Abhanga 1327
For today: jñāna-talk is rare-effective; bhajan is the right thing for the world; Hari-kathā pierces even the kāmi-mind; we children play bhātukulē, the bhōḷē-children take their share.
The verse
सांगतां दुर्लभ ज्ञानाचिया गोष्टी । अनुभव तो पोटीं कैचा घडे ॥१॥ भजनाचे सोई जगा परिहार । नेणत्यां सादर चित्त कथे ॥ध्रु.॥ नाइकवे कानीं साधन उपाय । ऐकतो गाय हरुषें गीत ॥२॥ नव्हे आराणूक जावयासी वना । वेध कामिमना हरिकथेचा ॥३॥ काळाच्या साधना कोणा अंगीं बळ । चिंतना मंगळ अष्टप्रहर ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे आम्ही खेळों भातुकुलें । विभागासी मुलें भोळीं येथें ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: Telling jñāna's gōṣṭīs is durlabha — how does anubhava arise in the pōṭa? Bhajan is the sō'ī — the parihāra for the jagat — for the un-knowing, citta is sādara to the kathā. The ear can't bear sādhana-upāyas — (but) hears the song with haruṣa. No āraṇūka to go to the vana — the kāmi-mind has the vēdha of Hari-kathā. For kāla-sādhanas — who has strength in (any) anga? — cintana is mangaḷa for the eight-prahara. Tuka says: we children play bhātukulē — for the share, the children are bhōḷē here.
मराठी: ज्ञानाच्या गोष्टी सांगणें — दुर्लभ — अनुभव तो — पोटांत कसा घडतो? भजनाचा सोई — जगाचा परिहार — नेणत्यांना — चित्त कथेला सादर. कानीं — साधन-उपाय — ऐकत नाहीं — हरुषें — गीत-च ऐकतो (गातो). वनाला जाण्याची आराणूक नाहीं — काम-मनाला — हरि-कथेचा वेध (लागलेला). कालाच्या साधनांना — कोणाच्या अंगीं बळ? — चिंतन — मंगळ — आठ-प्रहर. Tukā म्हणे — आम्हीं खेळतों भातुकुलें — विभागासी (वाट्यासाठीं) — मुलें भोळीं — येथें-च.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सांगतां दुर्लभ ज्ञानाचिया गोष्टी | "in telling (sāngatām) — durlabha (rare) — jñāna's gōṣṭīs (stories)" |
| अनुभव तो पोटीं कैचा घडे | "anubhava — in the pōṭa — how (kaimcā) does it arise (ghaḍē)?" |
| भजनाचे सोई जगा परिहार | "bhajan is the sō'ī (proper / right thing) — the parihāra (remedy) for the jagat" |
| नेणत्यां सादर चित्त कथे | "for the un-knowing (nēṇatyā) — the citta is sādara (attentive) to the kathā" |
| नाइकवे कानीं साधन उपाय | "(the ear) can't bear (nā'ikavē) — the sādhana-upāyas in the ear" |
| ऐकतो गाय हरुषें गीत | "(but) hears — the song (gāya) — with haruṣa (joy)" |
| नव्हे आराणूक जावयासी वना | "no āraṇūka (leisure / opportunity) — to go to the vana" |
| वेध कामिमना हरिकथेचा | "the kāmi-mind has the vēdha (piercing) of Hari-kathā" |
| काळाच्या साधना कोणा अंगीं बळ | "for kāla-sādhanas — who has the baḷa (strength) in (any) anga?" |
| चिंतना मंगळ अष्टप्रहर | "cintana — is mangaḷa — (for) the aṣṭa-prahara (eight prahars / 24 hours)" |
| आम्ही खेळों भातुकुलें | "we (children) — play bhātukulē (= bhātukēm — children's-meal-doll-set)" |
| विभागासी मुलें भोळीं येथें | "for the share (vibhāga) — the children — innocent (bhōḷē) — here" |
What it means
Bhajan-over-jñāna and we play bhātukulē abhang — closing image of Tuka-as-child.
The opening contrast: jñāna's gōṣṭīs are durlabha to tell — anubhava barely arises in the pōṭa. Even at best, knowledge-telling is rare and partial; anubhava (direct experience) almost never arises through telling.
The alternative: bhajan is the sō'ī (right-thing) for the jagat — the parihāra (remedy). For the nēṇatyā (un-knowing — the ordinary folk who don't have philosophical training), the citta is sādara to the kathā — receptive to story.
Nā'ikavē kānīm sādhana upāya — aikatō gāya haruṣē gīta — the ear can't bear sādhana-upāyas — but hears the song with haruṣa. People can't sit through a yoga-instruction lecture — they leave; but they'll sit and sing the same teaching as a song. Bhajan-is-pedagogy.
Navhē ārāṇūka jāvayāsī vanā — vēdha kāmi-manā Hari-kathē-cā — no leisure to go to the vana — the kāmi-mind has the vēdha (piercing) of Hari-kathā. The householder doesn't have leisure to go to the forest for tapas; but Hari-kathā can pierce even the kāmi-mind (the lust-mind, the householder-mind). The piercing-power of Hari-kathā is the householder's tapas.
The closing image: āmhī khēḷōm bhātukulē — vibhāgāsī mulē bhōḷīm yēthē — we play bhātukulē — for the share, the children are bhōḷē here. Bhātukulē (= bhātukēm) returns from 1211 (where the body was kāḷācē bhātukēm — kāla's plaything) and 1270 (where Hari distributed bhātukēm to many bhāvas). Here, we (the bhakta-children) play bhātukulē — we play the children's-meal-doll-game. The vibhāga (share) — what each child takes — is determined by bhōḷē-pana (innocence). The children are bhōḷē; they take what comes.
This closes the abhang in the warkari mode: we are children playing; the bhakti is play (bhātukulē); innocence is the qualification. After the jñāna-talk, the song, the Hari-kathā piercing, all collapses into: we play bhātukulē with bhōḷē-children.
[T]
For someone today
For today: jñāna-talk is rare-effective; bhajan is the right thing for the world; Hari-kathā pierces even the kāmi-mind; we children play bhātukulē, the bhōḷē-children take their share.
Where this applies
- Jñāna-talk-rare-anubhava-rarer.* Sāngatām-durlabha-anubhava-pōṭīm.
- Bhajan-is-sō'ī.* Bhajanācē-sō'ī-jagā-parihāra.
- Ear-bears-song-not-sādhana.* Aikatō-gāya-haruṣē-gīta.
- Hari-kathā-pierces-kāmi-mind.* Vēdha-kāmi-manā-Hari-kathē.
- Cintana-mangaḷa-aṣṭa-prahara.* Cintana-aṣṭa-prahara.
- We-children-play-bhātukulē.* Khēḷōm-bhātukulē-mulē-bhōḷīm.