Abhanga 1623
For today: in whose house there is saint-slander — that's not a home, it's the city of Death; his sin has no equal — even his company brings pain to people; the one whom saint-slander pleases — he is alive in hell already; Tuka says — that one is corrupted — know him plainly as a donkey.
The verse
संतनिंदा ज्याचे घरीं । नव्हे घर ते यमपुरी ॥१॥ त्याच्या पापा नाहीं जोडा । संगें जना होय पीडा ॥ध्रु.॥ संतनिंदा आवडे ज्यासी । तो जिता चि नर्कवासी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे तो नष्ट । जाणा गाढव तो स्पष्ट ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Saint-nindā in whose house — that's not a house, it's Yama-purī. His sin has no equal — his company causes pīḍa to people. One whom saint-nindā pleases — is alive in narka itself. Tuka says: that one is naṣṭa — know him clearly as a donkey.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| संतनिंदा ज्याचे घरीं | "saint-nindā — in whose house" |
| नव्हे घर ते यमपुरी | "not house — that — is Yama-purī" |
| त्याच्या पापा नाहीं जोडा | "his sin — no equal" |
| संगें जना होय पीडा | "by company — to people — becomes — pīḍa" |
| संतनिंदा आवडे ज्यासी | "saint-nindā — pleases — whom" |
| तो जिता चि नर्कवासी | "that one — alive itself — in narka" |
| तुका म्हणे तो नष्ट | "Tuka says — that one — naṣṭa (corrupt)" |
| जाणा गाढव तो स्पष्ट | "know — donkey — that one — clearly" |
What it means
Anti-saint-slander abhang. A severe-condemnation of saint-nindā (= slandering of saints) — one of Tukaram's strongest moral-categories.
The house-condemnation: samta-nindā jyācē gharīm — navhē ghara tē Yama-purī — saint-nindā in whose house — that's not a house, it's Yama-purī. Yama-purī = the city of Yama (= the realm-of-Death / hell-region). The saint-slandering-house is not a home but a death-region.
The peerless-sin: tyācyā pāpā nāhīm jōḍā — sangē janā hōya pīḍā — his sin has no equal — his company causes pīḍa to people. Jōḍā = equal, pair; saint-nindā has no equal as sin. Even his company causes pain.
The alive-in-hell: samta-nindā āvaḍē jyāsī — tō jitā chi narka-vāsī — one whom saint-nindā pleases — is alive in narka itself. Jitā chi = while alive itself. Such a person is a hell-dweller while still bodily-alive.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē tō naṣṭa — jāṇā gāḍhava tō spaṣṭa — Tuka says: that one is naṣṭa — know him clearly as a donkey. Naṣṭa = corrupt, ruined, gone-to-perdition. The folk-direct-curse-register: clearly know him as a donkey (= brāyer-of-nonsense, ass).
This abhang's strict moral-position is consistent with Tukaram's centrality-of-saint-veneration: throughout the gatha, saints' feet are the highest-locus (cf. 1578, 1580, 1597). Slandering them is therefore the worst-possible-sin.
[T]
For someone today
For today: in whose house there is saint-slander — that's not a home, it's the city of Death; his sin has no equal — even his company brings pain to people; the one whom saint-slander pleases — he is alive in hell already; Tuka says — that one is corrupted — know him plainly as a donkey.
Where this applies
- Saint-nindā-house-is-Yama-purī.* Samta-nindā-ghara-Yama-purī.
- Sin-no-equal-company-causes-pain.* Pāpā-nāhīm-jōḍā-sangē-pīḍā.
- Likes-saint-nindā-alive-in-narka.* Samta-nindā-āvaḍē-jitā-narka.
- Corrupt-clearly-a-donkey.* Naṣṭa-spaṣṭa-gāḍhava.