Abhanga 1451
For today: bhūta-dayā with appropriate care; namaskāra to saints by all bhāva; if you carry the stiffness of learnt-talk, you go by Yama's path; the saint-eye doesn't rank stones, doesn't rank rivers and ocean, doesn't measure stars by sun-moon; without softness, you're brittle iron, not phirangī sword-steel.
The verse
भूतदयापरत्वें जया तया परी । संत नमस्कारीं सर्वभावें ॥१॥ शिकल्या बोलाचा धरीसील ताठा । तरी जासी वाटा यमपंथें ॥ध्रु.॥ हिरा परिस मोहरा आणीक पाषाण । नव्हे परी जन संतां तैसी ॥२॥ सरितां वाहाळां गंगे सागरा समान । लेखी तयाहून अधम नाहीं ॥३॥ आणीक अमुप होती तारांगणें । रविशशिमानें लेखूं नये ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे नाहीं नरमता अंगी । नव्हे तें फिरंगी कठिण लोह ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: With bhūta-dayā, to each as fitting — to saints, namaskāra by sarva-bhāva. If you hold the tāṭhā of learnt-talk — you go by the yama-pantha. Diamond, paris, mōharā, and (other) pāṣāṇa — (look) the same; — but the jana, to saints, are like that. Rivers, streams, Gangā, sea — they count equally — than him there's no one lower. Even the uncountable star-host — should not be measured by ravi-śaśi-māna. Tuka says: no naramatā in body — that is not phirangī, it's kaṭhiṇa-lōha.
मराठी: भूत-दया-परत्वें — जया-तया — परी; — संत — नमस्कारीं — सर्व-भावें. शिकल्या — बोलाचा — धरीसील — ताठा; — तरी — जासी — वाटा — यम-पंथें. हिरा — परिस — मोहरा — आणीक — पाषाण; — नव्हे — परी — जन — संतां — तैसी. सरितां — वाहाळां — गंगे — सागरा — समान; — लेखी — तयाहून — अधम — नाहीं. आणीक — अमुप — होती — तारांगणें; — रवि-शशि-मानें — लेखूं — नये. Tukā म्हणे — नाहीं — नरमता — अंगी; — नव्हे — तें — फिरंगी — कठिण — लोह.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भूतदयापरत्वें जया तया परी | "with bhūta-dayā — paratvē (= appropriately / each per his nature) — jayā tayā (to each)" |
| संत नमस्कारीं सर्वभावें | "to samtas — make namaskāra — by sarva-bhāva" |
| शिकल्या बोलाचा धरीसील ताठा | "of learnt (śikalyā) — bōlā (talk) — tāṭhā (= stiffness / pride) — if you keep (dharīsīla)" |
| तरी जासी वाटा यमपंथें | "then — you go (jāsī) — by the yama-pantha (Yama's path)" |
| हिरा परिस मोहरा आणीक पाषाण | "hīrā (diamond), paris (philosopher's-stone), mōharā (best-stones), and (other) pāṣāṇa (stones)" |
| नव्हे परी जन संतां तैसी | "(to the ignorant — they're not (distinguished)); — but (parī) — jana (people) — to samtas — (are) like that" |
| सरितां वाहाळां गंगे सागरा समान | "rivers, vāhāḷā (streams), Gangā, sāgara — samāna (equal)" |
| लेखी तयाहून अधम नाहीं | "(they) count (lēkhī) — than him (tayāhūna) — there is no adhama (= lower)" |
| आणीक अमुप होती तारांगणें | "others — though amupa (uncountable) — the tārāngaṇa (star-host)" |
| रविशशिमानें लेखूं नये | "by ravi-śaśi (sun-and-moon)'s māna (measure) — should not be counted (lēkhōm nayē)" |
| तुका म्हणे नाहीं नरमता अंगी | "Tuka says — naramatā (= softness) — there is none — in (one's) body" |
| नव्हे तें फिरंगी कठिण लोह | "that is not (navhē) — phirangī (= good sword-iron / sword-steel); — (it's) kaṭhiṇa lōha (hard, brittle iron)" |
What it means
Bhūta-dayā-and-saint-non-discrimination abhang. The opening: bhūta-dayā-paratvē jayā tayā parī — samta namaskārīm sarva-bhāvē — with bhūta-dayā (compassion-to-all-beings) — toward each as fitting; — to samtas — make namaskāra by sarva-bhāva. The two-step ethic: (1) bhūta-dayā with appropriate-discrimination (each according to its nature); (2) namaskāra to saints with all-bhāva-engaged*.
