Abhanga 1292
For today: selling puṇya is mātṛ-gamana; lover-of-viṣayas is self-killer; you traded the parisa for a kāñca-vaṭi — the hands are brushed-off in paratra.
The verse
पुण्यविकरा तें मातेचें गमन । भाडी ऐसें धन विटाळ तो ॥१॥ आत्महत्यारा हा विषयांचा लोभी । म्हणावें तें नाभी करवी दंड ॥ध्रु.॥ नागवला अल्प लोभाचिये साटीं । घेऊनि कांचवटि परिस दिला ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे हात झाडिले परत्रीं । श्रम तो चि श्रोत्रीं वेठी केली ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Selling puṇya is mātṛ-gamana — such bhāḍī is viṭāḷa-dhana. (This) lover-of-viṣayas is a self-killer — say that — the navel brings on the daṇḍa. Became stripped-naked for a small lōbha — taking glass, gave away the parisa. Tuka says: the hands have been brushed-off in paratra — the śrama itself was vēṭhī for the scripture-follower.
मराठी: पुण्य विकणें — हें मातेचें गमन (माता-गमन — सर्वांत मोठें पाप); — असें भाडी (मोबदला) म्हणून मिळालेलें धन — विटाळ-च तें. हा विषयांचा लोभी — आत्म-हत्यारा-च — असें म्हणावें — नाभीच (केंद्र) त्याला दंड घडवीते. अल्प लोभा-साठीं — नागवला — कांच-वटि (कांच-तुकडा) घेऊन — परिस दिला. Tukā म्हणे — परत्रीं हात झाडले गेले — श्रोत्रीं (शास्त्र-पाठका-साठीं) तो श्रम — वेठी-च (फुकट-कामा-च) झाला.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पुण्यविकरा तें मातेचें गमन | "selling-puṇya is mātṛ-gamana (mother-incest)" |
| भाडी ऐसें धन विटाळ तो | "such bhāḍī (hire-money) — that dhana is viṭāḷa (impurity)" |
| आत्महत्यारा हा विषयांचा लोभी | "(this) lover-of-viṣayas — is an ātma-hatyārā (self-killer)" |
| म्हणावें तें नाभी करवी दंड | "say that — the nābhī (the navel — itself, the centre) brings on the daṇḍa (punishment)" |
| नागवला अल्प लोभाचिये साटीं | "became nāgavalā (stripped-naked) for a small lōbha" |
| घेऊनि कांचवटि परिस दिला | "taking a kāñca-vaṭi (glass-piece) — gave away the parisa (philosopher's stone)" |
| हात झाडिले परत्रीं | "the hands have been jhāḍilē (washed-off / dusted-off) at paratra (the next world)" |
| श्रम तो चि श्रोत्रीं वेठी केली | "the śrama itself — was vēṭhī (forced labor) — for the śrōtrī (scripture-follower)" |
What it means
Anti-puṇya-vikraya abhang. The opening equation is among Tukaram's most severe: puṇya-vikarā tē mātēcē gamana — selling puṇya is mātṛ-gamana (mother-incest). The reasoning: puṇya is something one acquires through tapas, dāna, sevā — through the māta-bhāva of gentle nurture. To then sell this puṇya (e.g., as a paid bhakti-performer or a kṛtva-merchant) is to violate the māta-bhāva. The same equation as 1263 (stage-acting gōpīs as mātṛ-gamana).
The middle image is one of Tukaram's most-quoted: nāgavalā alpa lōbhāciyē sāṭīm — ghē'ūnī kāñca-vaṭi parisa dilā — became naked for a small lōbha — taking a glass-piece (kāñca-vaṭi), gave away the parisa (philosopher's stone). The parisa (touchstone-stone said to turn iron to gold) is the scripture-tradition's symbol of the highest possible gain; the kāñca-vaṭi is a worthless glass-shard. The image: you traded the touchstone for a piece of glass.
The closing: hāta jhāḍilē paratrīm — śrama tō chi śrōtrīm vēṭhī kēlī — in paratra (the other world), the hands have been (already) brushed-off — the śrama itself, for the śrōtrī (scripture-follower), was vēṭhī (forced unpaid labor). Even the scripture-followers' efforts came to vēṭhī-grade nothing.
[T]
For someone today
For today: selling puṇya is mātṛ-gamana; lover-of-viṣayas is self-killer; you traded the parisa for a kāñca-vaṭi — the hands are brushed-off in paratra.
Where this applies
- Selling-puṇya-is-mother-incest.* Puṇya-vikarā-mātēcē-gamana.
- Hire-money-is-impurity.* Bhāḍī-dhana-viṭāḷa.
- Lover-of-viṣayas-self-killer.* Ātma-hatyārā-viṣayāñcā-lōbhī.
- Glass-for-philosopher-stone.* Kāñca-vaṭi-parisa-dilā.
- Hands-brushed-off-in-paratra.* Hāta-jhāḍilē-paratrīm.