Abhanga 1409
For today: fault grows by indulgence — once set, the imprint doesn't reverse easily; acting on good vacana is Nārāyaṇa himself; prārabdha runs by rule, toil remains as toil; only śānti held in the citta gives sukha.
The verse
सोसें वाढे दोष । जाला न पालटे कस ॥१॥ ऐसें बरवें वचन । करितां तें नारायण ॥ध्रु.॥ असे प्रारब्ध नेमें । श्रमुचि उरे श्रम ॥२॥ सुख देते शांती । तुका म्हणे धरितां चित्तीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
By sōsa, dōṣa grows — once become, kasa doesn't reverse. Such a good vacana — when made (acted on) — that is Nārāyaṇa. Prārabdha is by nēma — śrama alone remains as śrama. Tuka says: śānti gives sukha — when kept in the citta.
मराठी: सोसें — वाढे — दोष; — जाला — न — पालटे — कस. ऐसें — बरवें — वचन; — करितां — तें — नारायण. असे — प्रारब्ध — नेमें; — श्रमुचि — उरे — श्रम. सुख — देते — शांती; — Tukā म्हणे — धरितां — चित्तीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सोसें वाढे दोष | "by sōsa (= indulgence / addiction-like-craving) — dōṣa (fault) — grows (vāḍhē)" |
| जाला न पालटे कस | "(once) become (jālā) — doesn't (na) — pālaṭē (reverse / change) — kasa (= the proof / test / set state)" |
| ऐसें बरवें वचन | "such — good — vacana (word / saying)" |
| करितां तें नारायण | "(when) one makes / does (karītām) — that — (is) Nārāyaṇa" |
| असे प्रारब्ध नेमें | "prārabdha — by nēma (rule / fixed) — exists" |
| श्रमुचि उरे श्रम | "śrama (toil) alone (chi) — remains — śrama" |
| सुख देते शांती | "sukha — gives — śānti" |
| तुका म्हणे धरितां चित्तीं | "Tuka says — (when) keeping (dharītām) — in the citta (mind)" |
What it means
Fault-grows-by-indulgence abhang. The opening warning: sōsēm vāḍhē dōṣa — jālā na pālaṭē kasa — bysōsa(= indulgence / craving) —dōṣa(fault) grows; — once it hasjālā(become fixed) — thekasa(= theset-state / hold / impression) —doesn't reverse. Sōsa is the self-feeding form of desire; once a dōṣa has set-in, the kasa (the imprint) is hard to pālaṭa (reverse). (Compare 1402's āśā-buddhīcā-lōpa — desire-erases-discrimination; here the imprint-after-erasure is hard to undo.)
The corrective: aisēm baravēm vacana — karītām tēm Nārāyaṇa — such —baravēm(good) —vacana(word / saying); — when onemakes(= acts upon, lives by) it — that itself isNārāyaṇa. The good vacana (= saint's-saying or self-counsel) — acting on it — is Nārāyaṇa-himself-in-action. (Tuka's typical formulation: practice-is-the-Deva; not the abstract Deva.)
The corollary: asē prārabdha nēmēm — śramu chi urē śrama — prārabdha is bynēma(= rule / fixed-quantum); —śrama(toil) is what's left —śrama. Prārabdha runs on a fixed-allotment; toil is what remains-as-toil — i.e., toil-against-prārabdha is just toil; the prārabdha runs out as fixed.
The closing principle: sukha dētē śāntī — dharītām cittīm — sukha —gives—śānti; — (when) holding (it) in thecitta. Sukha-giver is śānti (calm-restraint); the condition is holding it in the citta. The only-cure for the dōṣa's kasa is śānti held-in-citta. (Compare 1391's vivēka-mokaḷē — discrimination-released; here citta-held-śānti.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: fault grows by indulgence — once set, the imprint doesn't reverse easily; acting on good vacana is Nārāyaṇa himself; prārabdha runs by rule, toil remains as toil; only śānti held in the citta gives sukha.
Where this applies
- When a bad habit you have indulged keeps growing and feels impossible to reverse
- When you have heard good advice many times but never actually acted on it
- When you are exhausting yourself fighting circumstances that are simply beyond your control
- When you are searching for happiness in outcomes instead of in a settled, peaceful mind