Abhanga 1791
True saints stay whole and untouched wherever they go, quietly transforming everyone they meet while never being changed themselves, like the sky that is complete everywhere.
The verse
गंगाजळा पाहीं पाठी पोट नाहीं । अवगुण तो कांहीं अमृतासी ॥१॥ रवि दीप काळिमा काय जाणे हिरा । आणिका तिमिरा नासे तेणे ॥ध्रु.॥ कर्पूरकांडणी काय कोंडा कणी । सिंधू मिळावणीं काय चाले ॥२॥ परिस चिंतामणि आणिकांचा गुणी । पालटे लागोनि नव्हे तैसा ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे तैसे जाणा संतजन । सर्वत्र संपूर्ण गगन जैसें ॥४॥
Literal translation
Ganga-water — behold — no front-or-back — what defect could be in amṛta? Ravi-dīpa-kāḷimā — what does the diamond know? — by it the other timira is destroyed. In pounding camphor — what chaff or grain? — meeting the ocean, what walks? Parisa, cintāmaṇi, touching others' guṇa-substrate — they don't themselves change into the touched. Tuka says: thus know the santa-people — everywhere complete, like the gagana.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| गंगाजळा पाहीं पाठी पोट नाहीं | "Ganga-water — behold — no front-or-back" |
| अवगुण तो कांहीं अमृतासी | "what defect — (is) there — to amṛta" |
| रवि दीप काळिमा काय जाणे हिरा | "ravi-dīpa-kāḷimā (sun-lamp-darkness) — what does the diamond know" |
| आणिका तिमिरा नासे तेणे | "the other-timira (darkness) — is destroyed — by it" |
| कर्पूरकांडणी काय कोंडा कणी | "in pounding camphor — what kōṇḍā (chaff) — grain" |
| सिंधू मिळावणीं काय चाले | "meeting the ocean — what walks (= what passes-as-impediment)" |
| परिस चिंतामणि आणिकांचा गुणी | "parisa, cintāmaṇi — touching others' guṇa (= substrate)" |
| पालटे लागोनि नव्हे तैसा | "they don't change — by-touching — into-the-touched-thing" |
| तुका म्हणे तैसे जाणा संतजन | "Tuka says — thus know — the santa-people" |
| सर्वत्र संपूर्ण गगन जैसें | "everywhere — complete — like the gagana (sky)" |
What it means
Sant-praise pentad abhang. Five classical-similes for the changeless-purity of saints, closing with complete-like-the-sky.
Simile 1 — Gangā-amṛta: gangā-jaḷā pāhīm pāṭhī pōṭa nāhīm — avaguṇa tō kāhīm amṛtāsī — Ganga-water has no front-or-back — what defect could be in amṛta?. Ganga-water has no impure-side; the same all-around; amṛta has no defect. (= the saint-substance has no flawed-side.)
Simile 2 — Hīrā vs. timira: ravi-dīpa kāḷimā kāya jāṇē hīrā — āṇikā timirā nāsē tēṇē — what does the diamond know of sun-lamp-darkness? — by it the other-timira is destroyed. The diamond doesn't-know-the-darkness of sun-or-lamp (= it doesn't-experience-darkness); rather, it destroys other-darkness by its own-radiance. (= the saint doesn't experience darkness; he destroys-darkness-in-others.)
Simile 3 — Karpūra & sindhū: karpūra-kāṇḍaṇī kāya kōṇḍā kaṇī — sindhū miḷāvaṇī kāya cālē — in pounding camphor, what chaff? meeting the ocean, what walks?. Pounding camphor yields no chaff (= all-essence, no-husk); meeting the ocean, no impediment-passes (= all-merger). (= the saint is all-essence, all-merger.)
Simile 4 — Parisa & cintāmaṇi: parisa cintāmaṇi āṇikāñcā guṇī — pālaṭē lāgōnī navhē taisā — parisa, cintāmaṇi, touching others' guṇa — they don't themselves change into the touched. Parisa (philosopher's-stone) and cintāmaṇi (the wishing-jewel) transform-others by-contact, but-themselves remain unchanged. (= the saint transforms-others without-himself-being-altered.)
The synthesis: Tukā mhaṇē taisē jāṇā santa-jana — sarvatra sampūrṇa gagana jaisēm — Tuka says: thus know the santa-people — everywhere complete, like the gagana. Sarvatra sampūrṇa = complete-everywhere; gagana jaisēm = like the sky. The saints are like the sky — everywhere-the-same, complete-everywhere, untouched-by-what-touches-them, transforming-without-being-transformed.
This abhang is one of the canonical sant-praise abhangs in the gatha, drawing on classical-Indian similes (Gangā-amṛta-hīrā-karpūra-sindhū-parisa-cintāmaṇi-gagana) to articulate the changeless-purity-and-radiating-influence of saints.
[T]
For someone today
For today: Ganga-water has no front-or-back — what defect could be in amṛta?; what does the diamond know of sun-lamp-darkness — by it the other darkness is destroyed; in pounding camphor, what chaff? — meeting the ocean, what walks?; parisa and cintāmaṇi touch others' substrate — they don't themselves change into the touched; Tuka says — thus know the santa-people — everywhere complete, like the gagana.
Where this applies
- When you meet someone whose calm and goodness seem untouched no matter what chaos surrounds them
- When you wonder whether it's possible to help and uplift others without absorbing their negativity yourself
- When you're looking for a model of integrity that doesn't waver depending on circumstance
- When you want to understand what makes a person's presence feel steady and complete wherever they go