Abhanga 1407
Words learned and repeated without real feeling behind them are dry and hollow, so let such empty talk pass by your ears without letting it settle into your mind.
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
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 islearnt(śikalyā) andsaid(sāngē) has noōla(= moisture / juice / soaking). The diagnosis: the talk is dry; the words are sharp; what they've memorized has noōla(= 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 bringtheseto (one's) mind? — let us hear with ears as ifnot-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 telljñāna; — 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) ownmati(wit / understanding); — what — in (their)ritī(manner) — ispōkaḷē(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
- When someone impresses you with clever spiritual talk that somehow leaves you feeling nothing at all
- When you catch yourself reciting words you have memorized without any real feeling behind them
- When you are tired from arguing or explaining things to people who are not actually listening or changing
- When you need permission to simply let empty gossip or preaching pass by without taking it to heart
- When you sense a teacher or speaker is all polish and no substance, and want a plain way to name that