Abhanga 1613
English: Calling another's wife "mother" — chitta is shamed by chitta.
The verse
परस्त्रीतें म्हणतां माता । चत्ति लाजवितें चित्ती ॥१॥ काय बोलोनियां तोंडें । मनामाजी कानकोंडें ॥ध्रु.॥ धर्मधारष्टिगोष्टी सांगे । उष्ट्या हाते नुडवी काग ॥२॥ जें जें कर्म वसे अंगीं । तें तें आठवे प्रसंगीं ॥३॥ बोले तैसा चाले । तुका म्हणे तो अमोल ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: Calling another's wife "mother" — chitta is shamed by chitta. What of speaking with the mouth, when within the mind is kāna-kōṇḍē-embarrassment? Speaks dharma-bold-talk — with ucchiṣṭa hand wipes the kāga. Whatever karma resides in the body — that very is remembered in occasion. Speaks-as-walks — Tuka says: that one is amōla.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| परस्त्रीतें म्हणतां माता | "another's-wife — calling — mother" |
| चत्ति लाजवितें चित्ती | "the chitta — makes ashamed — by chitta" |
| काय बोलोनियां तोंडें | "what — speaking — with the mouth" |
| मनामाजी कानकोंडें | "in the mind — embarrassment (kāna-kōṇḍa)" |
| धर्मधारष्टिगोष्टी सांगे | "speaks — of dharma-bold-talk" |
| उष्ट्या हाते नुडवी काग | "with ucchiṣṭa (impure) hand — wipes — kāga (crow / impropriety)" |
| जें जें कर्म वसे अंगीं | "whatever karma — resides — in body" |
| तें तें आठवे प्रसंगीं | "that very — is remembered — in occasion" |
| बोले तैसा चाले | "speaks-as-walks" |
| तुका म्हणे तो अमोल | "Tuka says — that one — is amōla (invaluable)" |
What it means
Bōlē-taisā-cālē abhang. Contains the most-quoted gnomic-line in Tukaram.
The opening test-case: para-strītē mhaṇatām mātā — chitti lājavitēm chittī — calling another's-wife "mother" — the chitta is shamed by the chitta. Calling another-man's-wife "mother" — i.e. adopting the formal-respectful-mātā-address to disguise inappropriate-feeling. The chitta itself shames the chitta — one's own consciousness exposes the inner-deception. (The respectful-form mātā doesn't fool the inner-witness; internal-shame is its own indictment.)
The mouth-mind-mismatch: kāya bōlōniyām tōṇḍēm — manāmājī kāna-kōṇḍēm — what to say with the mouth — when within the mind is kāna-kōṇḍa (= embarrassed-cornered-feeling). What the mouth says is empty when the mind is cornered with embarrassment.
The dharma-talk-vs-impure-hand: dharma-dhāraṣṭa gōṣṭī sāngē — uṣṭyā hātē nuḍavī kāga — speaks bold-dharma-talk — with ucchiṣṭa (impure) hand wipes kāga (= crow / impropriety). Dharma-dhāraṣṭa = bold-dharmic-talk; uṣṭā hāta = unwashed / ritually-impure hand; kāga (literally crow) = base / impure / vulgar things. Speaks bold dharma in public, while privately handles base things with impure hand.
The karma-emerges-in-occasion: jēm jēm karma vasē angīm — tēm tēm āṭhavē prasangīm — whatever karma resides in the body — that very is remembered in occasion. Karma here = latent-disposition / accumulated-tendency; prasanga = occasion / triggering-context. Whatever residues are stored in the body emerge when the occasion calls them out.
The famous closing: bōlē taisā cālē — Tukā mhaṇē tō amōla — speaks-as-walks — Tuka says: that one is amōla (invaluable). The one whose walk matches his talk — that person is amōla (= priceless, invaluable). This is one of the most-quoted gnomic-lines in Marathi-bhakti-literature, used as a folk-aphorism throughout Maharashtra.
[T]
For someone today
For today: if you call another man's wife "mother" but your chitta is shamed by your own chitta, what good is the mouth's word when the mind is cornered with embarrassment?; one who speaks bold dharma in public but privately handles base things with impure hand betrays himself; whatever karma resides in the body emerges in the occasion; the one who walks-as-he-speaks — Tuka says — that one is invaluable.
Where this applies
- Para-strī-mātā-chitta-shames-chitta.* Para-strī-mātā-chitti-lāja-chittī.
- Mouth-says-mind-is-cornered.* Tōṇḍēm-bōlē-mana-kāna-kōṇḍa.
- Dharma-talk-with-impure-hand.* Dharma-dhāraṣṭa-uṣṭā-hāta.
- Karma-in-body-emerges-in-occasion.* Karma-angīm-prasangīm.
- Speaks-as-walks-is-invaluable.* Bōlē-taisā-cālē-amōla.