The warning: śikalyā bōlācā dharīsīla tāṭhā — tarī jāsī vāṭā yama-panthē — if you keep the tāṭhā (= stiffness / pride) of learnt talk — you'll go by yama-pantha. Pride-in-learning is yama-path-bait. (Compare 1428's udāsīna-dēha-bhāva — true Brahma-jñānī is body-indifferent; same anti-learning-pride.)
The wonderful set of non-discrimination images:
(1) hīrā paris mōharā āṇīka pāṣāṇa — navhē parī jana samtām taisī — diamond, paris (philosopher's stone), mōharā (= the best gems), and other pāṣāṇa (stones) — to the ignorant, they don't appear distinguished; — but (parī) — to saints, people are like that — i.e., the saint sees all people as one kind of stone, no rank-distinction**. (Inversion: where the worldly mind ranks people, the saint-mind sees them as the worldly mind sees rocks — undifferentiated.)
(2) saritām vāhāḷām Gangē sāgarā samāna — lēkhī tayāhūna adhama nāhīm — rivers, streams, Gangā, sea — counted equally; — than him (the saint who counts so) — there is no adhama (= no one lower). The saint counts streams, rivers, Gangā, ocean as one — and there's no one beneath him (= no one more humble in their non-ranking). (= the saint-equanimity image.)
(3) āṇīka amupa hōtī tārāngaṇē — ravi-śaśi-mānēm lēkhōm nayē — though uncountable (amupa) — the tārāngaṇa (star-host); — they should not be counted by the ravi-śaśi-māna (sun-and-moon measure). The vast star-host shouldn't be measured by sun-moon scale (= the saint's-mind doesn't apply one-scale-to-all; great-and-many things are not weighed against primary-luminaries).
The closing: nāhīm naramatā angī — navhē tēm phirangī kaṭhiṇa lōha — (if there is) no naramatā (= softness / tenderness) — in (one's) body — that is not — phirangī (= the good Persian-sword-iron / sword-steel); — it's kaṭhiṇa lōha (= hard, brittle iron). The blacksmith image: good sword-steel must have naramatā (suppleness); brittle hard-iron breaks. (= bhakti-character requires softness; rigid pride is brittle iron, not phirangī. Phirangī — Marathi-Persian loanword for the imported high-quality sword-steel from Frangistan / Europe; striking historical image.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: bhūta-dayā with appropriate care; namaskāra to saints by all bhāva; if you carry the stiffness of learnt-talk, you go by Yama's path; the saint-eye doesn't rank stones, doesn't rank rivers and ocean, doesn't measure stars by sun-moon; without softness, you're brittle iron, not phirangī sword-steel.
Where this applies
- Bhūta-dayā-to-each-and-saint-namaskāra.* Bhūta-dayā-paratva-samta-namaskāra.
- Pride-of-learnt-talk-yama-path.* Śikalyā-tāṭhā-yama-panthē.
- Saint-doesn't-rank-stones.* Hīrā-paris-mōharā-pāṣāṇa.
- Saint-equates-rivers-and-ocean.* Saritā-Gangā-sāgara-samāna.
- Stars-not-measured-by-sun-moon.* Tārāngaṇē-ravi-śaśi-mānēm-na.
- Softness-or-brittle-iron-not-sword-steel.* Naramatā-phirangī-kaṭhiṇa-lōha.