Abhanga 1413
For today: when I demand my share, where will you hide? — saints are witness; I'll become the dharaṇēkarī at your door — won't let you out; I am imperishable, you carry the burden of being god.
The verse
मागतां विभाग । कोठें लपाल जी मग ॥१॥ संत साक्षी या वचना । त्यांसी ठाउकिया खुणा ॥ध्रु.॥ होइन धरणेकरी । मग मी रिघों नेदीं बाहेरी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे मी अक्षर । तुज देवपणाचा भार ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: (When I) demand my vibhāga — where will you hide, sir, then? Saints are sākṣī to this vacana — the khuṇā are known to them. I will become a dharaṇēkarī — then I will not let you get out. Tuka says: I am akṣara — on you (lies) the bhāra of Devapaṇa.
मराठी: मागतां — विभाग; — कोठें — लपाल — जी — मग? संत — साक्षी — या — वचना; — त्यांसी — ठाउकिया — खुणा. होइन — धरणेकरी; — मग — मी — रिघों — नेदीं — बाहेरी. Tukā म्हणे — मी — अक्षर; — तुज — देवपणाचा — भार.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मागतां विभाग | "(when I) demand (māgatām) — vibhāga (= share / portion / due-allotment)" |
| कोठें लपाल जी मग | "where (kōṭhēm) — will you hide (lapāla) — sir (jī) — then (maga)?" |
| संत साक्षी या वचना | "saints — sākṣī (witness) — to this vacana (saying)" |
| त्यांसी ठाउकिया खुणा | "to them (tyāñsī) — known (ṭhā'ukiyā) — are the khuṇā (signs)" |
| होइन धरणेकरी | "I will become (hō'īna) — dharaṇēkarī (= one who sits in protest at the door / a dunning-creditor who refuses to leave until paid)" |
| मग मी रिघों नेदीं बाहेरी | "then — I — will not let (nēdīm) — (you) get out (righōm) — bāhērī (= outside)" |
| तुका म्हणे मी अक्षर | "Tuka says — I — (am) akṣara (= imperishable / unchanging-syllable)" |
| तुज देवपणाचा भार | "on you (tuja) — Devapaṇa (god-hood)'s — bhāra (= burden / load / weight)" |
What it means
Demanding-share-where-will-Hari-hide abhang. A Hari-tāḍ (Hari-rebuke) abhang — Tuka turns creditor against Hari. The opening: māgatām vibhāga — kōṭhēm lapāla jī maga — (when) (I) demand my vibhāga (= share / portion); — where will you hide, sir, then? Tuka claims a bhakta's-share (the Hari-portion) is owed to him as vibhāga; when he demands it, where will Hari hide?
The witnessing: samta sākṣī yā vacanā — tyāñsī ṭhā'ukiyā khuṇā — the samtas — are sākṣī (witness) to this vacana; — to them — known are the khuṇā (= the signs). I have witnesses — the saints know the khuṇā (= the signs of the contract / the secret-marks). (Compare 1394's Devā sākṣī kēlā — Hari himself made witness; here saints are witness against Hari.)
The threat: hō'īna dharaṇēkarī — maga mī righōm nēdīm bāhērī — I will become a dharaṇēkarī (= protester sitting at the doorway / dunning-creditor); — then I will not let (you) get bāhērī (out). Dharaṇē is the traditional Indian protest-form — sit at the debtor's doorway and refuse to leave until paid. (Compare 1392's māgēm divāna nēlēm — taken to court; this is more direct — protest at Hari's door.)
The closing claim: Tukā mhaṇē mī akṣara — tuja Devapaṇācā bhāra — Tuka says — I am akṣara (= imperishable / unchanging-syllable); — on you — the bhāra of Devapaṇa (god-hood). The bhakta's bold equation: I am imperishable (akṣara — Bhagavad-Gītā 8.3 akṣaram brahma paramam — the supreme imperishable Brahman); — meanwhile, you carry the burden of being-god (Devapaṇa = the god-role). The implicit logic: I am imperishable independent of you; your god-hood depends on having bhaktas like me. So you have more to lose. (One of the boldest Hari-tāḍ formulations — the bhakta as akṣara, the god as burdened-by-god-hood.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: when I demand my share, where will you hide? — saints are witness; I'll become the dharaṇēkarī at your door — won't let you out; I am imperishable, you carry the burden of being god.
Where this applies
- Demanding-share-where-will-Hari-hide.* Māgatām-vibhāga-lapāla-kōṭhēm.
- Saints-are-witness-signs-known-to-them.* Samta-sākṣī-khuṇā.
- Will-be-dharaṇēkarī-not-let-out.* Dharaṇēkarī-righōm-bāhērī-na.
- I-am-imperishable-Hari-bears-godhood-burden.* Akṣara-Devapaṇācā-bhāra.