Abhanga 1562
For today: he was free but willingly became bound by taking on the mine-mine spell; pāpa-puṇya stuck to his body, but he doesn't know the secret of who's really the doer; gone-in-vain for nothing — like the deer chasing the mirage-water and dying of fatigue.
The verse
मुक्त होता परी बळें जाला बद्ध । घेउनियां छंद माझें माझें ॥१॥ पाप पुण्य अंगीं घेतलें जडून । वर्म नेणे कोण करिता तो ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे वांयां गेलें वांयां विण । जैसा मृगशीण मृगजळीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
Was mukta — but baḷē became baddha — having taken the chanda of mine-mine. Pāpa-puṇya stuck to body — doesn't know who is the karitā. Tuka says: gone vāyām for vāyām-vīṇa — like mṛga-śīṇa in mṛga-jaḷa.
मराठी: मुक्त — होता — परी — बळें — जाला — बद्ध; — घेउनियां — छंद — माझें — माझें. पाप — पुण्य — अंगीं — घेतलें — जडून; — वर्म — नेणे — कोण — करिता — तो. Tukā म्हणे — वांयां — गेलें — वांयां — विण; — जैसा — मृग-शीण — मृग-जळीं.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मुक्त होता परी बळें जाला बद्ध | "he was mukta — but — willingly (baḷē) — became — baddha" |
| घेउनियां छंद माझें माझें | "having taken — the chanda (spell) — mine, mine" |
| पाप पुण्य अंगीं घेतलें जडून | "pāpa-puṇya — into body — taken — adhered (jaḍūna)" |
| वर्म नेणे कोण करिता तो | "varma — does not know — who — is the doer" |
| तुका म्हणे वांयां गेलें वांयां विण | "Tuka says — gone in vain — for nothing (vāyām-vīṇa)" |
| जैसा मृगशीण मृगजळीं | "like — mṛga-śīṇa (= deer's-fatigue) — in the mṛga-jaḷa (= mirage-water)" |
What it means
Willingly-bound-by-mine-mine abhang. The opening paradox: mukta hōtā parī baḷē jālā baddha — ghē'uniyām chanda mājhēm mājhēm — wasmukta; —but—baḷē(= by his own strength / willingly) — became —baddha; — havingtaken— thechanda(= spell) —mine, mine. He was free; willingly bound himself by taking the "mine-mine" spell. Striking-formulation: the jīva was free, but voluntarily took on themama-kāra-spell(= attachment-as-mine) and bound himself.
The body-burdening: pāpa puṇya angīm ghētalēm jaḍūna — varma nēṇē kōṇa karitā tō — pāpa-puṇya — into body — taken — adhered; — the varma (vital-secret) — does not know — who — is the doer. Pāpa-puṇya stuck to the body (= karma-deposits accumulate on the body); — but he doesn't know the varma: who is really the doer. (The deeper-Vedānta point: actions are prakṛti-driven but bound to the jīva-as-doer by mama-kāra. Compare Bhagavad-Gītā 3.27: prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ — ahankāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate.)
The closing-image: vāyām gēlēm vāyām-vīṇa — jaisā mṛga-śīṇa mṛga-jaḷīm — gonevāyām(= in vain) —for nothing(vāyām-vīṇa); —like—mṛga-śīṇa(= deer-fatigue) — inmṛga-jaḷa(= mirage-water). His effort gone-in-vain for-nothing — like the deer chasing mirage-water and dying-of-fatigue. (The deer-and-mirage — classical māyā-image; the deer chases the mirage-water of samsāra-pleasure and dies of exhaustion. Compare 1416's mṛga-jaḷa-bhāna — same image.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: he was free but willingly became bound by taking on the mine-mine spell; pāpa-puṇya stuck to his body, but he doesn't know the secret of who's really the doer; gone-in-vain for nothing — like the deer chasing the mirage-water and dying of fatigue.
Where this applies
- When you notice you keep saying my house, my name, my achievements, and feel yourself tightening around those words
- When you have worked hard for something and cannot tell anymore whether you are the one truly acting or just carried along by habit
- When guilt or pride over your past deeds weighs on you and you cannot see past who gets credit or blame
- When you realize you have spent years chasing a goal that, once reached, turns out to have been nothing at all