Abhanga 1394
Live with nothing to hide and no need for one side to win at another's loss - let truth be enough on its own and let God, not your own boasting, be witness to the outcome.
The verse
माया साक्षी आम्ही नेणों भीड भार । आप आणि पर नाहीं दोन्ही ॥१॥ सत्याचिये साटीं अवघा चि भरे । नावडे व्यापार तुटीचा तो ॥ध्रु.॥ पोंभाळिता चरे अंतरींचें दुःख । लांसें फांसें मुख उघडावें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नव्हे स्फीतीचा हा ठाव । निवाड्यासी देव साक्षी केला ॥३॥
Literal translation
Māyā is sākṣī — we don't know bhīḍa-bhāra — āpa and para, neither (of these) two. For satya's sake, everything fills — we don't like the vyāpāra of tuṭī. When (one is) coddled, inner duḥkha grazes — from lānsē-phāmsē, the mukha must be opened. Tuka says: this is not the place of sphītī — for the verdict, Deva has been made sākṣī.
मराठी: माया — साक्षी — आम्ही — नेणों — भीड-भार; — आप आणि पर — नाहीं — दोन्ही. सत्याचिये साटीं — अवघा-च — भरे; — नावडे — व्यापार — तुटीचा — तो. पोंभाळितां — चरे — अंतरींचें — दुःख; — लांसें-फांसें — मुख — उघडावें. Tukā म्हणे — नव्हे — स्फीतीचा — हा ठाव; — निवाड्यासी — देव — साक्षी — केला.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| माया साक्षी आम्ही नेणों भीड भार | "māyā — (is) sākṣī (witness) — we don't know bhīḍa-bhāra (= face-saving / shame-burden)" |
| आप आणि पर नाहीं दोन्ही | "āpa (self) and para (other) — neither (of) two" |
| सत्याचिये साटीं अवघा चि भरे | "for satya's sake — everything fills (bharē)" |
| नावडे व्यापार तुटीचा तो | "we don't like (nāvaḍē) — the vyāpāra (commerce) — of tuṭī (loss / break)" |
| पोंभाळिता चरे अंतरींचें दुःख | "when pōmbhāḷita (cherished) — inner duḥkha — grazes (carē)" |
| लांसें फांसें मुख उघडावें | "lānsē-phāmsē (the noose / snare) — the mukha (mouth) — must be opened" |
| नव्हे स्फीतीचा हा ठाव | "this is not (navhē) — the sphītī (= boasting / inflated-talk) — ṭhāva (place)" |
| निवाड्यासी देव साक्षी केला | "for the nivāḍa (verdict / settlement) — Deva — has been made sākṣī (witness)" |
What it means
Māyā-as-witness-no-boasting abhang. The opening: māyā sākṣī āmhī nēṇōm bhīḍa bhāra — āpa āṇi para nāhīm dōnnhī — māyā (itself) issākṣī(witness); we don't knowbhīḍa-bhāra(= face-saving / shame-burden);āpa(self) andpara(other) — neither of (these) two. The bhakta has no face to save; no self, no other. Māyā is the universal-witness; the bhakta isn't trying to fool māyā. (Compare 1304 vadē sākṣatvēsīm vāṇī — speech-with-witnessing-quality.)
The principle: satyāciyē sāṭīm avaghā chi bharē — nāvaḍē vyāpāra tuṭīcā tō — for satya's sake — everythingbharē(fills / is enough); we don't like thevyāpāra(= commercial-dealing) oftuṭī(loss / break). The merchant-image returns: Tuka rejects the trade-of-tuṭī — the kind of business where someone has-to-lose. For satya, everything fills — no zero-sum needed.
The closing self-clarity: navhē sphītīcā hā ṭhāva — nivāḍyāsī Deva sākṣī kēlā — this is not the place ofsphītī(= boasting / inflated-talk); for thenivāḍa(verdict / settlement),Deva himself has been made sākṣī.Sphītīisself-puffing-up; this isn't that. The bhakta hasput Deva-as-witnessfor whatever verdict comes. (Compare the Hari-tāḍ register'smāgē divāna nēlēm— taken to court — but here it's not litigious; justDeva is the witness.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: māyā itself witnesses — no face-saving; no self, no other; for satya, everything fills; this is not boasting — Deva is the witness for the verdict.
Where this applies
- When you are tempted to manage your image or save face instead of just being honest
- When you are in a deal or negotiation and tempted to make sure you come out ahead even if it costs the other person
- When you have been suppressing something painful instead of speaking about it, and it keeps nagging at you from inside
- When you want credit or praise for your honesty instead of simply letting the truth stand on its own