Abhanga 1456
Collecting everyone else's opinions instead of holding one steady conviction leaves your words empty, no matter how much worldly praise it wins you.
The verse
कानीं धरी बोल बहुतांचीं मतें । चाट त्यापरतें आणीक नाहीं ॥१॥ पावेल गौरव वोढाळाचे परी । दंड पाठीवरी यमदूतां ॥ध्रु.॥ शब्दज्ञानी एक आपुल्याला मतें । सांगती वेदांत भिन्नभावें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे एक भाव न धरिती । पडिली हे माती त्यांचे तोंडीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
He holds in ear the bōla of many matē — no cāṭa beyond him. He'll get gaurava like a vōḍhāḷā — daṇḍa on back by yama-dūtas. The śabda-jñānīs — each by his own mata — tell Vedānta bhinna-bhāva. Tuka says: one bhāva they don't hold — this mātī has fallen in their tōṇḍa.
मराठी: कानीं — धरी — बोल — बहुतांचीं — मतें; — चाट — त्यापरतें — आणीक — नाहीं. पावेल — गौरव — वोढाळाचे — परी; — दंड — पाठीवरी — यम-दूतां. शब्द-ज्ञानी — एक — आपुल्याला — मतें; — सांगती — वेदांत — भिन्न-भावें. Tukā म्हणे — एक — भाव — न — धरिती; — पडिली — हे — माती — त्यांचे — तोंडीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कानीं धरी बोल बहुतांचीं मतें | "in (the) ear — holds (dharī) — bōla (talk) — of many (bahutāñcīm) — matē (opinions)" |
| चाट त्यापरतें आणीक नाहीं | "cāṭa (= scoundrel / vagabond) — beyond him (tyā-paratēm) — there is none" |
| पावेल गौरव वोढाळाचे परी | "(he) will get (pāvēla) — gaurava (weight / honor) — like (parī) — a vōḍhāḷā (= wanderer / vagabond)" |
| दंड पाठीवरी यमदूतां | "daṇḍa (staff) — on (his) back (pāṭhīvarī) — by yama-dūtas" |
| शब्दज्ञानी एक आपुल्याला मतें | "śabda-jñānīs (word-knowers) — each one (ēka) — by his own (āpulyālā) — mata (opinion)" |
| सांगती वेदांत भिन्नभावें | "they tell — Vedānta — bhinna-bhāva (= different-feeling, divisively)" |
| तुका म्हणे एक भाव न धरिती | "Tuka says — one — bhāva — they don't hold (na dharitī)" |
| पडिली हे माती त्यांचे तोंडीं | "has fallen (paḍilī) — this — mātī (= dirt / dust) — in their tōṇḍa (mouth)" |
What it means
Holding-many-opinions-is-worst abhang. The opening: kānīm dharī bōla bahutāñcīm matē — cāṭa tyā-paratēm āṇīka nāhīm — (one who) holds in his ear — thebōla— ofmany—opinions; —no cāṭa (= scoundrel / opportunist / vagabond) — beyond him. Themulti-opinion-listeneristhe worst kind of cāṭa. (= theopinion-shopping attitude is itself the worst character-flaw.)
The yama-warning: pāvēla gaurava vōḍhāḷācē parī — daṇḍa pāṭhīvarī yama-dūtām — he'll getgaurava(weight / honor) — like avōḍhāḷā(= wanderer / vagabond); — (but)daṇḍa(staff) on his back — byyama-dūtas. Vōḍhāḷā — the traveling-bard / opinion-vagabond — gets some honor in the world; but at death, Yama's stick falls on his back.
The Vedāntin-attack: śabda-jñānī ēka āpulyālā matēm — sāngatī Vedānta bhinna-bhāvēm — theśabda-jñānīs (word-knowers) —each by his own opinion; — tellVedānta—bhinna-bhāva(= each-with-his-own-feeling, divisively). Even Vedānta-teachers — each holds his own version; they tell-Vedānta divisively. (One of the strongest anti-academic-Vedānta lines: the very-tradition that should be one is plural-and-divisive.)
The closing-image: ēka bhāva na dharitī — paḍilī hē mātī tyāñcē tōṇḍīm — they don't holdonebhāva; — this —mātī(= dirt / dust) — hasfallen— in theirtōṇḍa(mouth). Mouth full of dirt — striking image: those who don't hold one bhāva have mouths full of dust — their words are dust, not living-speech. (Compare 1407's kōraḍyā gōṣṭī-ōla-na — dry talk has no moisture; here even sharper — the mouth is dirt-filled.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: holding many opinions in one's ears makes you the worst vagabond; you'll get worldly honor but Yama's stick on your back; word-knowers each hold their own opinion and tell Vedānta divisively; without one bhāva, your mouth is full of dirt.
Where this applies
- When you find yourself agreeing with whoever spoke to you last, without settling on your own conviction
- When someone gains a following or praise by sounding wise while privately just repeating scattered opinions
- When religious or philosophical teachers argue with each other, each insisting their own reading is the only true one
- When you notice your own words feel hollow because you don't actually stand behind a single steady belief