Abhanga 1441
Desire and craving breed your own dishonor, impatience costs you standing, and when your own judgment fails, the loss is yours to own, not others' fault.
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
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), māyā — apa-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'ījētē — āśā (desire), tṛṣṇā (thirst), māyā — are thebīja(seed) ofapa-māna(dishonor); — havingdestroyedthem — onebecomes—pūjya(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 tyācē — to (the)adhīra(impatient one) — there is nomāna(honor) —when going(= en-route, in process); —durlabha(rare) isdaruṣaṇa(theseeing) — of hisdhīra(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-pāśīm — toothers— there is nobōla(= fault-finding); —in vain— goes themōla(price / value) —at one's own buddhi(= when one's own buddhi-pāśīm fails). Don't blame others — the value is wasted at your own buddhi. The self-ownership of failure: if one'sown buddhifails, themōla(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
- When you keep chasing more — more approval, more things, more security — and wonder why you still feel disrespected or unsettled
- When you're waiting for something important and start losing your cool halfway through, then feel your credibility slip
- When someone quietly holds steady under pressure and nobody notices or credits them for it
- When a plan falls apart and your first instinct is to blame the people around you instead of your own choices