Abhanga 1365
For today: don't abandon food, don't enter the forest, meditate Nārāyaṇa in all bhōga; the child on the mother's shoulder knows no toil; don't entangle in bhōga, don't fall into tyāga; apply yourself on Deva's body — no separate upadeśa remains.
The verse
नको सांडूं अन्न नको सेवूं वन । चिंतीं नारायण सर्व भोगीं ॥१॥ मातेचिये खांदीं बाळ नेणे सीण । भावना त्या भिन्न मुंडाविया ॥ध्रु.॥ नको गुंपों भोगीं नको पडों त्यागीं । लावुनि सरें अंगीं देवाचिया ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नको पुसों वेळोवेळां । उपदेश वेगळा उरला नाहीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Don't abandon anna — don't enter the vana — meditate Nārāyaṇa in all bhōga. The bāḷa on the mother's khānda doesn't know sīṇa — those bhāvanās are bhinna muṇḍāviyā. Don't get entangled in bhōga — don't fall into tyāga — applying, stay on Deva's anga. Tuka says: don't keep asking time-to-time — there is no separate upadeśa remaining.
मराठी: अन्न सांडूं नकोस — वनाला सेवूं नकोस — सर्व भोगांत — नारायणाचें चिंतन कर. मातेच्या खांद्यावरील बाळ — सीण जाणत नाहीं — त्याच्या भावना भिन्न (हुडावलेल्या) मुंडाविया-च. भोगांत गुंपूं नको — त्यागांत पडूं नको — देवाच्या अंगीं लावून — सरून रहा. Tukā म्हणे — वेळोवेळां पुसूं नका — वेगळा उपदेश उरला नाहीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नको सांडूं अन्न | "don't abandon (sāṇḍūm) — anna (food)" |
| नको सेवूं वन | "don't enter (sēvūm) — vana (forest)" |
| चिंतीं नारायण सर्व भोगीं | "meditate Nārāyaṇa — in sarva-bhōga (all enjoyments)" |
| मातेचिये खांदीं बाळ नेणे सीण | "the bāḷa — on the mother's khānda (shoulder) — doesn't know sīṇa" |
| भावना त्या भिन्न मुंडाविया | "those bhāvanās — are bhinna muṇḍāviyā (= shaved/cut variants?)" |
| नको गुंपों भोगीं | "don't get entangled (gumpōm) in bhōga" |
| नको पडों त्यागीं | "don't fall (paḍōm) into tyāga" |
| लावुनि सरें अंगीं देवाचिया | "applying (lāvuni) — sarē (be straight / stay) — on Deva's anga" |
| नको पुसों वेळोवेळां | "don't keep asking — vēḷō-vēḷām (time-to-time)" |
| उपदेश वेगळा उरला नाहीं | "no separate (vēgaḷā) — upadeśa — remains" |
What it means
THE celebrated middle-path abhang — Nakō sāṇḍūm anna, nakō sēvūm vana — cintīm Nārāyaṇa sarva bhōgīm.
This is among Tukaram's most quoted teaching-lines. The opening triple: don't abandon food (= don't fast yourself out of life); don't enter the forest (= don't physically renounce); meditate Nārāyaṇa in all bhōga. This is the classical warkari householder-bhakti in five clean Marathi syllables — sarva-bhōgīm Nārāyaṇa-cintana.
The image: mātēciyē khāndīm bāḷa nēṇē sīṇa — the bāḷa on the mother's khānda (shoulder) doesn't know sīṇa (toil-pain). When mother carries you, you don't feel the road. So when Hari is the bearer, the bhakta doesn't feel the bhōga-toil.
The dual-don't: nakō gumpōm bhōgīm — nakō paḍōm tyāgīm — don't get entangled in bhōga; don't fall into tyāga. Both extremes — clutching at enjoyment, rejecting enjoyment — are wrong. Lāvuni sarē angīm Devāciyā — applying-yourself, stay on Deva's anga (body). The middle is sticking-to-Deva throughout.
The closing — upadēśa vēgaḷā uralā nāhīm — there is no separate upadeśa remaining. After this, no more teaching is left. This is the warkari-bhakti final-instruction: don't ask for more; this is enough.
[T]
For someone today
For today: don't abandon food, don't enter the forest, meditate Nārāyaṇa in all bhōga; the child on the mother's shoulder knows no toil; don't entangle in bhōga, don't fall into tyāga; apply yourself on Deva's body — no separate upadeśa remains.
Where this applies
- Don't-abandon-food-don't-enter-forest.* Nakō-sāṇḍūm-anna-nakō-sēvūm-vana.
- Meditate-Nārāyaṇa-in-all-bhōga.* Cintīm-Nārāyaṇa-sarva-bhōgīm.
- Child-on-mother's-shoulder-no-toil.* Mātēciyē-khāndīm-bāḷa-nēṇē-sīṇa.
- Neither-entangle-nor-renounce.* Nakō-gumpōm-bhōgīm-nakō-paḍōm-tyāgīm.
- Apply-on-Deva's-body.* Lāvuni-sarē-angīm-Devāciyā.
- No-separate-upadeśa.* Upadēśa-vēgaḷā-uralā-nāhīm.