Abhanga 1431
Uproot desire completely before you renounce anything; a fake or half-hearted renunciation is a worse disgrace than simply staying home and living honestly.
The verse
आशा हे समूळ खाणोनि काडावी । तेव्हां चि गोसावी व्हावें तेणें ॥१॥ नाहीं तरी सुखें असावें संसारीं । फजिती दुसरी करूं नये ॥ध्रु.॥ आशा मारूनिया जयवंत व्हावें । तेव्हां चि निघावें सर्वांतूनि ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे जरीं योगाची तांतडी । आशेची बीबुडी करीं आधीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Āśā must be uprooted sa-mūḷa and thrown out — only then should one become gōsāvī. Otherwise, peacefully stay in samsāra — don't make a second phajitī. Having killed āśā, become jayavanta — only then come out from all. Tuka says: if there's yoga-urgency — make āśā's bībuḍī first.
मराठी: आशा — हे — समूळ — खाणोनि — काडावी; — तेव्हां — चि — गोसावी — व्हावें — तेणें. नाहीं — तरी — सुखें — असावें — संसारीं; — फजिती — दुसरी — करूं — नये. आशा — मारूनिया — जयवंत — व्हावें; — तेव्हां — चि — निघावें — सर्वांतूनि. Tukā म्हणे — जरीं — योगाची — तांतडी; — आशेची — बीबुडी — करीं — आधीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आशा हे समूळ खाणोनि काडावी | "āśā — must be — dug-up (khāṇōnī) — with-the-root (sa-mūḷa) — thrown out (kāḍāvī)" |
| तेव्हां चि गोसावी व्हावें तेणें | "only then (tēvhām chi) — gōsāvī (renouncer) — should one (tēṇē) — become" |
| नाहीं तरी सुखें असावें संसारीं | "otherwise — peacefully (sukhēm) — let one be — in samsāra" |
| फजिती दुसरी करूं नये | "phajitī (= disgrace / spectacle) — second (dusarī) — should not be made" |
| आशा मारूनिया जयवंत व्हावें | "āśā — having killed (mārūniyā) — jaya-vanta (victorious) — should become" |
| तेव्हां चि निघावें सर्वांतूनि | "only then — let one come-out (nighāvēm) — from all (sarvāntūnī)" |
| तुका म्हणे जरीं योगाची तांतडी | "Tuka says — if (jarīm) — yoga's — tāntaḍī (= urgency)" |
| आशेची बीबुडी करीं आधीं | "of āśā — bībuḍī (= eradication / uprooting) — make (karīm) — first (ādhīm)" |
What it means
Uproot-desire-or-don't-renounce abhang. A blunt anti-fake-renouncer ultimatum. The opening: āśā hē sa-mūḷa khāṇōnī kāḍāvī — tēvhām chi gōsāvī vhāvēm tēṇē — desire — must besa-mūḷa(= with-the-root) —dug-up(khāṇōnī) —thrown-out(kāḍāvī); —only then— should one becomegōsāvī(renouncer). The verb khāṇōnī (digging-up) is the agricultural-uprooting image — not just cutting; pulling up roots-and-all. Without that, don't take samnyāsa.
The brutal alternative: nāhīm tarī sukhēm asāvēm samsārīm — phajitī dusarī karūm nayē — otherwise —peacefullybe — insamsāra; — don'tmake a second phajitī(= disgrace / public-spectacle). Phajitī — the Persian-borrowed Marathi word for public-disgrace. Better: stay in samsāra peacefully — than to put on samnyāsa-show and make a second disgrace. (= staying in samsāra is the first condition; failed-samnyāsa is the second / additional phajitī. One disgrace, fine; don't compound it.)
The positive prescription: āśā mārūniyā jaya-vanta vhāvēm — tēvhām chi nighāvēm sarvāntūnī — havingkilleddesire — becomejaya-vanta(victorious); —only then—come out— fromall(sarvāntūnī). The kill-desire-then-renounce sequence. Sarvāntūnī — out from all of samsāra — happens after, not before, the killing.
The closing yoga-pragmatic: jarīm yōgācī tāntaḍī — āśēcī bībuḍī karīm ādhīm — if there'syoga'stāntaḍī(= urgency / hurry); —desire's bībuḍī(= eradication / uprooting) — make —first. If you're in a hurry to do yoga — do desire-eradication first. (Compare 1404's jaṭā-rākha-viṭambanā — outer-renunciation without inner is mockery; here the internal-desire-uprooting must precede external renunciation.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: uproot desire with the root or don't take samnyāsa; better stay peacefully in samsāra than make a second disgrace; kill desire and become victorious — only then come out from all; if yoga is urgent, eradicate desire first.
Where this applies
- When someone wants to quit their job or leave their family to 'find themselves' but hasn't actually dealt with the craving driving them away
- When you feel pressure to look spiritual or detached in front of others before you actually feel that way inside
- When you're tempted to make a dramatic life change as a shortcut instead of doing the slow inner work first
- When a person who tried renunciation and failed publicly is tempted to try again the same half-hearted way