Abhanga 1691
For today: in this human body, calamity has attached to that-irreligious-one — he has earned the aghōra kumbhi-pāka hell; he is born and dies time after time, brawling — the shameless one holds no concern for decency; without deva-dharma, he is the cāṇḍāḷa-of-humans — earth cannot bear his load for even one moment; Tuka says — if he misses the escape from this, he will be in hell birth-after-birth.
The verse
मनुष्यदेहीं तया नाट लागलें । अघोर साधिलें कुंभपाक ॥१॥ उपजे मरोनि वेळोवेळां भांड । परिलाज लंड न धरी कांहीं ॥ध्रु.॥ देवधर्मांविण तो हा चांडाळ नर । न साहे भूमि भार क्षणभरी ॥२॥ जन्मोजन्मींचा होईंल नरकीं । तुका म्हणे चुकी जरी यासी ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: In human-body, calamity attached — aghōra has been earned, kumbhi-pāka. Born and dies time-to-time, brawling — the laṇḍa holds no concern for shame. Without deva-dharma — that one is cāṇḍāḷa-nara — earth can't bear the load for one moment. Birth-after-birth will be in narka — Tuka says — if (he) misses the escape from this.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| मनुष्यदेहीं तया नाट लागलें | "in human-body — to that one — calamity attached" |
| अघोर साधिलें कुंभपाक | "aghōra — earned — kumbhi-pāka" |
| उपजे मरोनि वेळोवेळां भांड | "born and dies — time-to-time — brawling" |
| परिलाज लंड न धरी कांहीं | "the laṇḍa — no concern for shame — holds nothing" |
| देवधर्मांविण तो हा चांडाळ नर | "without deva-dharma — that one — cāṇḍāḷa-nara" |
| न साहे भूमि भार क्षणभरी | "the earth — can't bear — the load — for one moment" |
| जन्मोजन्मींचा होईंल नरकीं | "birth-after-birth — will be in narka" |
| तुका म्हणे चुकी जरी यासी | "Tuka says — if escape — from this" |
What it means
Anti-irreligious-cāṇḍāḷa abhang.
The opening: manuṣya-dēhīm tayā nāṭa lāgalēm — aghōra sādhilēm kumbhi-pāka — in human-body, calamity attached — aghōra-kumbhi-pāka earned. Kumbhi-pāka = a traditional-hell where sinners are boiled in cauldrons. He has earned this hell while still in human-body.
The brawling-shameless: upajē marōni vēḷō-vēḷām bhāṇḍa — pari-lāja laṇḍa na dharī kāhīm — born-and-dies time-to-time brawling — the laṇḍa holds no shame-restraint. Laṇḍa = the shameless brawler; vēḷō-vēḷām = time after time, repeatedly.
The cāṇḍāḷa: deva-dharmām-vīṇa tō hā cāṇḍāḷa nara — na sāhē bhūmi bhāra kṣaṇa-bharī — without deva-dharma, that one is cāṇḍāḷa-nara — earth can't bear the load for one moment. Cāṇḍāḷa here is used in the moral-sense — the one without deva-dharma is the moral-cāṇḍāḷa, regardless of birth-jāti. (Note the inversion: in Tukaram's anti-caste lines (1676), the Lord associates with the yāti-bhraṣṭa; here, the moral-cāṇḍāḷa is the irreligious not the low-caste.)
The closing: janmō-janmīñcā hō'īla narakīm — Tukā mhaṇē cukī jarī yāsī — will be in narka birth-after-birth — Tuka says — if (he) misses (the escape) from this.
[T]
For someone today
For today: in this human body, calamity has attached to that-irreligious-one — he has earned the aghōra kumbhi-pāka hell; he is born and dies time after time, brawling — the shameless one holds no concern for decency; without deva-dharma, he is the cāṇḍāḷa-of-humans — earth cannot bear his load for even one moment; Tuka says — if he misses the escape from this, he will be in hell birth-after-birth.
Where this applies
- Human-body-calamity-aghōra-kumbhipāka.* Manuṣya-dēhīm-nāṭa-aghōra-kumbhipāka.
- Born-dies-brawling-shameless-no-decency.* Upajē-marōni-bhāṇḍa-laṇḍa-pari-lāja-na.
- No-deva-dharma-cāṇḍāḷa-earth-can't-bear.* Deva-dharma-vīṇa-cāṇḍāḷa-bhūmi-na-sāhē.
- Narka-birth-after-birth-if-escape-missed.* Narka-janmō-janma-cukī.