Abhanga 1777
For today: if your Name is not taken in my mouth with love — let my tongue fall off that very moment; this give me, this give me — I ask nothing else of you; let the ear be deaf if it doesn't hear your kīrti — let the eyes fall if they don't see your feet; shame on the mind that doesn't have your dhyāna at all times — let that cāṇḍāḷa burn; hands and feet not walking that path — let them fall off, anantā; without you, life has no charm for me; Tuka says — sweet is your Name.
The verse
तुझें नाम मुखीं न घेतां आवडी । जिव्हा ते चि घडी झडो माझी ॥१॥ हें मज देई हें मज देई । आणिक दुजें कांहीं न मगें तुज ॥ध्रु.॥ बहिर कान तुझी कीर्ती नाइकतां । पाय न देखतां जात डोळे ॥२॥ मना तुझें ध्यान नाहीं नित्य काळ । धिग तें चांडाळ जळो जळो ॥३॥ हातपाय तेणें पंथ न चलतां । जावे ते अनंता गळोनियां ॥४॥ तुजविण जिणें नाहीं मज चाड । तुका म्हणे गोड नाम तुझें ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: If your Name is not taken in my mouth with love — let my tongue fall off that very moment. This give me, this give me — I do not ask any other thing of you. Let the ear be deaf if it doesn't hear your kīrti — let the eyes go (= fall) if they don't see (your) feet. If the mind doesn't have your dhyāna at all times — shame on that cāṇḍāḷa — let it burn-burn. The hands and feet not walking the path with that — let them fall off, anantā. Without you, life has no charm for me. Tuka says: sweet is your Name.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| तुझें नाम मुखीं न घेतां आवडी | "your Name — in the mouth — if not taken — with love" |
| जिव्हा ते चि घडी झडो माझी | "the tongue — that very moment — let it fall off — of mine" |
| हें मज देई हें मज देई | "this give me, this give me" |
| आणिक दुजें कांहीं न मगें तुज | "another second thing — anything — I do not ask of you" |
| बहिर कान तुझी कीर्ती नाइकतां | "deaf — the ear — if your kīrti is not heard" |
| पाय न देखतां जात डोळे | "the feet not seen — the eyes go (= fall, are lost)" |
| मना तुझें ध्यान नाहीं नित्य काळ | "the mind — if your dhyāna — (is) not — all-times" |
| धिग तें चांडाळ जळो जळो | "shame on it — that cāṇḍāḷa — let it burn-burn" |
| हातपाय तेणें पंथ न चलतां | "hands and feet — with that — if not walking the path" |
| जावे ते अनंता गळोनियां | "let them go — anantā (= endless-one) — falling-off" |
| तुजविण जिणें नाहीं मज चाड | "without you — life — no charm — for me" |
| तुका म्हणे गोड नाम तुझें | "Tuka says — sweet — your Name" |
What it means
Self-curse-without-the-Name + body-parts-rejection abhang. A fierce, body-part-by-body-part rejection-formula: every-organ that doesn't serve the Lord-and-Name should fall-off, burn, or fail.
The opening: tujhēm nāma mukhīm na ghētām āvaḍī — jivhā tē chi ghaḍī jhaḍō mājhī — if your Name is not taken in my mouth with love — let my tongue fall off that very moment. Jhaḍō = let it fall-off / wither. Tongue-without-Name = tongue-not-worth-having.
The exclusivity-line: hēm maja dē'ī hēm maja dē'ī — āṇika dujēm kāhīm na magēm tuja — this give me, this give me — I do not ask any other thing of you. Doubled-imperative for emphasis; only this-one-thing (= Nāma-bhakti) is asked.
Body-part by body-part rejection:
- Ear: bahira kāna tujhī kīrtī nā'ikatām — let the ear be deaf if it doesn't hear your kīrti.
- Eye: pāya na dēkhatām jāta ḍōḷē — let the eyes go (= fall, be lost) if they don't see (your) feet.
- Mind: manā tujhēm dhyāna nāhīm nitya kāḷa — dhiga tēm cāṇḍāḷa jaḷō jaḷō — if the mind doesn't have your dhyāna at all times — shame on that cāṇḍāḷa — let it burn-burn. Dhiga = shame; cāṇḍāḷa = the outcaste-low-name (used here as insult to one's own mind); jaḷō jaḷō = let-it-burn-burn. Brutal self-rejection of the wandering-mind.
- Hands and feet: hāta-pāya tēṇē pantha na calatām — jāvē tē anantā gaḷōniyām — if hands and feet don't walk the path with that — let them fall off, anantā. Gaḷōniyām = falling-off; anantā = vocative-of-Viṭhṭhal as the endless-one.
The closing: tujavīṇa jiṇē nāhīm maja cāḍa — Tukā mhaṇē gōḍa nāma tujhēm — without you, life has no charm for me — Tuka says: sweet is your Name. Cāḍa = charm, attachment, fond-desire. Life-without-you is uncharming; only your Name is sweet.
This abhang follows a classic-bhakti-self-curse-pattern (compare Pangyāca / Cāturmāsa / āratī liturgical-cycles where similar body-part-by-body-part formulas appear) — but in Tuka's signature concrete-fierce register. Each body-part is held to its only-purpose: serving the Lord. Powerful Vārkarī-tradition liturgical-formula.
[T]
For someone today
For today: if your Name is not taken in my mouth with love — let my tongue fall off that very moment; this give me, this give me — I ask nothing else of you; let the ear be deaf if it doesn't hear your kīrti — let the eyes fall if they don't see your feet; shame on the mind that doesn't have your dhyāna at all times — let that cāṇḍāḷa burn; hands and feet not walking that path — let them fall off, anantā; without you, life has no charm for me; Tuka says — sweet is your Name.
Where this applies
- If-Name-not-taken-with-love-tongue-fall-off.* Nāma-mukha-āvaḍī-jivhā-jhaḍō.
- Deaf-ear-if-no-kīrti-eyes-fall-if-no-feet.* Bahira-kāna-kīrti-pāya-ḍōḷē.
- Shame-mind-no-dhyāna-cāṇḍāḷa-burn.* Mana-dhyāna-cāṇḍāḷa-jaḷō.
- Hands-feet-not-walking-fall-off-anantā.* Hāta-pāya-pantha-gaḷō-anantā.
- Without-you-no-charm-Name-is-sweet.* Tujavīṇa-cāḍa-na-gōḍa-nāma.