Abhanga 1297
For today: the kucara-listener spends ear-eye-vāṇī for nirarthaka — present at the kathā but not in it; deha-bhāva makes them vōsa even in the name of hita; Tuka shames-and-shaves.
The verse
कुचराचे श्रवण । गुणदोषांवरि मन ॥१॥ असोनियां नसे कथे । मूर्ख अभाग्य तें तेथें ॥ध्रु.॥ निरर्थक कारणीं । कान डोळे वेची वाणी ॥२॥ पापाचे सांगाती । तोंडीं ओढाळांचे माती ॥३॥ हिताचिया नांवें । वोस पडिले देहभावें ॥४॥ फजीत करूनि सांडीं । तुका करी बोडाबोडी ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: The kucara's śravaṇa — mind on guṇa-dōṣa. Being there, not in the kathā — mūrkha-abhāgya is that one there. (They) spend ear, eye, vāṇī for nirarthaka cause. Companions of pāpa — in the mouth — dirt of ōḍhāḷa-cattle. For the name of hita — they became vōsa by deha-bhāva. (Tuka) makes phajīta and discards — Tuka does bōḍā-bōḍī.
मराठी: कुचर्याचें श्रवण — गुण-दोषांवर मन. (कथेंत) असून कथेंत नसून — मूर्ख-अभाग्य तो तिथें. निरर्थक कारणीं — कान, डोळे, वाणी — वेचतो. पापाचे सांगाती — तोंडीं — ओढाळांची (भटकत्या जनावरांची) माती. हिताच्या नांवें — देह-भावानें — वोस झाले. फजीत करून सांडतो — Tukā बोडा-बोडी करतो.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कुचराचे श्रवण | "the kucara (cunning / twisted)'s śravaṇa (listening)" |
| गुणदोषांवरि मन | "mind on guṇa-dōṣa (good-and-bad-judging)" |
| असोनियां नसे कथे | "being (there) but not in the kathā" |
| मूर्ख अभाग्य तें तेथें | "mūrkha (foolish), abhāgya (luckless) — that one is there" |
| निरर्थक कारणीं | "for nirarthaka (pointless) cause" |
| कान डोळे वेची वाणी | "spends (vēcē) ear, eye, vāṇī" |
| पापाचे सांगाती | "(they are) companions of pāpa" |
| तोंडीं ओढाळांचे माती | "in the mouth — dirt of ōḍhāḷa (rambling-cattle)" |
| हिताचिया नांवें | "for the name of hita (good)" |
| वोस पडिले देहभावें | "(they) became vōsa (empty / abandoned) — by deha-bhāva" |
| फजीत करूनि सांडीं | "(Tuka) makes phajīta — and discards (sāṇḍī)" |
| तुका करी बोडाबोडी | "Tuka does bōḍā-bōḍī (head-shaving / public shaming)" |
What it means
Anti-kucara-listener abhang — Tuka's bōḍā-bōḍī gesture returns.
The portrait: at the kīrtana / kathā, there's a kucara (cunning / cross-thinking) listener whose mind is on guṇa-dōṣa — judging the speaker's good-and-bad rather than receiving the kathā. Asōniyā nasē kathē — being (physically) present, (but) not in the kathā. The dichotomy is exact.
Such a listener is mūrkha (fool) and abhāgya (luckless). The body is at the kīrtana but the mind is nirarthaka kāraṇīm — kāna ḍōḷē vēcē vāṇī — spending ear, eye, vāṇī for pointless cause. The triple-instrument (ear-eye-tongue) is consumed in nothing.
The closing image: tōṇḍīm ōḍhāḷānce mātī — in the mouth — the dirt of ōḍhāḷa (= ōḍhāḷa-cattle, the cattle that roam without shepherd, eating wherever they find). The kucara's mouth is full of roaming-cattle-dust — they say whatever passes, picked up like grit by stray cattle.
The verdict: phajīta karūnī sāṇḍī — Tukā karī bōḍā-bōḍī — Tuka makes phajīta (public shaming) and discards — does bōḍā-bōḍī (= head-shaving as public-shaming-gesture). This same bōḍā-bōḍī / bōḍōniyām sōḍī gesture appeared at 1209 (against the gurguḍī-cī lāmba naḷī fake-sādhakas). Tuka publicly shaves fake bhakti.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the kucara-listener spends ear-eye-vāṇī for nirarthaka — present at the kathā but not in it; deha-bhāva makes them vōsa even in the name of hita; Tuka shames-and-shaves.
Where this applies
- Cunning's-listening-on-guṇa-dōṣa.* Kucarācē-śravaṇa.
- Present-but-not-in-kathā.* Asōniyām-nasē-kathē.
- Spends-instruments-pointlessly.* Vēcē-vāṇī.
- Roaming-cattle-dirt-in-mouth.* Ōḍhāḷānce-mātī.
- Shamed-and-shaved.* Bōḍā-bōḍī.