Abhanga 1392
For today: the title-poet-lords are viṭāḷa to us — they chew-and-spit the prasāda; the deaf-blind dambha-lovers' faces blacken at the end; gold and lac don't blend — the substance stays itself.
The verse
कवेश्वरांचा तो आम्हांसी विटाळ । प्रसाद वोंगळ चिवडिती ॥१॥ दंभाचे आवडी बहिराट अंधळे । सेवटासि काळें होइल तोंड ॥ध्रु.॥ सोन्यासेजारी तों लाखेची जतन । सतंत ते गुण जैसेतैसे ॥२॥ सेव्य सेववता न पडतां ठावी । तुका म्हणे गोवी पावती हीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: The kavēśvaras — to us — viṭāḷa; they chew-and-spit the prasāda — vōngaḷa. The deaf-blind in love with dambha — at the end, their face will become kāḷa. Near gold, lac is preserved; the constant guṇas remain as-they-are. Sevya and sevvatā — when not made known — Tuka says — these get entangled.
मराठी: कवेश्वरांचा — तो — आम्हांसी — विटाळ — प्रसाद — वोंगळ — चिवडितीं. दंभाचे — आवडी — बहिराट — अंधळे — सेवटासि — काळें — होइल — तोंड. सोन्या-सेजारीं — तों — लाखेची — जतन — सतंत — ते गुण — जैसे-तैसे. सेव्य-सेववता — न — पडतां — ठावी — Tukā म्हणे — गोवी — पावती — हीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कवेश्वरांचा तो आम्हांसी विटाळ | "the kavēśvaras (= title-poet-lords / court-poets) — to us — viṭāḷa (impure / pollution)" |
| प्रसाद वोंगळ चिवडिती | "(they) civaḍitī (chew-cud / chew-and-spit) the prasāda — vōngaḷa (revolting)" |
| दंभाचे आवडी बहिराट अंधळे | "in love (āvaḍī) with dambha (hypocrisy / pretense) — bahirāṭa (deaf) — andhaḷē (blind)" |
| सेवटासि काळें होइल तोंड | "at the end (sēvaṭāsi) — black (kāḷē) — will be (hō'ila) — the face (tōṇḍa)" |
| सोन्यासेजारी तों लाखेची जतन | "near gold — lākha (lac / red varnish) — is preserved (jatana)" |
| सतंत ते गुण जैसेतैसे | "satanta (constant) guṇas — remain as-they-are (jaisē-taisē)" |
| सेव्य सेववता न पडतां ठावी | "sevya (the served / object-of-service) and sevvatā (the server) — when not made ṭhāvī (known)" |
| तुका म्हणे गोवी पावती हीं | "Tuka says — these get entangled (gōvī pāvatī)" |
What it means
Anti-court-poet abhang. Sharp condemnation of the kavēśvara-class.
The opening: kavēśvarāmcā tō āmhāmsī viṭāḷa — prasāda vōngaḷa civaḍitī — the kavēśvaras (= the poet-lords, the titled court-poets) — to us, they are viṭāḷa (= ritual-pollution, defilement); they civaḍitī (= chew-cud, chew-and-spit, slobber) the prasāda — vōngaḷa (= revolting / disgusting).
The kavēśvaras are court-and-temple-paid-poets who versify Hari-themes for patronage rather than from devotion. Tuka treats them as viṭāḷa-objects (the strongest term for ritual-pollution); their handling of the prasāda (= the divine offering / the bhakti-substance) is vōngaḷa — gross, half-eaten, slobbered-over. Compare 1279's uṣṭyā patrāvaḷī gōḷā — dākhavitī kaḷā kavitvācī — heaping up used-leaf-plates and showing it as kavitva.
The middle: dambhācē āvaḍī bahirāṭa andhaḷē — sēvaṭāsi kāḷē hō'ila tōṇḍa — those deaf and blind in love with dambha (hypocrisy) — at the end (sēvaṭāsi), their tōṇḍa (face) will become kāḷē (black, blackened-with-shame). Compare 1191 durjana tērā mū kālā — durjana, your face is black. The dambha-lovers' face turns black at the end.
The jatana-image: sōnyāsejārī tōm lākhēcī jatana — satanta tē guṇa jaisētaisē — near gold, the lākha (lac / red varnish) is jatana (preserved); the satanta (constant / steady) guṇas remain as-they-are. Lākha (lac) is not gold*; placed beside gold, lac retains its lac-nature, gold its gold-nature. The juxtaposition doesn't change the substance.
The closing technical-ethical line: sevya sevvatā na paḍatām ṭhāvī — gōvī pāvatī hīm — the sevya (= the one served; here the deity) and the sevvatā (= the server; the bhakta) — when not made ṭhāvī (= known / clarified-into-place) — gōvī pāvatī (get entangled). If you don't keep the who-is-served and who-is-the-server roles clear, they get entangled — and the kavēśvara exemplifies this: he serves himself in the name of serving Hari.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the title-poet-lords are viṭāḷa to us — they chew-and-spit the prasāda; the deaf-blind dambha-lovers' faces blacken at the end; gold and lac don't blend — the substance stays itself.
Where this applies
- Court-poets-are-impure.* Kavēśvarām-viṭāḷa.
- Chew-and-spit-the-prasāda.* Prasāda-vōngaḷa-civaḍitī.
- Hypocrisy-lovers-faces-blacken.* Dambhācē-āvaḍī-kāḷē-tōṇḍa.
- Gold-and-lac-stay-themselves.* Sōnyā-lākha-satanta-jaisē-taisē.
- Sevya-and-sevvatā-must-be-clear.* Sevya-sevvatā-ṭhāvī.