Abhanga 1795
For today: what honor — why niṣṭhā for viṣaya for us?; what you made bhakta, thus give — your prēma to my place; what use is bran in the public-row and sugar-bread in solitude?; what oneness is bagging-it and tying a knot?; what to take from him as an inferior-substitute?; Tuka says — now, in the middle, let us break the bhēda-buddhi.
The verse
आण काय सादर । विशीं आम्हां कां निष्ठ ॥१॥ केलें भक्त तैसें देई । तुझें प्रेम माझ्याठायीं ॥ध्रु.॥ काय पंगतीस कोंडा । एकांतासी साकरमांडा ॥२॥ काय एकपण । पोतां घालूनि गांठी खूण ॥३॥ काय घ्यावें ऐसें । त्या आपण अनारिसें ॥४॥ तुका म्हणे मधीं । आतां तोडूं भेद बुद्धी ॥५॥
Literal translation
English: What honor — why niṣṭhā for viṣaya for us? What you made bhakta — thus give — your prēma to my place. What use is kōṇḍā in the public-row and sugar-māṇḍā in solitude? What oneness is bagging-it-and-tying-a-knot as the sign? What to take from him as anārisē? Tuka says: in the middle, now, let us break the bhēda-buddhi.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आण काय सादर | "āṇa (= oath / show) — what (is its) honoring" |
| विशीं आम्हां कां निष्ठ | "to viṣaya — for us — why niṣṭhā (devotion)" |
| केलें भक्त तैसें देई | "what you made — bhakta — thus give" |
| तुझें प्रेम माझ्याठायीं | "your prēma — to my place" |
| काय पंगतीस कोंडा | "what (use) — in the row — kōṇḍā (bran)" |
| एकांतासी साकरमांडा | "in solitude — sugar-māṇḍā (sweet-bread)" |
| काय एकपण | "what oneness" |
| पोतां घालूनि गांठी खूण | "putting in a sack — tying-knot — as the sign" |
| काय घ्यावें ऐसें | "what to take — thus" |
| त्या आपण अनारिसें | "from him — as anārisē (= different / inferior-substitute)" |
| तुका म्हणे मधीं | "Tuka says — in the middle" |
| आतां तोडूं भेद बुद्धी | "now — let us break — the bhēda-buddhi" |
What it means
Give-me-prēma-break-bhēda-buddhi abhang.
The opening: āṇa kāya sādara — viśīm āmhām kām niṣṭha — what honor — why niṣṭhā for viṣaya for us?. Āṇa = oath / show / pretense; sādara = honoring. What good is the show-of-bhakti, what use is niṣṭhā for viṣaya?. (= we don't need niṣṭhā-for-the-senses-or-pretenses; we need only the prēma.)
The prēma-petition: kēlēm bhakta taisē dē'ī — tujhēm prēma mājhyā-ṭhāyīm — what you made bhakta — thus give — your prēma to my place. What you-have-given-others-as-bhaktas, give-thus-to-me — your prēma at-my-place. (= give-me what you-give-the-Pāṇḍavas, the-Prahlādas, the-other-bhaktas.)
Critique 1 — pangatī vs. ēkānta: kāya pangatīsa kōṇḍā — ēkāntāsī sākara-māṇḍā — what use, kōṇḍā in the public-row, sugar-māṇḍā in solitude?. Pangatī = the row of diners (= the public-feast); kōṇḍā = bran (= poor-fare); ēkānta = solitude; sākara-māṇḍā = sweet-bread (= fine-fare). Hypocritical-bhakta who serves bran-in-public and sugar-bread-in-private — publicly-poor-bhakti, privately-rich-pleasures. Or vice versa: in-public the elaborate-show, in-private the secret-degradation.
Critique 2 — fake-oneness: kāya ēka-paṇa — pōtām ghālūni gāṇṭhī khūṇa — what oneness is putting in a sack and tying a knot as the sign?. The fake-advaitin who pretends to ēka-paṇa (oneness) by formally bagging-and-tying — but the real-oneness is not a knot-on-a-sack.
Critique 3 — anārisē-substitute: kāya ghyāvēm aisēm — tyā āpaṇa anārisē — what to take from him as anārisē?. Anārisē = different / inferior-substitute. What good is taking-an-inferior-substitute when the real-prēma is available?.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē madhīm — ātām tōḍūm bhēda-buddhī — Tuka says: in the middle, now, let us break the bhēda-buddhi. Madhīm = in the middle (= between the bhakta and the deva, between the human and the divine); bhēda-buddhi = the discriminating-mind (= the differentiating-thought). Now-and-here, let-us-break-the-bhēda-buddhi that-stands-between-us.
The implicit-message: don't give me an inferior-substitute; don't accept my hypocritical-show; let-us-break-bhēda-buddhi between you-and-me; give-me-the-actual-prēma directly.
[T]
For someone today
For today: what honor — why niṣṭhā for viṣaya for us?; what you made bhakta, thus give — your prēma to my place; what use is bran in the public-row and sugar-bread in solitude?; what oneness is bagging-it and tying a knot?; what to take from him as an inferior-substitute?; Tuka says — now, in the middle, let us break the bhēda-buddhi.
Where this applies
- Why-niṣṭhā-for-viṣaya.* Āṇa-niṣṭha-viṣaya.
- Make-me-bhakta-give-prēma.* Bhakta-prēma-mājhyā-ṭhāyī.
- No-bran-public-no-sugar-bread-private.* Pangatī-kōṇḍā-ēkānta-sākara.
- Fake-oneness-bagging-and-knotting.* Pōtām-gāṇṭhī-khūṇa.
- Don't-take-inferior-break-bhēda.* Anārisē-tōḍūm-bhēda-buddhi.