Abhanga 1710
Some love and joy are too tender to survive being put into words or shown to careless eyes, so protect them in quiet solitude instead.
The verse
आनंदें एकांतीं प्रेमें वोसंडत । घेऊं अगणित प्रेमसुख ॥१॥ गोप्य धन वारा लागों यास । पाहों नेदूं वास दुर्जनासी ॥ध्रु.॥ झणी दृष्टि लागे आवडीच्या रसा । सेवूं जिरे तैसा आपणासी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे हें बहु सकुमार । न साहावे भार वचनाचा ॥३॥
Literal translation
With ānanda, in solitude, prema overflowing — let us take unmeasured prema-sukha. Hidden wealth — let no wind touch — won't allow the durjana to look. Let no dṛṣṭi strike the longing-rasa — will drink-and-digest like own. Tuka says: this is very tender — won't bear the burden of speech.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आनंदें एकांतीं प्रेमें वोसंडत | "with ānanda — in solitude — prema — overflowing" |
| घेऊं अगणित प्रेमसुख | "let us take — unmeasured — prema-sukha" |
| गोप्य धन वारा लागों यास | "hidden wealth — let no wind touch — to this" |
| पाहों नेदूं वास दुर्जनासी | "won't allow — to look — the durjana" |
| झणी दृष्टि लागे आवडीच्या रसा | "let no dṛṣṭi strike — the longing-rasa" |
| सेवूं जिरे तैसा आपणासी | "will drink-and-digest — like own" |
| तुका म्हणे हें बहु सकुमार | "Tuka says — this very tender" |
| न साहावे भार वचनाचा | "won't bear — burden of speech" |
What it means
Anti-public-display-of-bhakti + bhakti-as-tender-hidden-wealth abhang.
The opening: ānandē ēkāntīm prēmē vōsamḍata — ghē'ūm agaṇita prēma-sukha — with ānanda, in solitude, prema overflowing — let us take unmeasured prema-sukha. Solitary, joyful overflow — unmeasured intake.
The hidden-wealth: gōpya dhana vārā lāgōm yāsa — pāhōm nēdūm vāsa durjanāsī — hidden wealth — let no wind touch — won't allow durjana to look. Gōpya dhana = secret-wealth; vārā lāgōm = let wind touch (= even-the-passing-air must not affect it); durjana = bad-person. Don't even let the wind touch this hidden-wealth; don't let the durjana even-look.
The no-evil-eye: jhaṇī dṛṣṭi lāgē āvaḍīcyā rasā — sēvūm jirē taisā āpaṇāsī — let no dṛṣṭi (evil-eye) strike the longing-rasa — will drink-and-digest like own. Jhaṇī = (prohibitive) so-that-not, lest; dṛṣṭi lāgē = evil-eye-strikes (the folk-belief that envy-glances harm). Will drink-and-digest in private.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē hēm bahu sukumāra — na sāhāvē bhāra vacanācā — Tuka says: this is very tender — won't bear the burden of speech. Sukumāra = very-tender, delicate. Bhakti is too tender to bear even the burden of being spoken-about.
[T]
For someone today
For today: with ānanda, in solitude, with prema overflowing — let us take unmeasured prema-sukha; this is hidden-wealth — let no wind touch it — and don't let the bad-person even look at it; let no evil-eye strike the longing-rasa — drink it and digest it like your own; Tuka says — this is very-tender — it won't bear the burden of (public) speech.
Where this applies
- When you have a deep private joy or love and feel the urge to protect it instead of announcing it to everyone
- When someone pressures you to explain or perform your inner spiritual experience out loud
- When you sense that talking too much about something precious to you is starting to wear it thin
- When you are around people whose skepticism or envy makes you want to guard something tender in your heart