Abhanga 1754
For today: in the chandana-village, snakes dwell — but the experiencers (of chandana-fragrance) are in distant other-islands; to one a thing is a burden, to another the same is a profit, Devā — samcita-deposits are separate; (snakes) live in milk-dwellings but drink only the impure-blood — what's near goes far by bhōga (karma); Tuka says — such whose buddhi is so hard — even stones are better than that one, Devā.
The verse
चंदनाचे गांवीं सर्पांच्या वसति । भोगिते ते होती द्वीपांतरीं ॥१॥ एका ओझें एका लाभ घडे देवा । संचिताचा ठेवा वेगळाला ॥ध्रु.॥ क्षीराची वसति अशुद्ध सेवावें । जवळी तें जावें भोगें दुरी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे ऐसी बुद्धी ज्याची जड । त्याहुनि दगड बरे देवा ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: In chandana-village, snakes' dwelling — the experiencers are in dvīpāntara. To one a burden, to one a profit happens, Devā — samcita-deposit separately. Milk-dwelling, drinks-the-impure — what's near goes far by bhōga. Tuka says: such whose buddhi (is) hard — better stones than that one, Devā.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| चंदनाचे गांवीं सर्पांच्या वसति | "in chandana-village — snakes' dwelling" |
| भोगिते ते होती द्वीपांतरीं | "the experiencers — in dvīpāntara" |
| एका ओझें एका लाभ घडे देवा | "one a burden — one a profit happens, Devā" |
| संचिताचा ठेवा वेगळाला | "samcita-deposit — separately" |
| क्षीराची वसति अशुद्ध सेवावें | "milk-dwelling — to drink-the-impure" |
| जवळी तें जावें भोगें दुरी | "what's near — goes far — by bhōga" |
| तुका म्हणे ऐसी बुद्धी ज्याची जड | "Tuka says — such — whose buddhi hard" |
| त्याहुनि दगड बरे देवा | "better stones — than that one, Devā" |
What it means
Chandana-village-snakes + milk-dwelling-impure-drink + samcita-separates abhang.
The chandana-village: candanācē gāmvīm sarpāñcyā vasati — bhōgitē tē hōtī dvīpāntarīm — in chandana-village, snakes' dwelling — the experiencers are in dvīpāntara. The image: the chandana-tree-village is full of snakes (which-don't-enjoy-the-chandana); those who-actually-enjoy chandana-fragrance live in distant-other-islands. (= those-near-the-source don't-experience-it; those-far-away enjoy-it.)
The samcita-separates: ēkā ōjhēm ēkā lābha ghaḍē Devā — samcitācā ṭhēvā vēgaḷālā — to one a burden, to one a profit happens — samcita-deposit separately. Same-thing is burden-to-one and profit-to-another, depending-on samcita-deposit.
The milk-snake: kṣīrācī vasati aśuddha sēvāvēm — javaḷī tēm jāvēm bhōgēm durī — milk-dwelling, drinks-the-impure — what's near goes far by bhōga. (Snakes) live in milky-places, but drink-the-impure-blood instead; near-thing goes-far due-to-bhōga (karmic-deserving).
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē aisī buddhī jyācī jaḍa — tyāhuni dagaḍa barē Devā — Tuka says: such whose buddhi (is) hard — better stones than him, Devā. Some buddhis are so dull, even-stones are better.
[T]
For someone today
For today: in the chandana-village, snakes dwell — but the experiencers (of chandana-fragrance) are in distant other-islands; to one a thing is a burden, to another the same is a profit, Devā — samcita-deposits are separate; (snakes) live in milk-dwellings but drink only the impure-blood — what's near goes far by bhōga (karma); Tuka says — such whose buddhi is so hard — even stones are better than that one, Devā.
Where this applies
- Chandana-snakes-experiencers-in-dvīpāntara.* Candana-sarpa-bhōgitē-dvīpāntara.
- Samcita-deposit-separates-burden-vs-profit.* Samcita-ṭhēvā-vēgaḷālā-ōjhēm-lābha.
- Milk-dwelling-snakes-drink-impure.* Kṣīra-vasati-aśuddha-sēvā.
- Near-goes-far-by-bhōga.* Javaḷī-jāvēm-bhōgēm-durī.
- Hard-buddhi-stones-better.* Buddhī-jaḍa-dagaḍa-barē.