Abhanga 1456
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.
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
English: 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 — the bōla — of many — opinions; — no cāṭa (= scoundrel / opportunist / vagabond) — beyond him. The multi-opinion-listener is the worst kind of cāṭa. (= the opinion-shopping* attitude is itself the worst character-flaw.)
The yama-warning: pāvēla gaurava vōḍhāḷācē parī — daṇḍa pāṭhīvarī yama-dūtām — he'll get gaurava (weight / honor) — like a vōḍhāḷā (= wanderer / vagabond); — (but) daṇḍa (staff) on his back — by yama-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 — the śabda-jñānīs (word-knowers) — each by his own opinion; — tell Vedānta — 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 hold one bhāva; — this — mātī (= dirt / dust) — has fallen — in their tōṇḍa (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
- Many-opinions-is-worst-vagabond.* Bahutāñcīm-matē-cāṭa.
- Vagabond-honor-yama-stick.* Vōḍhāḷā-gaurava-yama-daṇḍa.
- Word-knowers-tell-vedānta-divisively.* Śabda-jñānī-Vedānta-bhinna-bhāva.
- Without-one-bhāva-mouth-full-of-dirt.* Ēka-bhāva-na-mātī-tōṇḍīm.