Abhanga 1536
Real devotion is as hard as balancing on a spike to eat bread, so it takes rare courage, genuine effort, and daily discipline to keep the restless mind awake rather than settle for empty display.
The verse
भक्ति तों कठिण शुळावरील पोळी । निवडे तो बळी विरळा शूर ॥१॥ जेथें पाहें तेथें देखीचा पर्वत । पायाविण भिंत तांतडीची ॥ध्रु.॥ कामावलें तरि पाका ओज घडे । रुचि आणि जोडे श्लाघ्यता हे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे मना पाहिजे अंकुश । नित्य नवा दिस जागृतीचा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bhakti is kaṭhiṇa — śuḷā-varīla pōḷī — winnows the baḷī, viraḷā śūra. Wherever I look, parvata of dēkhī — pāyā-vīṇa bhinta of tāntaḍī. When kāmāvalēm, only then pāka gets ōja — rucī and ślāghyatā joined. Tuka says: mana needs ankuśa — every day a new disa of jāgṛti.
मराठी: भक्ति — तों — कठिण — शुळा-वरील — पोळी; — निवडे — तो — बळी — विरळा — शूर. जेथें — पाहें — तेथें — देखीचा — पर्वत; — पाया-विण — भिंत — तांतडीची. कामावलें — तरि — पाका — ओज — घडे; — रुचि — आणि — जोडे — श्लाघ्यता — हे. Tukā म्हणे — मना — पाहिजे — अंकुश; — नित्य — नवा — दिस — जागृतीचा.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भक्ति तों कठिण शुळावरील पोळी | "bhakti — is — kaṭhiṇa (hard); — śuḷā-varīla pōḷī (= bread on the spike)" |
| निवडे तो बळी विरळा शूर | "winnows / sorts-out (nivaḍē) — that one — baḷī (mighty); — viraḷā (rare) — the śūra (warrior)" |
| जेथें पाहें तेथें देखीचा पर्वत | "wherever I look — there — a parvata — of dēkhī (= apparent things)" |
| पायाविण भिंत तांतडीची | "pāyā-vīṇa (without foundation) — bhinta (wall) — of tāntaḍī (haste)" |
| कामावलें तरि पाका ओज घडे | "(when) kāmāvalēm (= ardent) — only then — to pāka (= cooked-food) — ōja (radiance) — happens" |
| रुचि आणि जोडे श्लाघ्यता हे | "rucī (taste) — and — ślāghyatā (praise-worthy-quality) — gets joined" |
| तुका म्हणे मना पाहिजे अंकुश | "Tuka says — to (the) mana — ankuśa (elephant-goad) — is required" |
| नित्य नवा दिस जागृतीचा | "every-day — new — a disa — of jāgṛti (wakefulness)" |
What it means
Bhakti-is-bread-on-spike abhang. One of the most-quoted lines on bhakti's-difficulty. The opening: bhakti tōm kaṭhiṇa śuḷā-varīla pōḷī — nivaḍē tō baḷī viraḷā śūra — bhakti is —kaṭhiṇa(= hard); —śuḷā-varīla pōḷī(= the bread that has to be eatenwhile balancing on the spike); — winnows-out —that one— thebaḷī(mighty); —viraḷā(rare) — theśūra(warrior). The famous śuḷā-varīla-pōḷī image: bhakti is like eating roti while balancing on the point of a spike (= you can't fall off; you can't be casual). Only the rare-warrior survives the test. (Compare 1397's power-of-abhyāsa; here the difficulty-side of the same theme.)
The diagnosis: jēthēm pāhēm tēthēm dēkhīcā parvata — pāyā-vīṇa bhinta tāntaḍīcī — wherever I look — aparvata(mountain) — ofdēkhī(= apparent / seen-things); —foundation-less—bhinta(wall) — oftāntaḍī(= haste). Wherever you look, a mountain of pretentious-display; foundation-less hasty-walls. (= the world full of fake-bhakti-displays; cf. anti-fake-bhakti register.)
The cooking-image: kāmāvalēm tarī pākā ōja ghaḍē — ruci āṇi jōḍē ślāghyatā hē — when one iskāmāvalēm(= ardent / engaged); — only then — topāka(cooked-food) —ōja(= splendor) —happens; —rucīandślāghyatā(praise-worthy-quality) —get joined. Only the ardent-cook produces radiant food with taste-and-praise-worthiness. (= the bhakti-meal requires engaged-cooking, not casual-throwing-together.)
The closing-counsel: manā pāhijē ankuśa — nitya navā disa jāgṛtīcā — themana— needs —ankuśa(= elephant-goad); —every-day—new— adayofjāgṛti(= wakefulness). The mind is an elephant — it needs the goad; every day must be a new-day-of-wakefulness. (Compare Bhagavad-Gītā 6.34: cañcalam hi manaḥ kṛṣṇa — the mind is restless; here ankuśa as response.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: real devotion is hard — like trying to eat bread balanced on the point of a spike, and only the rare, brave soul can manage it. Wherever you look there's a mountain of showy display, walls of haste built with no real foundation. Only the cook who pours real care into the work produces food with true flavor and something worth praising. The mind needs a firm hand to guide it, like an elephant needs its goad — every single day has to be a fresh day of staying awake and alert.
मराठी: आजसाठी: खरी भक्ती अवघड आहे — जणू शूळावर उभं राहून पोळी खाण्यासारखी, आणि हे फक्त क्वचित सापडणारा शूरच पेलू शकतो. जिकडे पाहावं तिकडे दिखाव्याचा डोंगर दिसतो, घाईघाईत बांधलेल्या पायाविनाच्या भिंती. जो मनापासून झटून स्वयंपाक करतो, त्याच्याच अन्नाला खरी चव आणि कौतुक मिळतं. मनाला अंकुशाची गरज आहे, हत्तीला जसा अंकुश लागतो तसा — रोज एक नवा जागृतीचा दिवस उगवला पाहिजे.
Where this applies
- When you notice people performing devotion or virtue for show rather than actually living it
- When a spiritual or personal practice feels genuinely difficult and you wonder if you are strong enough for it
- When you put real care and effort into something, like cooking, work, or a relationship, and it finally shows in the result
- When your mind keeps wandering out of habit and you need real discipline to bring it back, day after day