Abhanga 1713
For today: however excellent the beauty of a courtesan, she cannot be called a married-householder-wife; fitting and unfitting things have their proper places — worth attaches to actual-quality, not to claimed-grandeur; without real heroism, you have no place among heroes — not by mere claim of life; Tuka says — disguise is only the belly's strategy — no real cause comes without real earning.
The verse
अति जालें उत्तम वेश्येचें लावण्य । परि ते सवासीण न म्हणावी ॥१॥ उचित अनुचित केले ठाया ठाव । गुणां मोल वाव थोरपण ॥ध्रु.॥ शूरत्वावांचूनि शूरांमाजी ठाव । नाहीं आयुर्भाव आणिलिया ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे सोंग पोटाचे उपाय । कारण कमाईंविण नाहीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: However excellent the lāvaṇya of a vēśyā — she cannot be called sa-vāsiṇa. Fitting-and-unfitting have their proper places — worth (is) to guṇa, not grandeur. Without śūratva, no place among śūras — not by āyurbhāva-claim. Tuka says: disguise is the belly's upāya — there's no cause without earning.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| अति जालें उत्तम वेश्येचें लावण्य | "however excellent — vēśyā's lāvaṇya" |
| परि ते सवासीण न म्हणावी | "but she — sa-vāsiṇa — can't be called" |
| उचित अनुचित केले ठाया ठाव | "fitting-and-unfitting — place-by-place" |
| गुणां मोल वाव थोरपण | "to guṇa — worth — not place — grandeur" |
| शूरत्वावांचूनि शूरांमाजी ठाव | "without śūratva — among śūras — no place" |
| नाहीं आयुर्भाव आणिलिया | "not — by āyurbhāva-claim — brought" |
| तुका म्हणे सोंग पोटाचे उपाय | "Tuka says — disguise — belly's upāya" |
| कारण कमाईंविण नाहीं | "cause — without earning — no" |
What it means
Anti-pretense + worth-by-real-deed-not-disguise abhang.
The vēśyā-image: ati jālēm uttama vēśyēcēm lāvaṇya — pari tē savāsiṇa na mhaṇāvī — however excellent the lāvaṇya of a vēśyā — she can't be called sa-vāsiṇa. Vēśyā = prostitute; lāvaṇya = beauty / charm; sa-vāsiṇa = the married-householder-wife (the socially-respected status). Beauty alone doesn't confer status.
The proper-place: uciṭa anuciṭa kēlē ṭhāyā ṭhāva — guṇām mōla vāva thōrapaṇa — fitting and unfitting have their place — worth (is) to guṇa, not grandeur. Vāva = not place / not-applicable. Worth attaches to actual-quality (guṇa), not to claimed-grandeur.
The śūratva-claim: śūratvā-vāñcūni śūrām-mājī ṭhāva — nāhīm āyurbhāva āṇiliyā — without real heroism, no place among heroes — not by claim of life. Āyurbhāva = the assertion of one's-status-as-living (= mere-existence-claim). Mere-claim doesn't put one among heroes.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē sōnga pōṭācē upāya — kāraṇa kamā'ī-vīṇa nāhīm — Tuka says: disguise is belly's upāya — no cause without earning. Sōnga = disguise, role-playing; pōṭa-ūpāya = belly-strategy (= mere-livelihood-trick); kamā'ī = real earning, real-skill. Disguise gets you food; but no real-cause without real-earning.
[T]
For someone today
For today: however excellent the beauty of a courtesan, she cannot be called a married-householder-wife; fitting and unfitting things have their proper places — worth attaches to actual-quality, not to claimed-grandeur; without real heroism, you have no place among heroes — not by mere claim of life; Tuka says — disguise is only the belly's strategy — no real cause comes without real earning.
Where this applies
- Vēśyā-lāvaṇya-not-sa-vāsiṇa.* Vēśyā-lāvaṇya-savāsiṇa-na.
- Fitting-unfitting-place-worth-to-guṇa.* Uciṭa-anuciṭa-guṇa-mōla.
- No-śūratva-no-place-among-śūras.* Śūratva-vāñcūni-śūrām-mājī-ṭhāva-na.
- Disguise-belly-upāya-no-real-cause-without-earning.* Sōnga-pōṭa-upāya-kamā'ī-vīṇa-na.