Abhanga 1267
For today: ask only for what is; keep the inner-varma unspoken so it stays whole; preserve your own state, the people won't understand.
The verse
आहे तें चि आम्ही मागों तुजपाशीं । नव्हों तुज ऐसीं क्रियानष्टें ॥१॥ न बोलावीं तों च वर्में बरें दिसे । प्रकट ते कैसे गुण करूं ॥ध्रु.॥ एका ऐसें एका द्यावयाचा मोळा । कां तुम्हां गोपाळा नाहीं ऐसा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे लोकां नाहीं कळों आलें । करावें आपुलें जतन तों ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: We ask of you only what is — we are not kriyā-naṣṭa like you. While unspoken, the varma looks fine — once made public, how to make those guṇas? You have a way of giving to one as to another — Gopāḷā, don't you have such? Tuka says: the people haven't understood — let me preserve my own.
मराठी: जें-कांहीं आहे — तेंच मागतों, तुज-पाशीं — आम्हीं तुझ्यासारखीं क्रिया-नष्ट नाहीं. जोपर्यंत बोलत नाहीं — तोपर्यंत वर्म बरें दिसतें — प्रकट केल्यावर — ते गुण कसे करूं? एकाला-दुसर्याला सारिखें-च देण्याचा मोळा — गोपाळा, तुझ्या-कडे नाहीं कां असा? Tukā म्हणे — लोकांना कळून आलें नाहीं — आपलें (आपण-च) जतन करावें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आहे तें चि आम्ही मागों तुजपाशीं | "we ask of you only what is" |
| नव्हों तुज ऐसीं क्रियानष्टें | "we are not kriyā-naṣṭa (action-corrupted) like you" |
| न बोलावीं तों च वर्में बरें दिसे | "until not spoken — the varma (secret) looks fine" |
| प्रकट ते कैसे गुण करूं | "once made public — how to make those guṇas?" |
| एका ऐसें एका द्यावयाचा मोळा | "the way of giving to one as to another (mōḷā = manner)" |
| कां तुम्हां गोपाळा नाहीं ऐसा | "Gopāḷā, don't you have such (a way)?" |
| लोकां नाहीं कळों आलें | "the people haven't come to understand" |
| करावें आपुलें जतन तों | "let (me) preserve (jatana) my own" |
What it means
Asking-for-what-is abhang. Three subtle moves:
- Āhē tēm chi āmhī māgōm — we ask only for what already is — not for new gifts, just for what's already given (your angīkāra).
- Navhōm tuja aisīm kriyānaṣṭēm — bold echo from Hari-tāḍ register: we are not kriyā-naṣṭa (action-corrupted, those whose deeds have gone wrong) like you. The bhakta turns Hari's image into a complaint — you are the one with broken kriyās.
- Na bōlāvī tōm chi varmē barēm disē — while unspoken, the varma (the deep matter) looks fine; once made public, how to perform the guṇas? The bhakta wants the relationship preserved as inner; not converted into public theater (continuation of 1263's anti-naṭa-vēśa).
The closing — karāvē āpulēm jatana — let (me) preserve my own (state). The bhakta becomes his own jatana-keeper; the people won't understand, so don't depend on them.
[T]
For someone today
For today: ask only for what is; keep the inner-varma unspoken so it stays whole; preserve your own state, the people won't understand.
Where this applies
- Ask-for-what-is.* Āhē-tēm-chi-māgōm.
- Hari-also-kriyā-naṣṭa.* Tuja-aisīm-kriyā-naṣṭa.
- Unspoken-varma-stays-fine.* Na-bōlāvī-varma-disē.
- Preserve-own.* Karāvē-āpulēm-jatana.