संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1434 of 4582

Abhanga 1434

English: Some give upadēśa: 'saying nāma — there's no mokṣa' — be badhira at their place — duṣṭa vacana / vākya is that.

When teachers say nāma alone doesn't give mokṣa — be deaf to such; recall Dhruva-Śankhāsura-gaṇikā-Prahlāda; the deniers go to naraka

The verse

नाम म्हणतां मोक्ष नाहीं । ऐसा उपदेश करिती कांहीं । बधिर व्हावें त्याचे ठायीं । दुष्ट वचन वाक्य तें ॥१॥ जयाचे राहिलें मानसीं । तें चि पावले तयासी । चांचपडतां मेलीं पिसीं । भलतैसीं वाचाळें ॥ध्रु.॥ नवविधीचा निषेध । जेणें मुखें करिती वाद । जन्मा आले निंद्य । शूकरयाती संसारा ॥२॥ काय सांगों वेळोवेळां । आठव नाहीं चांडाळा । नामासाठीं बाळा । क्षीरसागरीं कोंडिलें ॥३॥ आपुलिया नामासाठीं । लागे शंखासुरापाठीं । फोडोनियां पोटीं । वेद चारी काढिले ॥४॥ जगीं प्रसद्धि हे बोली । नामें गणिका तारिली । आणिकें ही उद्धरिलीं । पातकी महादोषी ॥५॥ जे हे पवाडे गर्जती । नाम प्रल्हादाचा चित्तीं । जळतां बुडतां घातीं । राखे हातीं विषाचे ॥६॥ काय सांगों ऐशीं किती । तुका म्हणे नामख्याती । नरकाप्रती जाती । निषेधिती तीं एकें ॥७॥

Literal translation

English: Some give upadēśa: 'saying nāma — there's no mokṣa' — be badhira at their place — duṣṭa vacana / vākya is that. What stayed in their mānasa — that itself they obtained — they died fumbling like pisēm — random vācāḷas. The niṣēdha of nava-vidhi — by which mouth they make vāda — born nindya — into pig-births in samsāra. What to say, time-after-time? — the cāṇḍāḷa has no āṭhava — for nāma's sake, Bāḷā was kōṇḍilēm in the kṣīra-sāgara. For his own nāma's sake, (Hari) went after Śankhāsura — having broken open the belly, drew out the four Vedas. In the world this bōlī is famous — by nāma, the gaṇikā was saved — others too were uplifted — sinners, mahā-dōṣīs. Those who proclaim these pavāḍas — Prahlāda's nāma in citta — burning, drowning, in striking — saves from poison's hand. What to say — how many such? — Tuka says: nāma-khyāti — those who niṣēdha — go to naraka.

मराठी: नाम म्हणतां मोक्ष नाहीं — ऐसा उपदेश करिती कांहीं; — बधिर व्हावें त्याचे ठायीं; — दुष्ट वचन वाक्य तें. जयाचे राहिलें मानसीं — तें चि पावले तयासी; — चांचपडतां मेलीं पिसीं; — भलतैसीं वाचाळें. नव-विधीचा निषेध — जेणें मुखें करिती वाद; — जन्मा आले निंद्य — शूकर-याती — संसारा. काय सांगों वेळो-वेळां? — आठव नाहीं चांडाळा; — नामा-साठीं बाळा — क्षीर-सागरीं कोंडिलें. आपुलिया नामा-साठीं — लागे शंखासुरा-पाठीं; — फोडोनियां पोटीं — वेद चारी काढिले. जगीं प्रसिद्धि हे बोली — नामें गणिका तारिली; — आणिकें ही उद्धरिलीं — पातकी महा-दोषी. जे हे पवाडे गर्जती — नाम प्रल्हादाचा चित्तीं; — जळतां — बुडतां — घातीं — राखे हातीं विषाचे. काय सांगों ऐशीं किती? — Tukā म्हणे — नाम-ख्याति; — नरकाप्रती जाती — निषेधिती तीं एकें.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
नाम म्हणतां मोक्ष नाहीं "saying nāma — there is no mokṣa"
ऐसा उपदेश करिती कांहीं "such upadēśasome (kāhīm) — give"
बधिर व्हावें त्याचे ठायीं "badhira (deaf) — must become — at that place"
दुष्ट वचन वाक्य तें "duṣṭa (wicked) — that vacana / vākya"
जयाचे राहिलें मानसीं "in whose (jayācē) — mānasa — has stayed (rāhilēm)"
तें चि पावले तयासी "that very (tēm chi) — they obtain (pāvalē)"
चांचपडतां मेलीं पिसीं "fumbling (cāñcapaḍatām) — died (mēlīm) — like pisēm (mad)"
भलतैसीं वाचाळें "random (bhaltaisīm) — vācāḷa (chatterers)"
नवविधीचा निषेध "nava-vidhi (= nine-fold bhakti)'s — niṣēdha (prohibition)"
जेणें मुखें करिती वाद "by which mouth — they make vāda (argument)"
जन्मा आले निंद्य "born (janmā ālē) — nindya (despised)"
शूकरयाती संसारा "in śūkara-yāti (pig-births) — into samsāra"
आठव नाहीं चांडाळा "the cāṇḍāḷa — has no remembrance (āṭhava)"
नामासाठीं बाळा "for the nāma's sake — Bāḷā (= the child / Dhruva-as-child)"
क्षीरसागरीं कोंडिलें "in the kṣīra-sāgara — was kōṇḍilēm (= confined / stationed)"
लागे शंखासुरापाठीं "(Hari) went after — Śankhāsura"
फोडोनियां पोटीं "having broken open the belly"
वेद चारी काढिले "the four Vedas — drew out"
नामें गणिका तारिली "by nāma — the gaṇikā (courtesan) — was saved (tārilī)"
आणिकें ही उद्धरिलीं "others too — were uplifted (uddharilīm)"
पातकी महादोषी "pātakī (sinners) — mahā-dōṣī (with great faults)"
नाम प्रल्हादाचा चित्तीं "nāma — Prahlāda's — in citta"
जळतां बुडतां घातीं "burning (jaḷatām), drowning (buḍatām), striking (ghātīm)"
राखे हातीं विषाचे "saves — from poison's hand"
नरकाप्रती जाती "to naraka (hell) — they go"
निषेधिती तीं एकें "those — who niṣēdha (prohibit) — those (very) ones (tīm ēkēm)"

