Abhanga 1821
Strong impulses like lust, greed, and hunger override fear, shame, and reason entirely, so recognizing this pattern clearly is the first step to not being ruled by it.
The verse
कामातुरा भय लाज ना विचार । शरीर असार तृणतुल्य ॥१॥ नवल हे लीळा करात्याचें लाघव । प्रारब्धें भाव दाखविले ॥ध्रु.॥ लोभालोभ एका धनाचिये ठायीं । आणिकांची सोईं चाड नाहीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे भूक न विचारी प्रकार । योजे तें चि सार यथाकाळें ॥३॥
Literal translation
To the kāmā'tura — no fear, no shame, no consideration — the body is asāra, tṛṇa-tulya. Marvelous, this līḷā — the doer's lāghava — by prārabdha, the bhāva was shown. Greed — of one wealth-target — others' convenience, no charm. Tuka says: hunger does not consider kind — whatever applies at the time is the essence.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कामातुरा भय लाज ना विचार | "to the kāmā'tura (lust-stricken) — no fear, shame, consideration" |
| शरीर असार तृणतुल्य | "the body — is worthless — equal to a tṛṇa (blade-of-grass)" |
| नवल हे लीळा करात्याचें लाघव | "marvelous — this līḷā — of the doer's lāghava (= cleverness / sleight)" |
| प्रारब्धें भाव दाखविले | "by prārabdha — the bhāva — was shown" |
| लोभालोभ एका धनाचिये ठायीं | "greed — of one — wealth-target / wealth-place" |
| आणिकांची सोईं चाड नाहीं | "others' convenience — no charm" |
| तुका म्हणे भूक न विचारी प्रकार | "Tuka says — hunger — doesn't consider — kind" |
| योजे तें चि सार यथाकाळें | "whatever applies — (is) the essence — at the time" |
What it means
Three-impulses-bypass-discrimination abhang. A diagnostic of the three-impulses (kāma, lōbha, bhūka) that bypass-vicāra.
Impulse 1 — Kāma: kāmā'turā bhaya lāja nā vicāra — śarīra asāra tṛṇa-tulya — to the lust-stricken — no fear, no shame, no consideration — the body is asāra (worthless), tṛṇa-tulya (= equal to a blade-of-grass). Kāmā'tura = lust-stricken. The lust-stricken treats his-body as straw — no-fear-of-consequence, no-shame-before-others, no-rational-consideration.
The interlude: navala hē līḷā karātyāñce lāghava — prārabdhē bhāva dākhavilē — marvelous, this līḷā — the doer's lāghava — by prārabdha, the bhāva was shown. Lāghava = cleverness, agility, sleight-of-hand. The cosmic-doer (= the Lord) plays-his-līḷā so-cleverly that prārabdha-itself shows-the-bhāva (= the entire-three-impulse-display is a līḷā, not real-substance).
Impulse 2 — Lōbha: lōbhālōbha ēkā dhanāciyē ṭhāyīm — āṇikāñcī sōīm cāḍa nāhīm — greed — of one wealth-target — others' convenience, no charm. Greed-fixates-on-one-wealth-object, ignoring-the-convenience-of-others. (= single-target-fixation.)
Impulse 3 — Bhūka: Tukā mhaṇē bhūka na vicārī prakāra — yōjē tē chi sāra yathā-kāḷē — Tuka says: hunger does not consider kind — whatever applies at the time is the essence. Hunger doesn't-discriminate-kind-of-food; whatever-comes-to-hand at-that-moment is-essential.
The triple-implicit-message: the three-impulses (lust, greed, hunger) all-bypass-vicāra; once they-grip the body, fear-shame-discrimination all-vanish. The bhakta-as-witness recognizes them as līḷā-displayed by-prārabdha — but warns that they-strip-the-body-of-vicāra.
This abhang is a concise-diagnostic-typology of the body's-impulse-bypass-of-discrimination — pairs with abhangs about manas-disobedience (1818) and the anti-fake-yogi (1762) registers.
[T]
For someone today
For today: to the lust-stricken — no fear, no shame, no consideration — the body is worthless, equal to a blade-of-grass; marvelous, this līḷā — the doer's lāghava — by prārabdha, bhāva was shown; greed targets only one wealth — others' convenience has no charm; Tuka says — hunger doesn't consider kind — whatever applies at the time is the essence.
Where this applies
- When you watch someone, or yourself, make a reckless decision under strong desire and later wonder how reason disappeared so completely
- When greed for one specific goal makes you stop noticing or caring how it affects the people around you
- When you are so hungry or desperate that you will take whatever is available without caring about quality or kind
- When you want to understand your own impulsive behavior with honesty instead of either excusing it or being ashamed into silence