | "the share (vāṇṭā) — came to the (family) bhāga" |
| त्याचियानें दुःखी मही | "by him — the earth (mahī) is grieved" |
| भार तेही न साहे | "even she can't bear his load (bhāra)" |
| ग्रामपशु | "village-beast (grāma-paśu)" |
| केला नाशु अयुषा | "wastes (the entire) āyuṣa (lifespan)" |
What it means
Anti-bad-son abhang. Three layers of damage: 1. Buḍavitī pūrvajā — they sink the ancestors (the pūrvajas depend on the descendants for śrāddha-offerings; a bad son ends those, sinking them). 2. Cāhāḍī-cōrī bhāṇḍavala — slander and theft as the only "capital" they bring to the family ledger. 3. Tyāciyānē duḥkhī mahī — bhāra tēhī na sāhē — even the earth, who bears all, cannot bear this load.
The closing — grāmapaśu — kēlā nāśu āyuṣā — village-beast — wasted the entire lifespan. Grāmapaśu in classical Sanskrit means the village animal (the dog or pig kept around the village rubbish), distinguished from raṇyapaśu (forest animal). The bad son is reduced from manuṣya to grāmapaśu — and even his entire āyuṣa is nāśu (waste).
[T]
For someone today
For today: the bad son sinks his ancestors and burdens even the earth — slander-and-theft as bhāṇḍavala wastes a whole life.
Where this applies
- When you notice a family member building a reputation on gossip and dishonesty instead of honest work
- When you are tempted to gain an advantage through slander rather than earning it fairly
- When you worry that your choices are damaging the reputation your parents or elders worked to build
- When you catch yourself drifting into petty dishonesty as a habit rather than an occasional lapse