What it means

Anti-anti-nāma polemic abhang. A long 8-verse defense of nāma-power against deniers. The opening verdict: nāma mhaṇatām mōkṣa nāhīm — aisā upadēśa karitī kāhīm — badhira vhāvēm tyācē ṭhāyīm — duṣṭa vacana vākya tēmsome give the upadēśa: 'saying nāma, there is no mokṣa'; — be deaf at that place; — that vacana / vākya is duṣṭa (wicked). (Targets: probably jñāna-only teachers and strict-vidhi-mantra schools who require mantra-dīkṣā and vidhi-procedures rather than open-public-japa as in 1433.)

The diagnosis of the deniers: jayācē rāhilēm mānasīm — tēm chi pāvalē tayāsī — cāñcapaḍatām mēlīm pisīm — bhaltaisīm vācāḷēmwhat stayed in (their) mānasa — that itself they obtained; — fumbling, they died like pisēm; — random vācāḷas. Connecting to 1422's jayācā ādara tē chi vhāvē: what they held-in-mānasa, they became. So those who held anti-nāma in mind obtained nāma-less death.

The next-life-verdict: nava-vidhīcā niṣēdha — jēṇē mukhēm karitī vāda — janmā ālē nindya — śūkara-yātī samsārāthose who prohibit the nava-vidhi (= the nine-fold bhakti: śravaṇa, kīrtana, smaraṇa, pāda-sēvana, arcana, vandana, dāsya, sakhya, ātma-nivedana) by their vāda (argument) — born nindya in pig-births in samsāra*. (Strong: pig-rebirth for nāma-deniers.)

The nāma-pavāḍa (= heroic-deeds-of-the-name) examples: 1. Bāḷā kṣīra-sāgarīm kōṇḍilēmBāḷā — the child Dhruva — was stationed in the kṣīra-sāgara (= polestar / above-the-milk-ocean) for the nāma's sake; 2. Hari lāgē Śankhāsura-pāṭhī — pōṭīm Veda cārī kāḍhilē — Hari pursued Śankhāsura (the conch-demon who stole the Vedas) — broke his belly — recovered the four Vedas (= Hari's own name needed rescuing!); 3. Nāmēm gaṇikā tārilī — by nāma, the gaṇikā was saved (= probably the parrot-taught-Rām-nāma-courtesan story; classical bhakti-trope); 4. Prahlāda — jaḷatām buḍatām ghātīm — viṣācē hātīm rākhēPrahlāda's nāma-in-citta saved him from burning (Hiraṇyakaśipu's pyre / Hōlikā), drowning (sea-thrown), striking-blows, and poison. (Foundational Bhāgavata-Purāṇa nāma-test stories.)

The closing: nāma-khyāti — narakā-pratī jātī — niṣēdhitī tīm ēkēm(such is) nāma's renown; — those who prohibit (it) — go to naraka. Final ruling: anti-nāma teachers go to hell.

[T]

For someone today

For today: be deaf to those who say nāma alone doesn't give mokṣa — that's wicked speech; what they hold in mind they become (nāma-less death); recall Dhruva-stationed-as-pole-star, Hari-rescued-Vedas-from-conch-demon's-belly, the courtesan-saved-by-nāma, Prahlāda-saved-from-burning-drowning-poison; the deniers of nāma go to hell.

Where this applies

Related verses