Abhanga 1768
For today: the one who made me speak — only he knows the secret of this; I am only the labor's-master, I have to beg humbly even for food; through the laborer's hand the measure fills and goes out empty; Pāṇḍuranga, my father, has become the provider; the child plays with fond-delight beside mother-and-father; as they do their work, so falls the rhythm; his true cows-and-buffaloes — with this I play in the mud; Tuka says — my words — Viṭhṭhal speaks them.
The verse
बोलविले जेणें । तो चि याचें गुह्य जाणे ॥१॥ मी तों काबाडाचा धनी । जेवूं मागावें थिंकोनि ॥ध्रु.॥ मजुराच्या हातें । माप जालें गेलें रितें ॥२॥ जाला पुरविता । पांडुरंग माझा पिता ॥३॥ मायबापासवें । बाळें कौतुकें खेळावें ॥४॥ जैसा करिती धंदा । तैसा पडोनियां छंदा ॥५॥ त्याच्या साच गाईं म्हैसी । येणें खेळावें मातीशीं ॥६॥ तुका म्हणे बोल । माझा बोलतो विठ्ठल ॥७॥
Literal translation
English: The one who made-me-speak — only he knows the secret of this. I am only the labor's-master — to eat I have to beg with spittle. By the laborer's hand the measure was filled and went out empty. Pāṇḍuranga my father has become the provider. With mother-and-father, the child plays with fond-delight. As they do their dhandā, so falls the rhythm. His true cows-and-buffaloes — with this I play in the mud. Tuka says — the words, mine — Viṭhṭhal speaks.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| बोलविले जेणें | "the one who made-me-speak" |
| तो चि याचें गुह्य जाणे | "only he — knows the secret of this" |
| मी तों काबाडाचा धनी | "I am only — the labor's-master (= the master-of-toil)" |
| जेवूं मागावें थिंकोनि | "to eat — I have to beg — spitting-and-asking (thinkōni = scrounging humbly)" |
| मजुराच्या हातें | "by the laborer's hand" |
| माप जालें गेलें रितें | "the measure — was filled — went out empty" |
| जाला पुरविता | "the provider has become" |
| पांडुरंग माझा पिता | "Pāṇḍuranga — my father" |
| मायबापासवें | "with mother-and-father" |
| बाळें कौतुकें खेळावें | "the child — with-fond-delight — plays" |
| जैसा करिती धंदा | "as they — do their dhandā (= business)" |
| तैसा पडोनियां छंदा | "thus — falling-into — (my) chanda (= rhythm)" |
| त्याच्या साच गाईं म्हैसी | "his — true — cows and buffaloes" |
| येणें खेळावें मातीशीं | "with-this — I-play — with-the-mud" |
| तुका म्हणे बोल | "Tuka says — the words" |
| माझा बोलतो विठ्ठल | "mine — Viṭhṭhal speaks" |
What it means
Viṭhṭhal-speaks-through-Tuka abhang.
The opening: bōlavilē jēṇēm — tō chi yācēm guhya jāṇē — the one who made me speak — only he knows the secret of this. Tuka attributes his own speech to Viṭhṭhal; the guhya (= secret-meaning) of his words is known only to the speaker-behind-the-speech.
The labor-image: mī tōm kābāḍācā dhanī — jē'vūm māgāvēm thinkōni — I am only the labor's-master — to eat, I have to beg with spittle. Kābāḍācā dhanī = the master-of-toil (= the one-who-only-does-the-grunt-work); thinkōni = with humble-spitting (= the way a beggar timidly-asks). I work, but for food I still must beg.
The measure-image: majurācyā hātēm — māpa jālēm gēlēm ritēm — by the laborer's hand, the measure was filled — went out empty. The māpa (= measuring-vessel) fills and empties through the laborer's hand — the laborer himself doesn't keep it. (= Tuka is only the conduit; the substance flows through him.)
The father-image: jālā puravitā — Pāṇḍuranga mājhā pitā — the provider has become — Pāṇḍuranga, my father. The actual-provider is Pāṇḍuranga; Tuka is only the laborer-in-his-house.
The child-play image: māya-bāpāsavēm — bāḷēm kautukēm khēḷāvē + jaisā karitī dhandā — taisā paḍōniyām chandā + tyācyā sāca gāīm mhaisī — yēṇē khēḷāvē mātīśīm — with mother-father, the child plays fondly; as they do their business, so falls the rhythm; his true cows-buffaloes, with these I play in the mud. The child plays-around-the-parents' work; Tuka plays-around-Viṭhṭhal's-business — Viṭhṭhal's true cows-and-buffaloes are real (= Tuka's experience-of-bhakti is real-because-Viṭhṭhal-arranges-it); Tuka only plays-in-the-mud (= his Marathi speech is the mud-play that Viṭhṭhal allows).
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē bōla — mājhā bōlatō Viṭhṭhala — Tuka says: the words, mine — Viṭhṭhal speaks. The most-direct articulation of Tuka's bardic-self-understanding: I appear-to-speak, but Viṭhṭhal-speaks-through-me. (Foundational for the gatha-as-Viṭhṭhal-vāṇī tradition.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: the one who made me speak — only he knows the secret of this; I am only the labor's-master, I have to beg humbly even for food; through the laborer's hand the measure fills and goes out empty; Pāṇḍuranga, my father, has become the provider; the child plays with fond-delight beside mother-and-father; as they do their work, so falls the rhythm; his true cows-and-buffaloes — with this I play in the mud; Tuka says — my words — Viṭhṭhal speaks them.
Where this applies
- One-who-made-me-speak-knows-the-secret.* Bōlavilē-jēṇē-guhya-jāṇē.
- I-am-the-labor's-master-have-to-beg.* Kābāḍācā-dhanī-māgāvē.
- Pāṇḍuranga-my-father-has-become-provider.* Pāṇḍuranga-pitā-puravitā.
- Child-plays-with-mother-father-fondly.* Bāḷa-māya-bāpa-kautuka-khēḷa.
- My-words-Viṭhṭhal-speaks.* Bōla-mājhā-bōlatō-Viṭhṭhal.