Abhanga 1809
For today: I made babble — without considering, it came to mind; forgive me that — how do I not know, Puruṣōttama?; the fitting I don't understand — the tongue babbles whatever; Tuka says — there is no charm of laukika.
The verse
वटवट केली । न विचारितां मना आली ॥१॥ मज कराल तें क्षमा । कैसें नेणों पुरुषोत्तमा ॥ध्रु.॥ उचित न कळे । जिव्हा भलतें चि बरळे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे कांहीं । लौकिकाची चाड नाहीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
I made babble — without considering, it came to mind. Forgive me that — how do I not know, Puruṣōttama? The fitting I do not understand — the tongue babbles whatever. Tuka says: there is no charm of laukika.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वटवट केली | "babble — (I) made" |
| न विचारितां मना आली | "without considering — (it) came to mind" |
| मज कराल तें क्षमा | "forgive me that" |
| कैसें नेणों पुरुषोत्तमा | "how do I not know — Puruṣōttama" |
| उचित न कळे | "the fitting — I do not understand" |
| जिव्हा भलतें चि बरळे | "the tongue — babbles whatever (bhalatē chi baraḷē)" |
| तुका म्हणे कांहीं | "Tuka says — (absolutely) nothing" |
| लौकिकाची चाड नाहीं | "charm of laukika (= worldly-fame) — no" |
What it means
Apology-for-uncareful-speech + indifference-to-laukika abhang.
The opening: vaṭa-vaṭa kēlī — na vicāritā manā ālī — I made babble — without considering, it came to mind. Vaṭa-vaṭa = babble, idle-talk. I-spoke-without-thinking; whatever-came-to-mind, came-out.
The apology: maja karāla tē kṣamā — kaisē nēṇōm Puruṣōttamā — forgive me that — how do I not know, Puruṣōttama?. Tuka apologizes-to-the-Lord for-the-uncareful-speech.
The tongue-line: ucita na kaḷē — jivhā bhalatē chi baraḷē — the fitting I do not understand — the tongue babbles whatever. Ucita = fitting, proper, suitable; baraḷē = babbles, prattles. I don't-understand-the-fitting; my-tongue-just-babbles-whatever-comes.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē kāhīm — laukikācī cāḍa nāhīm — Tuka says: there is no charm of laukika. Laukika = worldly-fame / conventional-respect; cāḍa = charm, fond-desire. Indifference to worldly-fame — I don't-care-what-the-world-thinks-of-my-babble; I'm-only-asking-the-Lord-for-forgiveness.
The implicit-message: if my babble has-offended-conventional-decorum or said-the-wrong-thing, I have no laukika-cāḍa to defend; only the Lord's-forgiveness matters. The bhakta speaks-his-truth without polishing it for laukika-acceptance, and trusts the Lord's-mercy for the unfitting-words.
This is one of Tuka's honest-vulnerability abhangs — acknowledging that his speech is uncalculated and asking forgiveness while declaring he doesn't care about laukika. (Pairs with 1785's Pāṇḍuranga-speaks-through-me-don't-blame-me register.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: I made babble — without considering, it came to mind; forgive me that — how do I not know, Puruṣōttama?; the fitting I don't understand — the tongue babbles whatever; Tuka says — there is no charm of laukika.
Where this applies
- When you blurt something out without thinking and immediately wish you could take it back
- When you feel unsure what the proper or fitting thing to say actually is in a tense moment
- When you catch yourself worrying more about looking good to others than about being honest
- When you need to simply admit a fault and ask forgiveness instead of performing composure you don't feel