Abhanga 1392
Devotion is easy to fake for show or profit, but hollow performance eventually shows on your face, so be honest about whether you are truly serving something higher or secretly serving yourself.
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
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 — thekavēśvaras(= thepoet-lords, thetitled court-poets) — to us, they areviṭāḷa(= ritual-pollution, defilement); theycivaḍitī(= 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 — thosedeaf and blindin love withdambha(hypocrisy) — at the end (sēvaṭāsi), theirtōṇḍa(face) will becomekāḷē(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 — neargold, thelākha(lac / red varnish) isjatana(preserved); thesatanta(constant / steady) guṇas remainas-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 — thesevya(= the one served; here the deity) and thesevvatā(= the server; the bhakta) — when not madeṭhāvī(= 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
- When you or someone you know performs religious devotion, art, or work mainly to win praise, status, or money
- When you notice a hypocrite's confident performance and wonder if it will eventually catch up with them
- When you assume that being near something admirable will change who you are without any real effort on your part
- When you are unsure whether you are genuinely serving a cause or quietly serving your own ego under its name