Abhanga 1407
For today: dry talk, snappy words — what's learnt-and-said has no ōla; who would take it to mind? — hear with ears as if not-hearing; house-to-house they pound chaff getting tired; by their own wit, their manner is empty.
The verse
कोरड्या गोठी चटक्या बोल । शिकल्या सांगे नाहीं ओल ॥१॥ कोण यांचें मना आणी । ऐकों कानीं नाइकोनि ॥ध्रु.॥ घरोघरीं सांगती ज्ञान । भूस सिणें कांडिती ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आपुल्या मति । काय रितीं पोकळें ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Kōraḍyā gōṣṭī, caṭakyā bōla — what's learnt-and-said — has no ōla. Who would bring these to mind? — let us hear with ears as if not-hearing. House-to-house they tell jñāna — getting tired, they pound bhūsa. Tuka says: by their own mati — what is in their ritī? — pōkaḷē.
मराठी: कोरड्या — गोठी — चटक्या — बोल; — शिकल्या — सांगे — नाहीं — ओल. कोण — यांचें — मना — आणी? — ऐकों — कानीं — नाइकोनि. घरो-घरीं — सांगती — ज्ञान; — भूस — सिणें — कांडिती. Tukā म्हणे — आपुल्या — मति; — काय — रितीं — पोकळें.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कोरड्या गोठी चटक्या बोल | "kōraḍyā gōṣṭī (= dry talk) — caṭakyā bōla (= snappy / sharp words)" |
| शिकल्या सांगे नाहीं ओल | "what (is) learnt — they say (sāngē) — has no ōla (= moisture / juice / soaking)" |
| कोण यांचें मना आणी | "who (kōṇa) — these (yāñcē) — to (their / one's) mind — would bring (āṇī)?" |
| ऐकों कानीं नाइकोनि | "let us hear (aikōm) — with ears (kānīm) — as if not-hearing (nā'ikōnī)" |
| घरोघरीं सांगती ज्ञान | "in every house (gharō-gharīm) — they tell (sāngatī) — jñāna" |
| भूस सिणें कांडिती | "bhūsa (= chaff) — getting tired (sīṇē) — they pound (kāṇḍitī)" |
| आपुल्या मति | "by their own (āpulyā) — mati (= wit / understanding)" |
| काय रितीं पोकळें | "what (kāya) — in (their) ritī (= manner / way) — pōkaḷē (= empty / hollow)" |
What it means
Dry-talk-snappy-words-no-moisture abhang. The opening anti-fake-jñāna sweep: kōraḍyā gōṣṭī caṭakyā bōla — śikalyā sāngē nāhīm ōla — kōraḍyā gōṣṭī (= dry talk), caṭakyā bōla (= snappy / smart words); — what is learnt (śikalyā) and said (sāngē) has no ōla (= moisture / juice / soaking). The diagnosis: the talk is dry; the words are sharp; what they've memorized has no ōla (= no inner-soaking, no anubhava-juice). (Connects directly to 1397's ōlēm mūḷa bhēdī khaḍakācē anga — only the wet (ōlēm) root pierces rock; here the talk has no ōla — so it pierces nothing.)
The dismissive response: kōṇa yāñcē manā āṇī — aikōm kānīm nā'ikōnī — who would bring these to (one's) mind? — let us hear with ears as if not-hearing. The bhakta's-stance toward dry-talk: don't take it to mind; let the ears hear it without the heart hearing it. (Compare 1389's na ghyāvī sākṣa — don't take witness; here don't take to mind.)
The vivid image: ghara-gharīm sāngatī jñāna — bhūsa siṇē kāṇḍitī — in every house (gharō-gharīm) — they tell jñāna; — getting tired (sīṇē), they pound (kāṇḍitī) — bhūsa (= chaff). The threshing-floor image: they're pounding chaff — pounding what has no grain; the labor itself is sīṇa (= fatiguing toil) because there's no result. (One of Tukaram's most-quoted anti-empty-discourse images: bhūsa-kāṇḍiṇē = the proverbial useless labor.)
The closing: āpulyā mati — kāya ritīm pōkaḷēm — by (their) own mati (wit / understanding); — what — in (their) ritī (manner) — is pōkaḷē (empty / hollow)? The verdict: their whole manner is pōkaḷa (= empty, hollow) — by their own wit (= by their own admission, if they were honest about it).
[T]
For someone today
For today: dry talk, snappy words — what's learnt-and-said has no ōla; who would take it to mind? — hear with ears as if not-hearing; house-to-house they pound chaff getting tired; by their own wit, their manner is empty.
Where this applies
- Dry-talk-no-moisture.* Kōraḍyā-gōṣṭī-ōla-na.
- Hear-with-ears-as-if-not-hearing.* Aikōm-kānīm-nā'ikōnī.
- Pounding-chaff-getting-tired.* Bhūsa-siṇē-kāṇḍitī.
- Manner-is-empty.* Ritīm-pōkaḷēm.