संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1441 of 4582

Abhanga 1441

For today: desire-thirst-māyā are seeds of dishonor; destroy them and you become worthy of worship; the impatient loses honor on the way — rare is the darśana of patient steadiness; don't blame others — the price is wasted at your own buddhi.

When you'd see what makes a person worthy of worship — destroy āśā-tṛṣṇā-māyā; impatient loses honor; rare is the darśana of patient steadiness

The verse

आशा तृष्णा माया अपमानाचें बीज । नासिलिया पूज्य होईजेतें ॥१॥ अधीरासी नाहीं चालों जातां मान । दुर्लभ दरुषण धीर त्याचें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नाहीं आणिकांसी बोल । वांयां जाय मोल बुद्धीपाशीं ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: Āśā, tṛṣṇā, māyā — are apamāna's bīja — having destroyed (them), one becomes pūjya. To the adhīra — no māna on the way — durlabha is the daruṣaṇa of his dhīra. Tuka says: no bōla to others — vāyām goes the mōla at the buddhi.

मराठी: आशा — तृष्णा — माया — अप-मानाचें — बीज; — नासिलिया — पूज्य — होईजेतें. अधीरासी — नाहीं — चालों — जातां — मान; — दुर्लभ — दरुषण — धीर — त्याचें. Tukā म्हणे — नाहीं — आणिकांसी — बोल; — वांयां — जाय — मोल — बुद्धी-पाशीं.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
आशा तृष्णा माया अपमानाचें बीज "āśā (desire), tṛṣṇā (thirst), māyāapa-māna (dishonor)'s — bīja (seed)"
नासिलिया पूज्य होईजेतें "having destroyed (nāsiliyā) — pūjya (worthy of worship) — one becomes (hō'ījētē)"
अधीरासी नाहीं चालों जातां मान "to the adhīra (= impatient / unsteady one) — there is no māna (honor) — when going (cālōm jātām)"
दुर्लभ दरुषण धीर त्याचें "durlabha (rare) — daruṣaṇa (= darśana) — of his dhīra (= steadiness)"
तुका म्हणे नाहीं आणिकांसी बोल "Tuka says — to others (āṇikām) — there is no bōla (= saying / fault-finding)"
वांयां जाय मोल बुद्धीपाशीं "in vain (vāyām) — goes — mōla (price / value) — at one's buddhi (when one's own thinking fails)"

What it means

Desire-as-seed-of-disgrace abhang. The opening identification: āśā tṛṣṇā māyā apa-mānācē bīja — nāsiliyā pūjya hō'ījētēāśā (desire), tṛṣṇā (thirst), māyā — are the bīja (seed) of apa-māna (dishonor); — having destroyed them — one becomespūjya (worthy of worship). The bīja-image: āśā-tṛṣṇā-māyā are the seed; apa-māna is the fruit. Destroy the seed — flowering into pūjyatva (worship-worthiness) follows. (The seed-cycle inverted: usually āśā leads to māna-seeking; Tuka shows the real fruit is apa-māna. Compare 1422's jayācā-ādara-tē-chi-vhāvē — same seed-fruit logic.)

The patience-criterion: adhīrāsī nāhīm cālōm jātām māna — durlabha daruṣaṇa dhīra tyācēto (the) adhīra (impatient one) — there is no māna (honor) — when going (= en-route, in process); — durlabha (rare) is daruṣaṇa (the seeing) — of his dhīra (steadiness). The en-route-test: the impatient one loses honor on the way; to see his own dhīra is durlabha. (= patience is invisible-to-the-impatient, and visible-only-by-darśana; Tukaram's distinctive use of daruṣaṇa (= darśana) for self-seeing of dhīra.)

The closing self-reflexivity: nāhīm āṇikāñsī bōla — vāyām jāya mōla buddhī-pāśīmto others — there is no bōla (= fault-finding); — in vain — goes the mōla (price / value) — at one's own buddhi (= when one's own buddhi-pāśīm fails). Don't blame othersthe value is wasted at your own buddhi. The self-ownership of failure: if one's own buddhi fails, the mōla (price already paid) is wasted. (= even after destroying-the-seed-of-disgrace, if the buddhi later slips, the prior gain is wasted.)

[T]

For someone today

For today: desire-thirst-māyā are seeds of dishonor; destroy them and you become worthy of worship; the impatient loses honor on the way — rare is the darśana of patient steadiness; don't blame others — the price is wasted at your own buddhi.

Where this applies

Related verses