Abhanga 1477
For today: the desire-bound speaker brings fear to the listener's heart; he sings what he doesn't even know — his mouth yawns "give something"; he's become greed's cat begging door-to-door; his sack and his measure are both empty.
The verse
आशाबद्ध वक्ता । भय श्रोतयाच्या चित्ता ॥१॥ गातो तें चि नाहीं ठावें । तोंड वासी कांहीं द्यावें ॥ध्रु.॥ जालें लोभाचें मांजर । भीक मागे दारोदार ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे गोणी । माप आणि रितीं दोन्ही ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Āśā-baddha vaktā — bhaya to śrōtā's citta. He sings what he himself doesn't know — tōṇḍa vāsī, 'give something'. Has become lōbha's māñjara — begs door-to-door. Tuka says: gōṇī — māpa and ritī — both.
मराठी: आशा-बद्ध — वक्ता; — भय — श्रोतयाच्या — चित्ता. गातो — तें — चि — नाहीं — ठावें; — तोंड — वासी — कांहीं — द्यावें. जालें — लोभाचें — मांजर; — भीक — मागे — दारो-दार. Tukā म्हणे — गोणी; — माप — आणि — रितीं — दोन्ही.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आशाबद्ध वक्ता | "āśā-baddha (= bound-by-desire) — vaktā (speaker)" |
| भय श्रोतयाच्या चित्ता | "bhaya (fear) — to the śrōtā's — citta" |
| गातो तें चि नाहीं ठावें | "(he) sings — that (chi) — has no knowledge (nāhīm ṭhāvē)" |
| तोंड वासी कांहीं द्यावें | "tōṇḍa vāsī (= mouth-yawns / opens) — kāhīm dyāvē (= 'give something')" |
| जालें लोभाचें मांजर | "(he) has become — lōbha's — māñjara (cat)" |
| भीक मागे दारोदार | "bhīka māgē (begs alms) — dārō-dāra (door-to-door)" |
| तुका म्हणे गोणी | "Tuka says — gōṇī (sack)" |
| माप आणि रितीं दोन्ही | "māpa (measure) — and — ritīm (= empty) — both (dōnnhī)" |
What it means
Desire-bound-speaker-greed's-cat abhang. Direct continuation of 1465 / 1473 anti-paid-kathā polemic — third in the cluster. The opening: āśā-baddha vaktā — bhaya śrōtayācyā cittā — the āśā-baddha (= desire-bound) — vaktā (speaker); — bhaya (fear) — to the śrōtā's (listener's) citta. The desire-bound-speaker brings fear to the listener's heart — the listener senses he's being asked-for-something. (Sharp psychology: the audience can sense the speaker's hunger; that senses-as-fear.)
The exposure: gātō tē chi nāhīm ṭhāvē — tōṇḍa vāsī kāhīm dyāvē — (he) sings — but doesn't know (ṭhāvē) what; — mouth-yawns — 'give something' (kāhīm dyāvē). He doesn't even understand his own song; his mouth gapes 'give something'. (= the real-content of his speech is 'give me something', dressed as kīrtana.)
The image: jālēm lōbhācēm māñjara — bhīka māgē dārō-dāra — (he) has become — lōbha's (greed's) — māñjara (cat); — begs alms — door-to-door. The cat-begging image: like greed's cat that goes from door to door whining for milk. (Striking, demeaning image for the commercial-kīrtanakar.)
The closing-double-empty: gōṇī — māpa āṇi ritīm dōnnhī — the gōṇī (sack); — the māpa (measure) — and — ritī (= empty) — both. Both his sack and his measure are empty (= he has nothing to give; he's a seller-with-no-goods). (Compare 1469's māpa-bharī-ālēm-sigē — measure brim-full; here the opposite: the commercial-kīrtanakar's measure is empty.)
This abhang completes the anti-paid-kathā cluster: 1465 (he goes to hell) → 1473 (both go to hell + sweet-speech is yama-trap) → 1477 (psychological diagnosis: desire-bound speech causes listener-fear, the speaker is greed's cat, his goods are empty). Three abhangs, three angles.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the desire-bound speaker brings fear to the listener's heart; he sings what he doesn't even know — his mouth yawns "give something"; he's become greed's cat begging door-to-door; his sack and his measure are both empty.
Where this applies
- Desire-bound-speaker-listener-fear.* Āśā-baddha-vaktā-bhaya-śrōtā.
- Sings-without-knowing-mouth-asks-give.* Gātō-nāhīm-ṭhāvē-tōṇḍa-vāsī-dyāvē.
- Greed's-cat-begs-door-to-door.* Lōbha-māñjara-bhīka-dārō-dāra.
- Sack-and-measure-both-empty.* Gōṇī-māpa-ritīm-dōnnhī.