Abhanga 1786
For today: to deva falls the duty to feed everyone — to us, no need to eat, what worry?; to deva falls the duty to judge pāpa-puṇya — to us, all people are good; to deva clings creation-and-destruction — to us, just a little something; to deva clings kāma's business — to us, always leisure; Tuka says — we are better than deva, when considering the qualities with full-bhāva.
The verse
देवासी लागे सकळांसी पोसावें । आम्हां न लगे खावें काय चिंता ॥१॥ देवा विचारावें लागे पापपुण्य । आम्हासी हे जन अवघें भलें ॥ध्रु.॥ देवासी उत्पत्ति लागला संहार । आम्हां नाहीं फार थोडें काहीं ॥२॥ देवासी काम लागला धंदा । आम्हासी ते सदा रिकामीक ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे आम्ही भले देवाहून । विचारितां गुण सर्वभावें ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: To deva, to feed everyone — to us, no need to eat — what worry? To deva, to consider pāpa-puṇya — to us, all people are good. To deva, creation, destruction clings — to us, no much, little something. To deva, kāma, the business clings — to us, that is always leisure. Tuka says: we are better than deva — when considering the qualities, with all-bhāva.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| देवासी लागे सकळांसी पोसावें | "to deva — it falls — to feed everyone" |
| आम्हां न लगे खावें काय चिंता | "to us — no need — to-eat — what worry" |
| देवा विचारावें लागे पापपुण्य | "to deva — it falls — to consider — pāpa-puṇya" |
| आम्हासी हे जन अवघें भलें | "to us — the people — all are good" |
| देवासी उत्पत्ति लागला संहार | "to deva — creation — clings — destruction" |
| आम्हां नाहीं फार थोडें काहीं | "to us — no much — little something" |
| देवासी काम लागला धंदा | "to deva — kāma (= work / desire) — clings — the dhandā (business)" |
| आम्हासी ते सदा रिकामीक | "to us — that — always — rikāmīka (= empty-of-business / leisure)" |
| तुका म्हणे आम्ही भले देवाहून | "Tuka says — we are good — more than deva" |
| विचारितां गुण सर्वभावें | "when considering — the qualities — with all-bhāva" |
What it means
Bhakta-better-than-deva comic-superiority abhang. A characteristic-Tukaram comic-jest — the bhakta humorously claims-superiority-over-the-Lord because the bhakta has-no-burdens-while-the-Lord has-all-of-them.
Pair 1 — feeding-everyone vs. no-need-to-eat: dēvāsī lāgē sakaḷānsī pōsāvēm — āmhām na lagē khāvēm kāya cintā — to deva, the duty is to feed everyone — to us, no need to eat, what worry?. The Lord must-feed all-creatures; the bhakta has-no-eating-anxiety (because the Lord-feeds-him).
Pair 2 — judging-pāpa-puṇya vs. all-people-are-good: dēvā vicārāvēm lāgē pāpa-puṇya — āmhāsī hē jana avaghēm bhalēm — to deva, the duty is to judge pāpa-puṇya — to us, all people are good. The Lord must-do-cosmic-justice; the bhakta sees-all-as-Hari-and-good.
Pair 3 — creation-destruction vs. just-a-little: dēvāsī utpatti lāgalā samhāra — āmhām nāhīm phāra thōḍē kāhīm — to deva, creation-and-destruction clings — to us, no much, just-a-little something. The Lord runs the cosmic cycles; the bhakta has-just-the-little-everyday-tasks.
Pair 4 — kāma-business vs. always-leisure: dēvāsī kāma lāgalā dhandā — āmhāsī tē sadā rikāmīka — to deva, kāma, the business clings — to us, always leisure. The Lord runs the cosmic-business; the bhakta is-always-at-leisure (because his work is the Name only).
The conclusion: Tukā mhaṇē āmhī bhalē dēvāhūna — vicāritām guṇa sarva-bhāvē — Tuka says: we are better than deva — when considering the qualities with full-bhāva. Comic-claim of bhakta-superiority — we-are-better-than-the-Lord-when-you-do-the-accounting.
The humor and intimacy: this is the jīvan-mukta-bhakta who has-become-so-close-to-the-Lord that he can-tease-and-claim-superiority — not from arrogance, but from the bhakta-Lord-friendship that allows playful-banter. (Companion to other comic-superiority abhangs in the gatha.)
The implicit theology: the Lord-takes-all-the-work-on-himself; the bhakta-is-freed-of-all-anxiety. The bhakta's "superiority" is actually the Lord's-grace at-its-extreme.
[T]
For someone today
For today: to deva falls the duty to feed everyone — to us, no need to eat, what worry?; to deva falls the duty to judge pāpa-puṇya — to us, all people are good; to deva clings creation-and-destruction — to us, just a little something; to deva clings kāma's business — to us, always leisure; Tuka says — we are better than deva, when considering the qualities with full-bhāva.
Where this applies
- Deva-feeds-all-we-don't-need-to-eat.* Deva-pōsāvē-āmhām-na-lagē-khāvē.
- Deva-judges-pāpa-puṇya-all-are-good-to-us.* Deva-pāpa-puṇya-jana-bhalē.
- Deva-creates-destroys-we-have-little.* Deva-utpatti-samhāra-thōḍē.
- Deva-runs-business-we-are-at-leisure.* Deva-kāma-dhandā-rikāmīka.
- We-are-better-than-deva-when-you-account.* Āmhī-bhalē-dēvāhūna.