Abhanga 1279
For today: don't gather others' uṣṭā patrāvaḷī and call it your poetry — take Nārāyaṇa direct; in everything else, śōka flows.
The verse
उष्ट्या पत्रावळी करूनियां गोळा । दाखविती कळा कवित्वाची ॥१॥ ऐसे जे पातकी ते नरकीं पचती । जोंवरी भ्रमती चंद्रसूर्य ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे एक नारायण घ्याईं । वरकडा वाहीं शोक असे ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Making a heap of uṣṭā patrāvaḷī — they show the kaḷā of kavitva. Such pātakīs cook in naraka — as long as Candra-Sūrya rotate. Tuka says: take only one Nārāyaṇa — in the rest, śōka flows.
मराठी: उष्ट्या पत्रावळ्या (खाऊन-टाकलेल्या जेवणाचीं पानें) गोळा करून — कवित्वाची कळा दाखवितात. असे जे पातकी — नरकींत पचतात — जोंवरी चंद्र-सूर्य फिरत राहतात. Tukā म्हणे — एक नारायण-च घ्या — बाकीच्यांत शोक वहातो.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| उष्ट्या पत्रावळी करूनियां गोळा | "making a gōḷā (heap) of uṣṭā (used / leftover-after-eating) patrāvaḷī (banana-leaf plates)" |
| दाखविती कळा कवित्वाची | "(they) show the kaḷā (skill) of kavitva (poetry)" |
| ऐसे जे पातकी ते नरकीं पचती | "such pātakī cook (pacatī) in naraka" |
| जोंवरी भ्रमती चंद्रसूर्य | "as long as (jōmvarī) Candra-Sūrya rotate (bhramatī)" |
| एक नारायण घ्याईं | "take only one Nārāyaṇa" |
| वरकडा वाहीं शोक असे | "(in) the rest (varakaḍā) — śōka (sorrow) flows (vāhī)" |
What it means
Anti-borrowed-poetry abhang. The image is exquisite and shaming: uṣṭyā patrāvaḷī — leaf-plates from which someone else has already eaten (= the leftovers, the partly-eaten remnants). The plagiarist gathers these into a gōḷā (heap) and displays the kaḷā of kavitva — shows it off as their poetic skill.
In 17th-c. Marathi village context, uṣṭā patrāvaḷī is the most polluted of leftovers — to gather them up as if they were food is repulsive. Tuka identifies the uddhṛta-poet (the recycler-of-others'-words) with this gesture.
The penalty: narakīm pacatī jōmvarī bhramatī Candra-Sūrya — cook in naraka as long as the sun and moon rotate — i.e., for the entire kalpa. The plagiarist-of-scripture-and-poetry suffers worse than a samsāra-bound bhakta.
The closing prescription: ēka Nārāyaṇa ghyā'īm — varakaḍā vāhīm śōka asē — take only one Nārāyaṇa — in everything else, śōka (sorrow) flows. Don't recycle leftovers; take Nārāyaṇa direct.
[T]
For someone today
For today: don't gather others' uṣṭā patrāvaḷī and call it your poetry — take Nārāyaṇa direct; in everything else, śōka flows.
Where this applies
- Heaped-leftover-leaf-plates-as-poetry.* Uṣṭyā-patrāvaḷī-gōḷā-kavitvācī.
- Cook-in-naraka-for-kalpa.* Narakīm-pacatī-Candra-Sūrya.
- Take-only-Nārāyaṇa.* Ēka-Nārāyaṇa-ghyā'īm.
- Rest-flows-with-sorrow.* Varakaḍā-vāhīm-śōka.