Abhanga 1285
For today: not all fruits ripen — few reach pakva; the last entanglements are the hardest; the one who reaches the paila thaḍī is the one to call gaḍī.
The verse
महुरा ऐसीं फळें नाहीं । आलीं कांहीं गळती ॥१॥ पक्वदशे येती थोडीं । नास आढी वेचे तो ॥ध्रु.॥ विरुळा पावे विरुळा पावे । अवघड गोवे सेवटाचे ॥२॥ उंच निंच परिवार देवी । धन्या ठावी चाकरी ॥३॥ झळके तेथें पावे आणी । ऐसे क्षणी बहु थोडे ॥४॥ पावेल तो पैल थडी । म्हणों गडी आपुला ॥५॥ तुका म्हणे उभार्यानें । कोण खरें मानितसे ॥६॥
Literal translation
English: Fruits aren't (all) mahurā — some come (and) fall. To pakva-daśā come few — the nāśa of the āḍhī wastes (the rest). Viraḷā attains — viraḷā attains — the difficult entanglements at the end. Umca-nīnca parivāra of the Devī — the dhanyā knows the cākarī. Wherever it flashes, (it) reaches there again — such kṣaṇas are very few. The one who reaches the far shore — call him our friend. Tuka says: by raised-up-talk — who takes (anything) as true?
मराठी: फळें — सगळींच मधुर / गुच्छ-धरून — नाहींत — कांहीं गळून पडतात. पक्व-दशेला येतात थोडीं — आढीचा (पक्वतेसाठीं ठेवलेल्या ढिगाचा) नास उरलेला वेचून-च टाकतो. विरुळा-च पावतो — विरुळा-च पावतो — अवघडे गोवे सेवटाचे (शेवटीं). उंच-निंच परिवार देवीचा — धन्याला (मालकाला) चाकरी ठावी. जिथें झळकतें (दिसतें) — तिथेंच पुन्हां पावतें — असे क्षणी बहु थोडे. पैल-थडी जो पावेल — त्याला आपला गडी म्हणूं. Tukā म्हणे — उभार्यानें (वरून-दिसणारीं) — कोण खरें मानेल?
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| महुरा ऐसीं फळें नाहीं | "fruits aren't (all) such mahurā (rich-cluster)" |
| आलीं कांहीं गळती | "some come (and) fall (gaḷatī)" |
| पक्वदशे येती थोडीं | "to pakva-daśā (ripening-state) — come few" |
| नास आढी वेचे तो | "the nāśa (loss) of the āḍhī (ripening-pile) — wastes (vēcē) (the rest)" |
| विरुळा पावे विरुळा पावे | "viraḷā (rare-one) attains — viraḷā attains" |
| अवघड गोवे सेवटाचे | "the avaghaḍa (difficult) entanglements (gōvē) at the end (sēvaṭācē)" |
| उंच निंच परिवार देवी | "umca (high), nīnca (low) — the parivāra of the Devī" |
| धन्या ठावी चाकरी | "the dhanyā (lord) knows the cākarī (service)" |
| झळके तेथें पावे आणी | "wherever it flashes (jhaḷakē) — reaches there once more" |
| ऐसे क्षणी बहु थोडे | "such kṣaṇa (moments) — very few" |
| पावेल तो पैल थडी | "the one who reaches the paila thaḍī (far shore)" |
| म्हणों गडी आपुला | "we'd call him our gaḍī (friend / mate)" |
| उभार्यानें कोण खरें मानितसे | "who really takes the ubhāryā (raised-up-talk) as kharē (true)?" |
What it means
Few-fruits-ripen abhang. The orchard-image is precise: - Mahurā aisīm phaḷē nāhīm — fruits aren't all rich-clustering. Some emerge but gaḷatī — fall before ripening. - Pakva-daśē yētī thōḍīm — to ripening-state come few. Of the many that come into being, few ripen. - Nāsa āḍhī vēcē tō — even of the āḍhī (the pile gathered for ripening), the loss-of-some wastes the rest.
The closing two lines: viraḷā pāvē — viraḷā pāvē (twice-said for emphasis) — the rare one attains. The line avaghaḍa gōvē sēvaṭācē — the difficult entanglements come at the end — is the precise warning: as you near the far-shore, the entanglements get harder, not easier. The last 1% is harder than the first 99%.
The verse on umca-nīnca parivāra Devī — dhanyā ṭhāvī cākarī — high-and-low parivāra of the Devī (= here perhaps the dhanyā's Devī = the wife/companion) — the dhanyā knows (each one's) cākarī. The lord knows who's serving and how.
The closing — ubhāryā — kōṇa kharē mānitasē? — raised-up-talk — who takes that as true? The ubhāryā is the raising-up display (a play on ubha = stand-up). External display isn't taken as true.
[T]
For someone today
For today: not all fruits ripen — few reach pakva; the last entanglements are the hardest; the one who reaches the paila thaḍī is the one to call gaḍī.
Where this applies
- Some-come-and-fall.* Ālīm-kāmhīm-gaḷatī.
- Few-reach-pakva-state.* Pakva-daśē-yētī-thōḍīm.
- Rare-attains.* Viraḷā-pāvē.
- Hardest-entanglements-at-end.* Avaghaḍa-gōvē-sēvaṭācē.
- Reaches-far-shore-is-our-friend.* Pāvēla-paila-thaḍī-gaḍī-āpulā.