संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1725 of 4582

Abhanga 1725

English: What loss has come from saying yours?

When you'd assert bhakta-did-the-favor-of-making-Lord-famous + renounced-all — no-loss-from-saying-yours; nāma-rūpa-place-by-us; renounce-all; liberal-with-body

The verse

तुझें म्हणवितां काय नास जाला । ऐकें बा विठ्ठला कीर्ती तुझी ॥१॥ परी तुज नाहीं आमचे उपकार । नामरूपा थार केलियाचे ॥ध्रु.॥ समूळीं संसार केला देशधडी । सांडिली आवडी ममतेची ॥२॥ लोभ दंभ काम क्रोध अहंकार । यांसी नाहीं थार ऐसें केलें ॥३॥ मृत्तिका पाषाण तैसें केलें धन । आपले ते कोण पर नेणों ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे जालों देहासी उदार । आणीक विचार काय तेथें ॥५॥

Literal translation

English: What loss has come from saying yours? — listen, O Viṭhṭhalā — your kīrti. But to you — no upakāra from us — of making nāma-rūpa get place. At the root, samsāra was banished from country — abandoned the longing of mamatā. Lobha-damba-kāma-krodha-ahankāra — to these no place — thus made. Wealth like clay-stone — don't know own from other. Tuka says: became liberal-with-body — what other vicāra is there?

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
तुझें म्हणवितां काय नास जाला "saying yourswhat loss has come"
ऐकें बा विठ्ठला कीर्ती तुझी "listen, O Viṭhṭhalyour kīrti"
परी तुज नाहीं आमचे उपकार "butto younoour upakāra"
नामरूपा थार केलियाचे "nāma-rūpa(making) placewhat (we) did"
समूळीं संसार केला देशधडी "at-the-rootsamsārabanished from country"
सांडिली आवडी ममतेची "abandonedlonging of mamatā"
लोभ दंभ काम क्रोध अहंकार "lobha-damba-kāma-krodha-ahankāra"
यांसी नाहीं थार ऐसें केलें "to theseno placethus made"
मृत्तिका पाषाण तैसें केलें धन "clay, stonethus madewealth"
आपले ते कोण पर नेणों "ownwhootherdon't know"
तुका म्हणे जालों देहासी उदार "Tuka says — becameliberal-with-body"
आणीक विचार काय तेथें "what other vicārathere"

What it means

Bhakta-did-the-favor + renounced-everything abhang. Striking-inversion: the bhakta did the favor of making the Lord famous.

The opening: tujhēm mhaṇavitām kāya nāsa jālā — aikēm bā Viṭhṭhalā kīrtī tujhīwhat loss has come from saying yours? — listen, Viṭhṭhalā, your kīrti. No-loss to-the-bhakta from claiming you; (your kīrti, your fame, comes from us).

The radical-inversion: parī tuja nāhīm āmacē upakāra — nāma-rūpā thāra kēliyācēbut to you, no upakāra from us — we made the nāma-rūpa get place. We did the favor: we gave place-and-currency to your nāma-and-rūpa (= bhaktas establish Lord's-fame in the world; without bhaktas, no nāma-rūpa-circulation).

The renunciation-list:

  1. samūḷīm samsāra kēlā dēśa-dhaḍīat-the-root, samsāra was banished from country. Samsāra exiled from-the-country.
  2. sāṇḍilī āvaḍī mamatēcīabandoned the longing of mamatā. Mamatā-attachment-renounced.
  3. lōbha dambha kāma krōdha ahankāra — yāmsī nāhīm thāralobha-damba-kāma-krodha-ahankāra — to these, no place. The standard-five-vices given-no-place.
  4. mṛttikā pāṣāṇa taisēm kēlēm dhana — āpalē tē kōṇa para nēṇōmwealth like clay-and-stone — don't know own from other. Wealth-as-meaningless; no-distinction-of-own-vs-other.

The closing: Tukā mhaṇē jālōm dēhāsī udāra — āṇīka vicāra kāya tēthēTuka says: became liberal-with-body — what other vicāra is there? Dēhāsī udāra = liberal-with-the-body (= not-clinging-to-body, freely-giving-body). What further-consideration?

The whole abhang is a striking bhakta's-counter-claim: we have done the work of making the Lord famous in the world; we have renounced everything — what could you possibly demand more? Joins 1675's Lord-uses-our-hands and 1707's Lord-becomes-yes-saying-servant in the role-reversal corpus.

[T]

For someone today

For today: what loss has come from my saying I'm yours? — listen, O Viṭhṭhalā — it's your kīrti (we have established); but you have no favor from us-(we have done the favor) — making your nāma-rūpa get place in the world; we banished samsāra at-the-root from our country — abandoned the very-longing of mamatā; lobha-damba-kāma-krodha-ahankāra — these have no place — thus we have made; we treat wealth like clay and stone — don't recognize own from other; Tuka says — we have become liberal even with our body — what other consideration is there?

Where this applies

Related verses