Abhanga 1465
English: Those who make kathā and take/give dravya — to them: adho-gati, naraka-vāsa.
The verse
कथा करोनिया द्रव्य घेती देती । तयां अधोगति नरकवास ॥१॥ रवरव कुंभपाक भोगिती यातना । नये नारायणा करुणा त्यांची ॥ध्रु.॥ असिखड्गधारा छेदिती सर्वांग । तप्तभूमी अंग लोळविती ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तया नरक न चुकती । सांपडले हातीं यमाचिया ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Those who make kathā and take/give dravya — to them: adho-gati, naraka-vāsa. Raurava, kumbhī-pāka — they undergo yātanā — to Nārāyaṇa, no karuṇā for them. Asi-khaḍga-dhārā cuts the whole anga — tapta-bhūmi they roll on. Tuka says: for them, naraka doesn't get missed — caught in Yama's hand.
मराठी: कथा — करोनिया — द्रव्य — घेती — देती; — तयां — अधो-गति — नरक-वास. रव-रव — कुंभ-पाक — भोगिती — यातना; — नये — नारायणा — करुणा — त्यांची. असि-खड्ग-धारा — छेदिती — सर्व-अंग; — तप्त-भूमी — अंग — लोळविती. Tukā म्हणे — तया — नरक — न — चुकती; — सांपडले — हातीं — यमाचिया.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कथा करोनिया द्रव्य घेती देती | "kathā — making (karōniyām) — dravya (money) — take and give (ghētī dētī)" |
| तयां अधोगति नरकवास | "to them — adho-gati (= downward-fall) — naraka-vāsa (hell-dwelling)" |
| रवरव कुंभपाक भोगिती यातना | "ravarava, kumbhī-pāka (= two named-hells) — they undergo (bhōgītī) — yātanā (torture)" |
| नये नारायणा करुणा त्यांची | "to Nārāyaṇa — does not come — karuṇā (compassion) — for them" |
| असिखड्गधारा छेदिती सर्वांग | "asi-khaḍga-dhārā (= sword-blade-edge) — cuts (chēditī) — the sarva-anga (whole body)" |
| तप्तभूमी अंग लोळविती | "tapta-bhūmi (= heated-ground) — anga — they roll (lōḷavitī)" |
| तुका म्हणे तया नरक न चुकती | "Tuka says — for them — naraka — does not get missed (na cukatī)" |
| सांपडले हातीं यमाचिया | "(they have been) caught — in (the) hand — of Yama" |
What it means
Anti-paid-kathā polemic abhang. The strongest anti-commercial-kīrtana line in Tuka's corpus. The opening verdict: kathā karōniyām dravya ghētī dētī — tayām adhō-gati naraka-vāsa — those who make kathā — and take/give dravya (= money); — to them — adho-gati (downward-fall) — naraka-vāsa (hell-dwelling). Both the kathā-doer-who-takes-money and the patron-who-pays-for-kathā — both go to hell. (Striking: not just the commercial-performer but also the paying-audience are condemned.)
The torture-catalogue: ravarava kumbha-pāka bhōgītī yātanā — nayē Nārāyaṇā karuṇā tyāñcī — raurava and kumbhī-pāka (= two of the named-hells in the Garuḍa-Purāṇa hell-list) — they undergo torture; — to Nārāyaṇa — no karuṇā (compassion) — for them. (= even Hari's aniruddha-karuṇā (= unconditional-compassion) doesn't extend to commercial-kathā-makers*; an exceptional severity.)
The torture-details: asikhaḍga-dhārā chēditī sarva-anga — tapta-bhūmi anga lōḷavitī — sword-blade-edge cuts the whole body; — heated-ground, they roll on. Concrete Garuḍa-Purāṇa-style hell-imagery.
The closing: naraka na cukatī — sāmpaḍalē hātīm Yamāciyā — naraka does not get missed; — caught in Yama's hand. No escape — Yama has them in his fist. (Compare 1439's yama-daṇḍa on the back of the pāpāṇḍī; here the worse fate of being in Yama's hand.)
This abhang reflects Tukaram's strict view that bhakti-kīrtana must be free / phukāsāṭhīm (cf. 1426's kharēm bōlē tarī phukāsāṭhīm jōḍē Harī — truth joins Hari for free); commercializing it inverts everything.
[T]
For someone today
For today: those who do kathā for money — and those who pay for it — go to adho-gati and hell; raurava-and-kumbhī-pāka tortures await; Hari has no karuṇā for them; Yama catches them — naraka doesn't get missed.
Where this applies
- Kathā-for-money-leads-to-hell.* Kathā-dravya-naraka-vāsa.
- Hell-tortures-no-Hari-mercy.* Ravarava-kumbhī-pāka-Nārāyaṇa-karuṇā-na.
- Sword-edge-and-heated-ground.* Asi-khaḍga-tapta-bhūmi.
- Caught-in-Yama's-hand-no-escape.* Yama-hātīm-naraka-na-cukatī.