संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1401 of 4582

Abhanga 1401

For today: people are in prārabdha's hand; the wounded's company smears; in the āvisa is pīḍā, in tyāga is much sukha; the jīva that gets afraid has come outside of all.

When the āvisa (= bait) of sense-pleasures tempts — people are in prārabdha's hand; in the bait is pain, in renunciation is much sukha; the wise jīva flees outside

The verse

प्रारब्धा हातीं जन । सुख सीण पावतसे ॥१॥ करितां घाईळाचा संग । अंगें अंग माखावें ॥ध्रु.॥ आविसा अंगें पीडा वसे । त्यागें असे बहु सुख ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे जीव भ्याला । अवघ्या आला बाहेरी ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: People are in prārabdha's hand — they undergo sukha-sīṇa. Keeping the wounded one's company — body-to-body, smearing happens. In the āvisa is pīḍā — in tyāga is much sukha. Tuka says: the jīva got afraid — has come outside of all.

मराठी: प्रारब्धा — हातीं — जन; — सुख — सीण — पावतसे. करितां — घाईळाचा — संग; — अंगें — अंग — माखावें. आविसा — अंगें — पीडा — वसे; — त्यागें — असे — बहु — सुख. Tukā म्हणे — जीव — भ्याला; — अवघ्या — आला — बाहेरी.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
प्रारब्धा हातीं जन "people (jana) — in prārabdha's hand"
सुख सीण पावतसे "sukha-sīṇa (pleasure-and-fatigue) — they undergo (pāvatasē)"
करितां घाईळाचा संग "(when) keeping (karītām) — ghā'īḷācā (= the wounded one's) — sanga (company)"
अंगें अंग माखावें "anga (body) by anga — must be smeared (mākhāvēm — i.e., one's blood gets smeared on the wounded's body)"
आविसा अंगें पीडा वसे "in the āvisa (= bait / decoy / lure)'s body — pīḍā (pain) dwells (vasē)"
त्यागें असे बहु सुख "in tyāga (renunciation) — there is — bahu (much) — sukha"
तुका म्हणे जीव भ्याला "Tuka says — the jīva — got afraid (bhyālā)"
अवघ्या आला बाहेरी "of all (avaghyā) — has come (ālā) — bāhērī (= outside)"

What it means

People-in-prārabdha's-hand abhang. The opening: prārabdhā hātīm jana — sukha-sīṇa pāvatasēpeople are in prārabdha's hand; — they undergo sukha-sīṇa (= sukha and fatigue/sorrow). The default human condition: prārabdha-driven, riding the alternation of pleasure and pain.

The corollary warning: karītām ghā'īḷācā sanga — angēm anga mākhāvēm(when one) keeps the ghā'īḷa (= wounded one)'s sanga (company); — body to body — must be smeared. The wounded-one's company: the wounded's blood smears on whoever embraces them. The metaphor: those still being driven by prārabdha are wounded; if you keep their company too closely, their wounds smear on you. Compare 1300's Gangā na dēkhē viṭāḷa — Gangā doesn't see pollution — but ordinary jīvas do get smeared.

The principle: āvisā angēm pīḍā vasē — tyāgēm asē bahu sukhain the āvisa (= bait / lure / decoy)'s body — pīḍā (pain) — dwells; — in tyāga (renunciation) — there is much sukha. The classic tyāga-bahu-sukha line: the bait of sense-objects has pīḍā hidden in it (the trap behind the bait); tyāga alone has much sukha. (Compare the Bhagavad-Gītā's yē hi samsparśajā bhōgāḥ duḥkhayōnaya ēva tē — pleasures-from-sense-contact are duḥkha-wombs.)

The closing self-image: Tukā mhaṇē jīva bhyālā — avaghyā ālā bāhērīTuka says — the jīvabhyālā (got afraid); — avaghyā (of all) — has come bāhērī (outside). The healthy jīvafears the āvisa-samsāra and flees outside (= flees the prārabdha-game). Bhaya-as-discrimination: the fear is the good fear that pulls the jīva bāhērī (out of the trap).

[T]

For someone today

For today: people are in prārabdha's hand; the wounded's company smears; in the āvisa is pīḍā, in tyāga is much sukha; the jīva that gets afraid has come outside of all.

Where this applies

Related verses