संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1584 of 4582

Abhanga 1584

For today: Tuka has been weighed against Tuka — and Tuka stands distinct from Tuka. (= the empirical-self has been equated to the transcendent-self, yet the witness-self remains distinct from the equation.)

When you'd state the most condensed self-as-non-self line — Tukā tukāsī tukalā — Tukā tukāhuni nirāḷā

The verse

तुका तुकासी तुकला । तुका तुकाहुनि निराळा ॥१॥

Literal translation

English: Tuka has been weighed against Tuka — Tuka is distinct from Tuka.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
तुका तुकासी तुकला "Tukato Tuka (tukāsī) — has been weighed (tukalā)"
तुका तुकाहुनि निराळा "Tukafrom Tuka — is separate (nirāḷā)"

What it means

The most condensed self-as-non-self abhang. A single-line declaration that uses the triple-meaning of his own name.

The name Tukā-rāmaTukā literally means weighed-equal-to / measure / counterpart (cf. Sanskrit-Marathi tul = to weigh / equate); Tukā-rāma = equal-to-Rāma (or Rāma-as-the-measure).

Tukā tukāsī tukalāTuka has been weighed against Tuka — by making Tuka the measure of Tuka, the outer Tuka has been equated to the inner Tuka. (Or: the empirical-Tuka has been weighed against the transcendental-Tuka.)

Tukā tukāhuni nirāḷāTuka is distinct (nirāḷā) from Tukabut the result is: Tuka stands distinct from Tuka. The transcendent-Tuka is separate from the empirical-Tuka, even after the weighing.

The line in two-clauses captures the entire jīvan-mukta paradox: (a) the equation has been made / the weighing complete; (b) yet the witness-Tuka stands apart from the weighed-Tuka. Both equality (advaita) and distinction (the witnessing remainder) hold simultaneously.

This single-line is the gnomic distillation of the longer abhangs in the surrounding sub-series (1581 visaralā Tukā — bōlōm cālōm jālā mukā; 1582 Tukīm tukalā Tukā — viśvīm bharōni uralā lōkām; 1583 triple-paradox; this 1584 — single-line distillation).

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For someone today

For today: Tuka has been weighed against Tuka — and Tuka stands distinct from Tuka. (= the empirical-self has been equated to the transcendent-self, yet the witness-self remains distinct from the equation.)

Where this applies

Related verses