Abhanga 1487
English: In agni, dhātu falls — having become līna, stays melted — becomes śuddha, doesn't undergo ghāta — like paṭa-tantu.
The verse
अग्नीमाजी पडे धातु । लीन होउनि राहे अतु । होय शुद्ध न पवे घातु । पटतंतुप्रमाण ॥१॥ बाह्यरंगाचें कारण । मिथ्या अवघें चि भाषण । गर्व ताठा हें अज्ञान । मरण सवें वाहातसे ॥ध्रु.॥ पुरें मातलिया नदी । लव्हा नांदे जीवनसंधी । वृक्ष उन्मळोनि भेदी । परि तो कधीं भंगेना ॥२॥ हस्ती परदळ तें भंगी । तया पायीं न मरे मुंगी । कोण जाय संगी । पाणोवाणी तयेच्या ॥३॥ पिटितां घणें वरि सैरा । तया पोटीं राहे हिरा । तैशा काय तगती गारा । तया थोरा होऊनि ॥४॥ लीन दीन हें चि सार । भव उतरावया पार । बुडे माथां भार । तुका म्हणें वाहोनि ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: In agni, dhātu falls — having become līna, stays melted — becomes śuddha, doesn't undergo ghāta — like paṭa-tantu. The cause of bāhya-ranga — entirely mithyā speech — garva-tāṭhā is ajñāna — carries maraṇa with it. In flooded river, lavhā lives at jīvana-sandhī — vṛkṣa uproots and splits — but it (the reed) never bhangēnā. Hastī breaks para-daḷa — at his foot, mungī doesn't die — who would go samgī, to its pāṇō-vāṇī? Hammer struck wildly above — in (the) belly stays the hīrā — like that, would gārā last, being thōrā? Līna-dīna, this very is sāra — to cross bhava-pāra — sinks the māthā's bhāra — Tuka says — by carrying.
मराठी: अग्नी-माजी — पडे — धातु; — लीन — होउनि — राहे — अतु; — होय — शुद्ध — न — पवे — घातु; — पट-तंतु-प्रमाण. बाह्य-रंगाचें — कारण; — मिथ्या — अवघें — चि — भाषण; — गर्व — ताठा — हें — अज्ञान; — मरण — सवें — वाहातसे. पुरें — मातलिया — नदी; — लव्हा — नांदे — जीवन-संधी; — वृक्ष — उन्मळोनि — भेदी; — परि — तो — कधीं — भंगेना. हस्ती — परदळ — तें — भंगी; — तया — पायीं — न — मरे — मुंगी; — कोण — जाय — संगी; — पाणो-वाणी — तयेच्या. पिटितां — घणें — वरि — सैरा; — तया — पोटीं — राहे — हिरा; — तैशा — काय — तगती — गारा; — तया — थोरा — होऊनि. लीन — दीन — हें — चि — सार; — भव — उतरावया — पार; — बुडे — माथां — भार; — Tukā म्हणें — वाहोनि.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अग्नीमाजी पडे धातु | "in agni (fire) — falls — dhātu (metal)" |
| लीन होउनि राहे अतु | "līna (humble) — having become — stays — atu (= melted / exceedingly)" |
| होय शुद्ध न पवे घातु | "becomes śuddha — does not undergo ghāta (breaking)" |
| पटतंतुप्रमाण | "paṭa-tantu (cloth-thread) — pramāṇa (= proportion / like)" |
| बाह्यरंगाचें कारण | "of bāhya-ranga (= outer-color / display) — kāraṇa (cause)" |
| मिथ्या अवघें चि भाषण | "mithyā (false) — entire (avaghēm chi) — bhāṣaṇa (speech)" |
| गर्व ताठा हें अज्ञान | "garva (pride), tāṭhā (stiffness) — this — ajñāna" |
| मरण सवें वाहातसे | "maraṇa (death) — savēm (along-with-it) — vāhātasē (carries)" |
| पुरें मातलिया नदी | "in (the) flooded (mātaliyā) — river" |
| लव्हा नांदे जीवनसंधी | "lavhā (= reed / grass) — lives (nāndē) — at jīvana-sandhī (= life-junction / junction-of-life)" |
| वृक्ष उन्मळोनि भेदी | "vṛkṣa (tree) — uproots (unmaḷōnī) — splits (bhēdī)" |
| परि तो कधीं भंगेना | "but (parī) — that (the reed) — kadhīm (when) — bhangēnā (does not break)" |
| हस्ती परदळ तें भंगी | "hastī (elephant) — para-daḷa (= enemy-army's troop) — that — breaks" |
| तया पायीं न मरे मुंगी | "at his foot — does not die — mungī (ant)" |
| कोण जाय संगी | "who would go — samgī (= comparison)" |
| पाणोवाणी तयेच्या | "to pāṇō-vāṇī (= water-and-merchant) — like its (= the ant's relationship)" |
| पिटितां घणें वरि सैरा | "when struck (piṭitām) — ghaṇa (hammer) — over — sairā (= wildly)" |
| तया पोटीं राहे हिरा | "in his (the iron-anvil's) belly — stays — hīrā (diamond)" |
| तैशा काय तगती गारा | "like that — would (kāya) — tagatī (= last) — gārā (= hailstones)?" |
| तया थोरा होऊनि | "those — thōrā (big) — hō'ūnī (= having become)" |
| लीन दीन हें चि सार | "līna-dīna (= humble-poor) — this very — sāra (essence)" |
| भव उतरावया पार | "bhava — to cross — to (the) other shore (utarāvayā pāra)" |
| बुडे माथां भार | "sinks (buḍē) — māthā (head)'s — bhāra (load)" |
| तुका म्हणें वाहोनि | "Tuka says — by carrying (vāhōnī)" |
What it means
Humility-as-the-essence-to-cross-bhava abhang. A 5-verse cluster of strategic-humility-images. The opening fire-metal: agnī-mājhī paḍē dhātu — līna hō'unī rāhē atu — hōya śuddha na pavē ghātu — paṭa-tantu-pramāṇa — metal falls into fire — having become līna (humble / molten), stays — becomes śuddha, doesn't undergo ghāta (breaking) — like paṭa-tantu (cloth-thread). The fire makes the metal humble (= molten); — humbled, it becomes pure and unbreakable, like cloth-thread (which though small is unbreakable as a fabric).
