Abhanga 1804
Once you see through the world's disguises and games, as Tuka claims to, you can no longer be tricked by them.
The verse
लटिका चि केला । सोंग पसारा दाविला ॥१॥ अवघा बुडालासी ॠणें । बहुतांचे देणें घेणें ॥ध्रु.॥ लावियेलीं चाळा । बहू दावूनि पुतळा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे हात । आम्ही अवरिली मात ॥३॥
Literal translation
You made only the false — shown the array of disguises. You've wholly sunk into debt — many people's give-and-take. (You) set them dancing — showing many doll-figures. Tuka says: the hand — we have caught the matter.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| लटिका चि केला | "you made — only the false (laṭikā)" |
| सोंग पसारा दाविला | "shown — the array of disguises (sōmga-pasārā)" |
| अवघा बुडालासी ॠणें | "you have wholly sunk — into debt (ṛṇē)" |
| बहुतांचे देणें घेणें | "many people's — give-and-take" |
| लावियेलीं चाळा | "set them dancing" |
| बहू दावूनि पुतळा | "showing many — doll-figures (putaḷā)" |
| तुका म्हणे हात | "Tuka says — (your) hand" |
| आम्ही अवरिली मात | "we have caught — the matter / the trick (māta)" |
What it means
Lord-as-disguise-puppeteer-trickster + we-caught-you abhang. Continues the 1801-1807 mocking-cluster.
The opening: laṭikā chi kēlā — sōmga-pasārā dāvilā — you made only the false — shown the array of disguises. Laṭikā = false / vacuous; sōmga = disguise (= the costume-character in folk-theater); sōmga-pasārā = the array of disguises. You-have-only-made-the-false-show, the-display-of-disguises (= the cosmic-līlā as māyā-display).
The debt-line: avaghā buḍālāsī ṛṇē — bahutāñcē dēṇē-ghēṇē — you have wholly sunk into debt — many people's give-and-take. Brilliant accusation: the Lord is sunk-in-debt because he-is-obligated-to-many-bhaktas (= the give-and-take of many devotees, none of which can-you-fully-repay). You're bankrupt — comically.
The puppet-line: lāviyēlīm cāḷā — bahū dāvūni putaḷā — (you) set them dancing — showing many doll-figures. Cāḷā = dance, motion, fluttering; putaḷā = doll, puppet. The Lord as puppeteer: you-make-the-people-dance-as-puppets through-your-many-doll-figures (= the various-roles, masks, and personalities that-people-wear in samsāra).
The closing-charge: Tukā mhaṇē hāta — āmhī avarilī māta — Tuka says: the hand — we have caught the matter. Hāta = hand (= your-hand-of-trickery); avarilī māta = we have caught / understood the matter (= we have-figured-out-your-game). We have caught your hand — we know-your-trick now.
The implicit-message: the bhakta has seen-through the cosmic-puppeteer-game and is no-longer-fooled. The Lord can't-trick-the-bhakta-anymore who has-seen-through-the-disguises.
[T]
For someone today
For today: you made only the false — shown the array of disguises; you've wholly sunk into debt — many people's give-and-take; you set them dancing — showing many doll-figures; Tuka says — the hand — we have caught the matter.
Where this applies
- When you finally recognize that the roles and masks people, including you, wear are just costumes, not the real thing
- When you feel like life keeps changing shape and pulling you along, like a puppet on strings
- When you notice you owe your sense of self to countless relationships and exchanges you can never fully repay
- When you have a moment of clarity where an illusion you once believed in suddenly loses its power over you