Abhanga 1778
For today: we do bhajana — but with samsāra-anxiety, desire still clings to the back — by this, the jīva's loss will be yours; eventually you'll be fooled, fooled by viṣaya-association, you'll fall back into the deep-pool of samsāra; inwardly and outwardly, the four days of life pass swiftly; wake up — do the means-of-good — Tuka says, otherwise you will say 'alas' afterward.
The verse
भजन करूं । संसारसंभ्रमें आशा लागे पाठी । तेणें जीवा साटी होईंल तुझ्या ॥१॥ सेकीं नाडसील नाडसील । विषयसंगें अवघा नाडसील । मागुता पडसील भवडोहीं ॥ध्रु.॥ आंत बाह्यात्कारीं । ऐसे जाती चारी दिवस वेगीं ॥२॥ जागा होई करीं हिताचा उपाय । तुका म्हणे हाय करिसी मग ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Bhajana we do — but with samsāra-anxiety, desire is on the back — by this, the loss-of-the-jīva will be yours. At-last you'll be fooled, fooled by viṣaya-association, fall-back into the bhava-ḍōha. Inwardly and outwardly, the four days of life pass swiftly. Be awake — do the upāya of hita — Tuka says, otherwise you will say 'alas' afterward.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भजन करूं | "we do bhajana — (but)" |
| संसारसंभ्रमें आशा लागे पाठी | "with samsāra-anxiety — desire is on (our) back" |
| तेणें जीवा साटी होईंल तुझ्या | "by-this — of the jīva — the loss / barter — will be — yours" |
| सेकीं नाडसील नाडसील | "at last — you will be fooled — (emphatic-doubled)" |
| विषयसंगें अवघा नाडसील | "with viṣaya-association — all of you — will be fooled" |
| मागुता पडसील भवडोहीं | "you will fall back — into the bhava-ḍōha (= deep-pool-of-samsāra)" |
| आंत बाह्यात्कारीं | "inwardly — and outwardly" |
| ऐसे जाती चारी दिवस वेगीं | "thus go — the four days (of life) — swiftly" |
| जागा होई करीं हिताचा उपाय | "be awake — do — the upāya of hita (= the means-of-good)" |
| तुका म्हणे हाय करिसी मग | "Tuka says — (otherwise) you will say — hāya (alas) — afterward" |
What it means
Bhajana-with-anxiety-is-loss + four-days-of-life abhang. A warning to the half-bhakta who does bhajana but still carries samsāra-anxiety in the heart.
The opening: bhajana karūm samsāra-sambhramēm āśā lāgē pāṭhī — tēṇē jīvā sāṭī hō'īla tujhyā — we do bhajana but with samsāra-anxiety, desire is on (our) back — by-this, the loss-of-the-jīva will be yours. Sambhrama = bewilderment, agitation; āśā lāgē pāṭhī = desire-clings-on-the-back (= desire-pulls-from-behind even-while-bhajana-happens-in-front); jīvā sāṭī = the jīva's exchange / loss. External-bhajana with internal-anxiety means the jīva-is-still-being-traded-away.
The fooling-line: sēkīm nāḍasīla nāḍasīla — viṣaya-sangēm avaghā nāḍasīla — māgutā paḍasīla bhava-ḍōhīm — at last you'll be fooled, fooled — by viṣaya-association, all of you will be fooled — you will fall back into the bhava-ḍōha. Bhava-ḍōha = the deep-pool of samsāra. The doubled-warning emphasizes the inevitability if the inner-anxiety is not removed.
The four-days-line: āmta bāhyātkārīm — aisē jātī cārī divasa vēgīm — inwardly and outwardly — thus pass the four days swiftly. Cārī divasa = the four-days (= idiomatic for the few-short-days of human-life). Inside-and-outside, the brief-life-passes swiftly. (The ephemerality-of-life register — companion to 1763's forgotten-death.)
The closing: jāgā hō'ī karīm hitācā upāya — Tukā mhaṇē hāya karisī maga — be awake, do the upāya of hita — Tuka says, otherwise you'll say "alas" afterward. Hāya = the cry of regret. Wake-up-and-act now, or regret-after-the-fact.
A companion-warning to abhangs about cārī divasa, krāya-pāyā ghaḍī, sthira-kāya, deha-naśvara. Half-bhakti is no-bhakti when anxiety still leads.
[T]
For someone today
For today: we do bhajana — but with samsāra-anxiety, desire still clings to the back — by this, the jīva's loss will be yours; eventually you'll be fooled, fooled by viṣaya-association, you'll fall back into the deep-pool of samsāra; inwardly and outwardly, the four days of life pass swiftly; wake up — do the means-of-good — Tuka says, otherwise you will say 'alas' afterward.
Where this applies
- Bhajana-with-samsāra-anxiety-jīva-loss.* Bhajana-sambhrama-āśā-jīvā-sāṭī.
- You'll-be-fooled-by-viṣaya-fall-into-bhava-ḍōha.* Nāḍasīla-viṣaya-bhava-ḍōha.
- Four-days-of-life-pass-swiftly.* Cārī-divasa-vēgī.
- Wake-up-do-the-upāya-or-say-alas-after.* Jāgā-hō'ī-upāya-hāya-maga.