Abhanga 1404
Outer religious performance driven by self-interest is a hollow show, and a person's anger under pressure reveals whether their devotion is real or just costume.
The verse
निंदा स्तुती करवी पोट । सोंग दाखवी बोभाट ॥१॥ जटा राख विटंबना । धीर नाहीं क्षमा मना ॥ध्रु.॥ शृंगारिलें मढें । जीवेंविण जैसें कुडें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे रागें । भलतें चावळे वाउगें ॥३॥
Literal translation
The pōṭa makes nindā and stutī — sōnga is shown as bōbhāṭa. Jaṭā-rākha is viṭambanā — no dhīra, no kṣamā in the mana. A decorated corpse — without jīva — is like a kuḍēm. Tuka says: by rāga — they prattle anything uselessly.
मराठी: निंदा — स्तुती — करवी — पोट; — सोंग — दाखवी — बोभाट. जटा — राख — विटंबना; — धीर — नाहीं — क्षमा — मना. शृंगारिलें — मढें; — जीवेंविण — जैसें — कुडें. Tukā म्हणे — रागें; — भलतें — चावळे — वाउगें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| निंदा स्तुती करवी पोट | "nindā (blame) and stutī (praise) — makes happen — the pōṭa (= belly / stomach)" |
| सोंग दाखवी बोभाट | "sōnga (disguise / role-play) — shows (dākhavī) — as bōbhāṭa (= loud display / fanfare)" |
| जटा राख विटंबना | "jaṭā (matted-locks) — rākha (ash) — viṭambanā (= mockery / disgrace)" |
| धीर नाहीं क्षमा मना | "dhīra (steadiness) — is not (nāhīm) — kṣamā (forbearance) — to the mana" |
| शृंगारिलें मढें | "decorated (śṛngārilēm) — maḍhē (= corpse)" |
| जीवेंविण जैसें कुडें | "without (-viṇa) life (jīva) — like kuḍēm (= a husk / shell-without-substance)" |
| रागें | "by rāga (anger / passion)" |
| भलतें चावळे वाउगें | "anything (bhalatēm) — they prattle (cāvaḷē) — uselessly (vāugēm)" |
What it means
Belly-drives-blame-and-praise / decorated-corpse abhang. The opening: nindā stutī karavī pōṭa — sōnga dākhavī bōbhāṭa — thepōṭa(= belly / stomach) makesnindā(blame) andstutī(praise); —sōnga(= disguise / role-play) — is shown asbōbhāṭa(= loud-display / public fanfare). The foundational anti-fake-bhakti diagnosis: what looks like spiritual nindā-stutī-discourse is actually belly-driven; the sōnga (religious-costume) is performed as bōbhāṭa (= loud-public-display).
The targets: jaṭā rākha viṭambanā — dhīra nāhīm kṣamā manā — thejaṭā(= matted-locks) andrākha(= ash-smearing) — areviṭambanā(= mockery / disgrace); — there is nodhīra(steadiness) — nokṣamā(forbearance) — in the mind. The jaṭā-rākha (= the standard samnyāsa-paraphernalia) without dhīra-kṣamā is viṭambanā — a self-disgrace. (The opposite-of-true-renunciation: outer signs without inner signs.)
The image: śṛngārilēm maḍhēm — jīvēmviṇa jaisēm kuḍēm — adecorated corpse(śṛngārilēm maḍhēm); — withoutjīva(life) — likekuḍēm(= empty shell / hollow husk). The decorated-corpse image: the dressed-up dead body without life is a hollow shell. The fake-renouncer is a corpse-in-fancy-clothes. (One of the most striking anti-fake-bhakti images in the Gatha.)
The closing: rāgēm bhalatēm cāvaḷē vāugēm — byrāga(anger / passion) — they prattle anything uselessly. The fake-renouncers — when crossed — prattle anything-and-everything in vāugā (vain) speech. Their rāga (= the very anger that real renunciation should have eliminated) gives them away.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the belly drives praise and blame; the disguise becomes a loud-display; jaṭā-rākha without dhīra-kṣamā is mockery; a decorated corpse without life is a hollow shell; their anger gives them away in useless prattle.
Where this applies
- When someone's spiritual talk changes depending on who is watching or what benefits them
- When you notice a person dressed in religious signs but with no real patience or forgiveness
- When someone loses their temper and starts saying anything, revealing the performance underneath
- When you catch yourself performing devotion for show rather than living it quietly