Abhanga 1716
For today: by the bad, the good is recognized — by the inferior, the good is shown; without one, what worth is there to the other for free?; by poison, amṛta is shown — bitter and sweet, destruction reveals the good; by darkness, the flame is seen — and day becomes known through night; high and low pebbles, diamond, touchstone, gold-coin; Tuka says — thus the good become known through the corrupt.
The verse
वाइटानें भलें । हीनें दाविलें चांगलें ॥१॥ एकाविण एका । कैचें मोल होतें फुका ॥ध्रु.॥ विषें दाविलें अमृत । कडू गोड घातें हित ॥२॥ काळिमेनें ज्योती । दिवस कळों आला राती ॥३॥ उंच निंच गारा । हिरा परिस मोहरा ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे भले । ऐसे नष्टांनीं कळले ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: By the bad — the good; by the inferior — the good is shown. Without one — to the other — what worth would be — for free? By poison — amṛta is shown; bitter, sweet — destruction shows hita. By darkness — the flame; day became known — by night. High, low — pebbles, diamond, paris, gold-coin. Tuka says: the good — thus — by the corrupt — became known.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वाइटानें भलें | "by the bad — the good" |
| हीनें दाविलें चांगलें | "by the inferior — the good is shown" |
| एकाविण एका | "without one — to the other" |
| कैचें मोल होतें फुका | "what worth — would be — for free" |
| विषें दाविलें अमृत | "by poison — amṛta is shown" |
| कडू गोड घातें हित | "bitter, sweet — destruction shows hita" |
| काळिमेनें ज्योती | "by darkness — the flame" |
| दिवस कळों आला राती | "day became known — by night" |
| उंच निंच गारा | "high, low — pebbles" |
| हिरा परिस मोहरा | "diamond, paris, gold-coin" |
| तुका म्हणे भले | "Tuka says — the good" |
| ऐसे नष्टांनीं कळले | "thus — by the corrupt — became known" |
What it means
Contrast-reveals-good abhang. A cluster of dialectical-images: X is revealed by not-X.
The principle: vā'iṭānē bhalēm — hīnēm dāvilēm cāngalēm — by the bad, the good; by the inferior, the good is shown. Without contrast, no recognition of value.
The without-one-no-worth: ēkā-vīṇa ēkā — kaicēm mōla hōtēm phukā — without one, what worth (would be) to the other — for free? Mutual-dependence of contrasted-pair.
The image-cluster:
- Poison reveals amṛta: viṣē dāvilēm amṛta — kaḍū gōḍa ghātēm hita — by poison, amṛta; bitter and sweet — destruction shows hita.
- Darkness reveals flame: kāḷimēnē jyōtī — by darkness, the flame. (= the flame's-brightness only-visible against darkness.)
- Night reveals day: divasa kaḷōm ālā rātī — day became known by night. (= day's-distinctness only-recognized through night-experience.)
- Pebbles reveal diamond: umca nimca gārā — hīrā parisa mōharā — high, low pebbles — diamond, paris, gold-coin. Paris = touchstone-that-turns-iron-to-gold; mōharā = gold-coin. (= high-quality-stones reveal-themselves against ordinary-pebbles.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē bhalē — aisē naṣṭāmnīm kaḷalē — Tuka says: the good — thus — by the corrupt — became known. Naṣṭa = the corrupt, ruined-ones. The good become-known through the corrupt — the saint-and-the-wicked are mutually-defining.
[T]
For someone today
For today: by the bad, the good is recognized — by the inferior, the good is shown; without one, what worth is there to the other for free?; by poison, amṛta is shown — bitter and sweet, destruction reveals the good; by darkness, the flame is seen — and day becomes known through night; high and low pebbles, diamond, touchstone, gold-coin; Tuka says — thus the good become known through the corrupt.
Where this applies
- By-the-bad-the-good-shown.* Vā'iṭa-bhalēm-dāvilēm.
- Without-one-no-worth-to-other.* Ēkā-vīṇa-ēkā-mōla-na.
- Poison-shows-amṛta-darkness-shows-flame.* Viṣa-amṛta-kāḷima-jyōtī.
- Pebbles-diamond-paris-gold-coin.* Gārā-hīrā-parisa-mōharā.
- Good-known-by-corrupt.* Bhalē-naṣṭāmnīm-kaḷalē.