Abhanga 1260
For today: don't be content with mudala-saved without lābha; the surface can hide a noose in the inner kapaṭa — interior cleansing is the real work.
The verse
मुदल जतन जालें । मग लाभाचें काय आलें ॥१॥ घरीं देउनि अंतर गांठी । राख्या पारिख्यां न सुटे मिठी ॥ध्रु.॥ घाला पडे थोडें च वाटे । काम मैंदाचें च पेटे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे वरदळ खोटें । फांसे अंतरिंच्या कपटें ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: When mudala is jatana — what has come of lābha? Giving inside the knot of antara — protectors and outsiders — the miṭhī doesn't loosen. Even a small ghālā falls — the deceiver's work catches fire. Tuka says: the surface is false — there's a noose in the inner kapaṭa.
मराठी: मुदल जतन-झालें — मग लाभाचें काय आलें? घरीं अंतरीं गांठी देऊन — राख्यां-पारिख्यांकडून — मिठी सुटत नाहीं. घाला पडतो थोडासा-च — पण मैंदाचें (कपटीचें) काम पेट घेतें. Tukā म्हणे — वरदळ (वरून-दिसणारें) खोटें — फांसे आहेत — अंतरींच्या कपटांत.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मुदल जतन जालें | "mudala (principal) is jatana (kept-safe)" |
| मग लाभाचें काय आलें | "but what (great) (thing) has come of lābha (profit)?" |
| घरीं देउनि अंतर गांठी | "given inside (gharīm-dē'unī) the gāṇṭhī of antara (interior)" |
| राख्या पारिख्यां न सुटे मिठी | "from rākhyā (protectors) and pārikhyā (outsiders) — the miṭhī (clasp) doesn't loosen" |
| घाला पडे थोडें च वाटे | "an attack (ghālā) falls — only a little (thōḍē)" |
| काम मैंदाचें च पेटे | "the work catches fire — that of the mainda (deceiver)" |
| वरदळ खोटें | "varadaḷa (surface) is khōṭā (false)" |
| फांसे अंतरिंच्या कपटें | "phāmsē (noose) — in the antarincyā kapaṭa (inner deceit)" |
What it means
Inner-deceit warning abhang. The merchant-vocabulary continues: - Mudala jatana jālēm — maga lābhācēm kāya ālēm? — the principal is preserved — but what about lābha (profit)? Survival isn't gain; bare-existence isn't bhakti. - Gharīm dē'unī antara gāṇṭhī — rākhyā pārikhyām na suṭē miṭhī — when an antara-gāṇṭhī (interior knot/secret) is given inside, rākhyā (the family-protectors) and pārikhyā (outsiders/strangers) cling — the miṭhī (their grip) doesn't loosen. The interior secret leaks. - Ghālā paḍē thōḍē chī vāṭē — kāma maindācē chī pēṭē — even a thōḍē (small) attack — and the maindā's (deceiver's) work catches fire (pēṭē).
The closing aphorism: varadaḷa khōṭē — phāmsē antarincyā kapaṭē — the surface is false; the noose is in the inner kapaṭa. The danger is interior; what looks well on the surface conceals the noose-thread within.
[T]
For someone today
For today: don't be content with mudala-saved without lābha; the surface can hide a noose in the inner kapaṭa — interior cleansing is the real work.
Where this applies
- Capital-saved-but-no-profit.* Mudala-jatana-no-lābha.
- Interior-knot-leaks.* Antara-gāṇṭhī-na-suṭē-miṭhī.
- Small-attack-flames-deceiver's-work.* Ghālā-thōḍē-mainda-pēṭē.
- Surface-false-noose-inside.* Varadaḷa-khōṭē-phāmsē-antarincyā.