Abhanga 1726
For today: what did you do, going on tīrtha-yātrā? — you only washed the skin, on top; by what did the inner become pure? — you only made an ornament of yourself; like the bitter indrāvaṇa-fruit rolled in sugar — the inner-bitterness doesn't break at all; Tuka says — without śānti, kṣamā, dayā (peace, forgiveness, compassion) — until then, why are you blowing your trumpet of religiosity?
The verse
जाऊनियां तीर्था काय तुवां केलें । चर्म प्रक्षाळिलें वरीं वरीं ॥१॥ अंतरींचें शुद्ध कासयानें जालें । भूषण तों केलें आपणया ॥ध्रु.॥ इंद्रावण फळ घोळिलें साकरा । भीतरील थारा मोडे चि ना ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नाहीं शांति क्षमा दया । तोंवरी कासया फुंदा तुम्ही ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Going to tīrtha — what did you do? — only the skin washed, on top. By what did the inner become śuddha? — you only made an ornament of yourself. Indrāvaṇa-fruit rolled in sugar — the inner thārā doesn't break at all. Tuka says: without śānti, kṣamā, dayā — until then, for what do you blow?
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जाऊनियां तीर्था काय तुवां केलें | "going to tīrtha — what did you do" |
| चर्म प्रक्षाळिलें वरीं वरीं | "skin — washed — only on top" |
| अंतरींचें शुद्ध कासयानें जालें | "inner śuddha — by what came" |
| भूषण तों केलें आपणया | "only made bhūṣaṇa — for self" |
| इंद्रावण फळ घोळिलें साकरा | "indrāvaṇa fruit — rolled in sugar" |
| भीतरील थारा मोडे चि ना | "the inner thārā — doesn't break at all" |
| तुका म्हणे नाहीं शांति क्षमा दया | "Tuka says — no śānti, kṣamā, dayā" |
| तोंवरी कासया फुंदा तुम्ही | "until then — for what — do you blow" |
What it means
Tīrtha-yātrā-only-washes-skin + indrāvaṇa-rolled-in-sugar abhang. One of Tukaram's most-famous anti-tīrtha-without-inner-virtue lines.
The opening: jā'ūniyām tīrthā kāya tuvām kēlēm — carma prakṣāḷilēm varīm varīm — going to tīrtha — what did you do? — only the skin washed on top. Carma = skin; prakṣāḷaṇa = washing; varīm varīm = only on top. Tīrtha-water washes only the skin — not the inner.
The bhūṣaṇa: antarīñcēm śuddha kāsayānē jālēm — bhūṣaṇa tōm kēlēm āpaṇayā — how did the inner become śuddha? — only made an ornament of self. Bhūṣaṇa = ornament, decoration; the tīrtha-yātrā becomes only an ornament-on-the-self (= a status-marker, not an inner-purification).
The famous indrāvaṇa-image: indrāvaṇa phaḷa ghōḷilēm sākarā — bhītarīla thārā mōḍē chi nā — indrāvaṇa-fruit rolled in sugar — the inner thārā doesn't break at all. Indrāvaṇa = colocynth, the bitter-medicinal fruit; thārā = the inherent-essence / steadfast-nature. Even rolling the bitter colocynth in sugar (= outer-tīrtha-coating) doesn't change its inner-bitter-nature. (This is one of the most-celebrated Tukaram-images for outward-religiosity-not-changing-inner-nature.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē nāhīm śānti kṣamā dayā — tōmvarī kāsayā phundā tumhī — Tuka says: no śānti, kṣamā, dayā — until then, why do you blow? Phundā = to blow (= to blow the conch-or-trumpet of religious-pride; to puff-up, to boast). The triple inner-virtue: śānti, kṣamā, dayā (peace, forgiveness, compassion). Without these, why blow the trumpet of tīrtha-yātrā?
This abhang sits in the anti-orthodoxy core of Tukaram's teaching — joining 1620 (anti-paṇḍita-stuti), 1622 (no-need-for-Vaikuṇṭha-only-darśana), 1653 (Gayā-varjana-done-without-traveling).
[T]
For someone today
For today: what did you do, going on tīrtha-yātrā? — you only washed the skin, on top; by what did the inner become pure? — you only made an ornament of yourself; like the bitter indrāvaṇa-fruit rolled in sugar — the inner-bitterness doesn't break at all; Tuka says — without śānti, kṣamā, dayā (peace, forgiveness, compassion) — until then, why are you blowing your trumpet of religiosity?
Where this applies
- Tīrtha-only-washes-skin-on-top.* Tīrtha-carma-varīm-varīm.
- Inner-not-purified-only-self-ornament.* Antarī-śuddha-na-bhūṣaṇa-āpaṇa.
- Indrāvaṇa-rolled-in-sugar-inner-doesn't-break.* Indrāvaṇa-sākarā-thārā-na-mōḍē.
- Without-śānti-kṣamā-dayā-no-trumpet.* Śānti-kṣamā-dayā-na-phundā-na.