संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1502 of 4582

Abhanga 1502

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.

When you'd refuse fake-bhakti — no Hari by disguise; without śuddha-bhāva all is toil; they know but become blind

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

English: 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 becomeandhaḷē (blind)"

What it means

No-Hari-by-disguise-or-whim abhang. The opening: sōngēm chandēm kāhīm — Deva jōḍē aisēm nāhīmby sōnga (= disguise) — by chanda (= whim) — anything; — Devadoesn'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 paḍaḷasift out — avaghēm gabāḷa (= the entire mess); — over the eye — has fallenpaḍaḷa (= film / cataract). Sift out the mess; — there's a paḍaḷa-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 sīṇawithout śuddha bhāva — whatever was done — that, that — is sīṇa. 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 become andhaḷē (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

Related verses