The middle-anti-pride: bāhya-rangācēm kāraṇa — mithyā avaghēm chi bhāṣaṇa — garva tāṭhā hēm ajñāna — maraṇa savēm vāhātasē — the cause of bāhya-ranga (outer-display) — entirely false speech; — garva (pride), tāṭhā (stiffness) — this is ajñāna — carries death along. Pride-and-stiffness carries death with itself*.
The flood-image: purē mātaliyā nadī — lavhā nāndē jīvana-sandhī — vṛkṣa unmaḷōnī bhēdī — parī tō kadhīm bhangēnā — in the flooded river — the lavhā (= small reed) — lives — at jīvana-sandhī (= life-junction); — the vṛkṣa (tree) — uproots and splits; — but the reed — never breaks. The classical bend-don't-resist image: the reed survives by bending; the tree breaks by standing rigid. (= same idea, but Tuka adds jīvana-sandhī — the reed finds life at the junction, the split-point itself.)
The elephant-ant: hastī para-daḷa tēm bhangī — tayā pāyīm na marē mungī — kōṇa jāya samgī — pāṇō-vāṇī tayēcyā — the hastī (elephant) breaks the enemy-army; — at his foot, the mungī (ant) does not die; — who would go in samgī (comparison) — to its pāṇō-vāṇī (= water-and-merchant — i.e., who would go to the smallness-and-trade of the ant's life)? The small-survives-where-the-great-is-irrelevant: the elephant's foot crushes armies but doesn't crush the ant. The small ant doesn't even register as worth-attacking. (Striking anti-hierarchy image.)
The hammer-diamond: piṭitām ghaṇē varī sairā — tayā pōṭīm rāhē hīrā — taiśā kāya tagatī gārā — tayā thōrā hō'ūnī — when struck wildly with ghaṇa (hammer) — in (the iron-anvil's) belly stays the diamond; — would hailstones — being thōrā (big) — last like that? The humble-diamond hidden in the iron-anvil's belly survives the hammer — while bigger-but-fragile hailstones don't last.
The closing-doctrine: līna dīna hē chi sāra — bhava utarāvayā pāra — buḍē māthām bhāra — Tukā mhaṇē vāhōnī — līna-dīna (= humble-poor) — this very is the sāra; — to cross the bhava (samsāra-ocean); — sinks the māthā (head)'s bhāra (load) — Tuka says — by *carrying. Humility-poverty is the essence of crossing; carrying load on the head sinks the bearer. (Compare 1475's namra-jālā-bhūtām-tēṇē-kōṇḍilēm-Anantā — humility binds the Infinite; same theme as cluster.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: metal in fire becomes līna-pure-unbreakable-cloth; pride-and-stiffness is ignorance carrying death; in the flood, the reed survives at the junction while the tree uproots; the ant survives the elephant's foot; the diamond in the iron-anvil's belly outlasts wild hammer-blows; humility-poverty is the essence to cross the ocean — head-load sinks the bearer.
Where this applies
- Metal-in-fire-līna-pure-unbreakable.* Agni-dhātu-līna-paṭa-tantu.
- Outer-display-mithyā-pride-stiffness-carries-death.* Bāhya-ranga-mithyā-garva-tāṭhā-ajñāna-maraṇa.
- Flood-reed-survives-tree-splits.* Pura-lavhā-jīvana-sandhī-vṛkṣa-bhēdī.
- Elephant-foot-doesn't-kill-ant.* Hastī-pāya-mungī-na-marē.
- Hammer-diamond-stays-hailstones-don't.* Ghaṇa-hīrā-gārā-na-tagatī.
- Humble-poor-is-essence-head-load-sinks.* Līna-dīna-sāra-māthā-bhāra-buḍē.