Abhanga 1502
God cannot be reached through costume or whim, and without pure sincere feeling every action becomes mere exhausting effort, even when you know better.
The verse
सोंगें छंदें कांहीं । देव जोडे ऐसें नाहीं ॥१॥ सारा अवघें गाबाळ । डोळ्या आडील पडळ ॥ध्रु.॥ शुद्ध भावाविण । जो जो केला तो तो सीण ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे कळे । परि होताती अंधळे ॥३॥
Literal translation
By sōnga or chanda — Deva does not get joined like that. Sift out avaghēm gabāḷa — paḍaḷa fallen over eye. Without śuddha bhāva — whatever done, that is sīṇa. Tuka says: it is known — but they become andhaḷē.
मराठी: सोंगें — छंदें — कांहीं; — देव — जोडे — ऐसें — नाहीं. सारा — अवघें — गाबाळ; — डोळ्या — आडील — पडळ. शुद्ध — भावाविण; — जो — जो — केला — तो — तो — सीण. Tukā म्हणे — कळे; — परि — होताती — अंधळे.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| सोंगें छंदें कांहीं | "by sōnga (= disguise) — by chanda (whim) — anything" |
| देव जोडे ऐसें नाहीं | "Deva — gets joined (jōḍē) — like that — there is no" |
| सारा अवघें गाबाळ | "sift out (sārā) — avaghēm gabāḷa (= entire mess)" |
| डोळ्या आडील पडळ | "over the ḍōḷā (eye) — has fallen (āḍila) — paḍaḷa (= film / cataract)" |
| शुद्ध भावाविण | "without śuddha bhāva" |
| जो जो केला तो तो सीण | "whatever — was done — that, that — is sīṇa (= toil / fatigue)" |
| तुका म्हणे कळे | "Tuka says — (it) is known (kaḷē)" |
| परि होताती अंधळे | "but (parī) — they become — andhaḷē (blind)" |
What it means
No-Hari-by-disguise-or-whim abhang. The opening: sōngēm chandēm kāhīm — Deva jōḍē aisēm nāhīm — bysōnga(= disguise) — bychanda(= whim) — anything; —Deva—doesn't get joined— like that. Hari is not attainable by costume or by whim. (Compare 1404's jaṭā-rākha-viṭambanā and 1466's aham-Brahma-pāḷita-piṇḍā — same theme: outer-show fails.)
The interior-blockage: sārā avaghēm gabāḷa — ḍōḷyā āḍila paḍaḷa — sift out —avaghēm gabāḷa(= the entire mess); — over the eye — hasfallen—paḍaḷa(= film / cataract). Sift out the mess; — there's apaḍaḷa-film over the eye(preventing clear-seeing). (= the self-deception-cataract; even the seeker doesn't see his own confusion. Compare 1463's kaḷē-andhaḷē — same closing-line below.)
The principle: śuddha bhāvāvīṇa — jō jō kēlā tō tō sīṇa — withoutśuddha bhāva— whatever was done — that, that — issīṇa. Without pure-bhāva, every-act is toil. (Compare 1453's bhāvēmviṇa-bōlatī-sīṇa — without bhāva, all speech is toil; here the larger all-action version.)
The closing: kaḷē — parī hōtātī andhaḷē — (it) is known — but — they becomeandhaḷē(blind). They know intellectually — but become blind. (= identical to 1463's closing — Tuka's recurring formula for the gap between knowing-and-doing.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: Hari isn't joined by disguise or whim; sift out the whole mess — a cataract has fallen over your eye; without pure bhāva, every act is just toil; they know it but become blind.
Where this applies
- When you notice yourself performing devotion or virtue for show rather than feeling it sincerely
- When you sense a kind of fog or self-deception clouding how clearly you see your own motives
- When something you're doing, even good work, starts to feel like exhausting effort instead of meaningful practice
- When you already know the right thing to do but keep acting as if you didn't