संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1534 of 4582

Abhanga 1534

For today: mother, look at me — fill your eyes with me; I have become himpuṣṭī, starving-yet-fed; my jīva wants breast-feeding — this isn't figurative speech; my word-care is for truth, not acquired-rhetoric; my compassion-yearning-cry — the jīva is worn-out by duty.

When you'd ask mother-Hari for direct-feeding — look at me; jīva wants breast-feeding, not figures; not rhetoric, this is satya

The verse

पाहें मजकडे भरोनियां दृष्टी । बहुत हिंपुष्टी जालों माते ॥१॥ करावेंसे वाटे जीवा स्तनपान । नव्हे हें वचन श्रुंघारिक ॥ध्रु.॥ सत्यासाटीं माझी शब्दविवंचना । जोडिल्या वचनाचें तें नव्हे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे माझी कळवळ्याची कींव । भागलासे जीव कर्तव्यानें ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: Look toward me — bharōniyām dṛṣṭi — bahuta himpuṣṭī I have become, mātā. It seems-it-should-be-done to jīva — stana-pāna; — this vacana is not śṛngārika. For satya's sake my śabda-vivancanā — of acquired vacana, that is not (this). Tuka says: my kaḷavaḷyācī-kīmva — jīva is exhausted by kartavya.

मराठी: पाहें — मजकडे — भरोनियां — दृष्टी; — बहुत — हिंपुष्टी — जालों — माते. करावेंसे — वाटे — जीवा — स्तन-पान; — नव्हे — हें — वचन — श्रुंघारिक. सत्या-साटीं — माझी — शब्द-विवंचना; — जोडिल्या — वचनाचें — तें — नव्हे. Tukā म्हणे — माझी — कळवळ्याची — कींव; — भागलासे — जीव — कर्तव्यानें.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
पाहें मजकडे भरोनियां दृष्टी "look — toward me — filling — the dṛṣṭi"
बहुत हिंपुष्टी जालों माते "bahuta (much) — himpuṣṭī (= fed-up-but-still-hungry / stunted) — I have become, mātā"
करावेंसे वाटे जीवा स्तनपान "it seems-it-should-be-done (karāvēmsē vāṭē) — to (the) jīvastana-pāna (= breast-feeding)"
नव्हे हें वचन श्रुंघारिक "not — this vacanaśṛngārika (= erotic / decorative)"
सत्यासाटीं माझी शब्दविवंचना "for satya's sake — my — śabda-vivancanā (= word-discrimination)"
जोडिल्या वचनाचें तें नव्हे "of jōḍilī (acquired) — vacanathat — is not (this)"
तुका म्हणे माझी कळवळ्याची कींव "Tuka says — my — kaḷavaḷyācī kīmva (= compassion-cry of yearning)"
भागलासे जीव कर्तव्यानें "jīva — has become exhausted (bhāgalāsē) — by kartavya (duty)"

What it means

Mother-Hari-give-the-breast abhang. A mother-Hari-mode abhang in the bhakta-as-infant register. The opening: pāhē maja-kaḍē bharōniyām dṛṣṭi — bahuta himpuṣṭī jālōm mātēlook toward me — filling-the-eyes; — much — himpuṣṭī — I have become, mātā (mother). Himpuṣṭīfed-up-but-still-hungry / stunted-from-deprivation; — I'm starving even after eating. Mātā, fill your eyes with looking-at-me.

The frank-request: karāvēmsē vāṭē jīvā stana-pāna — navhē hēm vacana śṛngārikait seems-to-the-jīva-it-should-bestana-pāna (= breast-feeding); — this vacana — is notśṛngārika (= decorative / erotic / merely-figurative). I literally want to do breast-feeding-from-mother-Hari; this is not figurative speech. (Striking-disclaimer: the request is literal-bhakta-bhāva, not poetic-decoration. Compare 1484's bhātukēm-kavataka-mother-feeds-bāḷa — same theme, here from the bhakta-infant's side requesting it.)

The discrimination-stand: satyā-sāṭīm mājhī śabda-vivancanā — jōḍiliyā vacanācēm tēm navhēfor satya's sake — my śabda-vivancanā (= word-discrimination); — of jōḍilī (= acquired) vacanathat — is not (this). My word-care is for the truth's sake, not for acquired-rhetorical-flourish. (Tuka defends his literal-bhāva as truth-discrimination, distinguishing it from rhetorical-bhakti-poetics.)

The closing-state: kaḷavaḷyācī kīmva — bhāgalāsē jīva kartavyānēmmy — kaḷavaḷyācī kīmva (= the cry of compassionate-yearning); — jīva — has become exhausted — by kartavya (= duty / what-must-be-done). My compassion-yearning-cry: the jīva is worn-out by duty (samsāra-obligations). (= the infant-bhakta-jīva is exhausted from doing things and just wants the breast.)

[T]

For someone today

For today: mother, look at me — fill your eyes with me; I have become himpuṣṭī, starving-yet-fed; my jīva wants breast-feeding — this isn't figurative speech; my word-care is for truth, not acquired-rhetoric; my compassion-yearning-cry — the jīva is worn-out by duty.

Where this applies

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