संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 1735 of 4582

Abhanga 1735

For today: the child's good, the mother's chitta carries; such is the nature of compassionate-love — it does affection without any gain; she bears the belly-burden, and also bears all of his existence; Tuka says — my burden is like that — a load on you, saints.

When you'd compare saints'-bearing-of-bhakta to mother-bearing-child — mother-bears-hita; prīti-without-lābha; bears-belly-burden; saints-bear-our-load

The verse

लेंकराचें हित । वाहे माउलीचें चित्त ॥१॥ ऐसी कळवळ्याची जाती । करी लाभेंविण प्रीती ॥ध्रु.॥ पोटीं भार वाहे । त्याचें सर्वस्व ही साहे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे माझें । तैसे तुम्हां संतां ओझें ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: The child's hita — the mother's chitta bears. Such is kaḷavaḷā's nature — does prīti without lābha. Bears belly-burden — also bears all of his (existence). Tuka says: my burden — like that, the load on you saints.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
लेंकराचें हित "the child's hita"
वाहे माउलीचें चित्त "bearsmother's chitta"
ऐसी कळवळ्याची जाती "suchkaḷavaḷā's nature"
करी लाभेंविण प्रीती "does prītiwithout lābha"
पोटीं भार वाहे "belly-burdenbears"
त्याचें सर्वस्व ही साहे "all of his (existence)also bears"
तुका म्हणे माझें "Tuka says — my burden"
तैसे तुम्हां संतां ओझें "like thatto you saintsload"

What it means

Mother-bears-child's-burden + saints-bear-bhakta's-burden abhang.

The opening: lēnkarācēm hita — vāhē mā'ulīcēm chittathe child's hita — the mother's chitta bears. The mother's-chitta carries-the-child's-welfare-as-its-own.

The kaḷavaḷā-nature: aisī kaḷavaḷyācī jātī — karī lābhē-vīṇa prītīsuch is kaḷavaḷā's nature — does prīti without lābha. Kaḷavaḷā = the surge of compassion-and-love; jātī = kind, nature. Such is the nature of compassionate-surge — it does love without expecting gain. (= unconditional-love is structurally-defined by no-return-expected.)

The double-burden: pōṭīm bhāra vāhē — tyācēm sarvasva hī sāhēbears belly-burden — bears all of his (existence) too. Pōṭīm-bhāra = the burden in the belly (= the pregnancy-load); sarvasva sāhē = also-bears all-of-his-everything. Mother carries the pregnancy-load and then-after-birth carries all-of-the-child's-existence.

The closing: Tukā mhaṇē mājhēm — taisē tumhām samtām ōjhēmTuka says: my (burden) — like that — load on you saints. Like the mother's-bearing-of-the-child, the saints bear the bhakta's-load.

[T]

For someone today

For today: the child's good, the mother's chitta carries; such is the nature of compassionate-love — it does affection without any gain; she bears the belly-burden, and also bears all of his existence; Tuka says — my burden is like that — a load on you, saints.

Where this applies

Related verses