Abhanga 1823
For today: who is born, who births? — your māyā is not understood, kṛpāvanta; who is the giver, who is the asker? — your māyā; who enjoys, who makes-enjoy? — your māyā; what is form, what is formlessness? — your māyā; everywhere, you alone — have become all; Tuka says — for this, there is no second.
The verse
कवण जन्मता कवण जन्मविता । न कळे कृपावंता माव तुझी ॥१॥ कवण हा दाता कवण हा मागता । न कळे कृपावंता माव तुझी ॥ध्रु.॥ कवण भोगिता कवण भोगविता । न कळे कृपावंता माव तुझी ॥२॥ कवण ते रूप कवण अरूपता । न कळे कृपावंता माव तुझी ॥३॥ सर्वां ठायीं तूं चि सर्व ही जालासी । तुका म्हणे यासी दुजें नव्हे ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: Who is born, who births? — not understood, kṛpāvanta, your māyā. Who is the giver, who is the asker? — not understood, kṛpāvanta, your māyā. Who enjoys, who makes-enjoy? — not understood, kṛpāvanta, your māyā. What is form, what is formlessness? — not understood, kṛpāvanta, your māyā. Everywhere, you alone — have become all. Tuka says: for this, there is no second.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| कवण जन्मता कवण जन्मविता | "who — is born — who — births" |
| न कळे कृपावंता माव तुझी | "not understood — kṛpāvanta — your māyā" |
| कवण हा दाता कवण हा मागता | "who — the giver — who — the asker" |
| कवण भोगिता कवण भोगविता | "who — enjoys — who — makes-enjoy" |
| कवण ते रूप कवण अरूपता | "what — form — what — formlessness" |
| सर्वां ठायीं तूं चि सर्व ही जालासी | "everywhere — you alone — all — (have) become" |
| तुका म्हणे यासी दुजें नव्हे | "Tuka says — for this — no second" |
What it means
Paradoxical-cascade + advaita-resolution abhang. Five-fold parallel-construction with a unifying refrain, closing in advaita-pronouncement.
Pair 1 — Birth: kavaṇa janmatā kavaṇa janmavitā — who is born, who births? (= the question of jīva-and-Īśvara as cause-and-effect of birth).
Pair 2 — Giving: kavaṇa hā dātā kavaṇa hā māgatā — who is the giver, who is the asker? (= in the bhakti-relationship, the deva-gives, the bhakta-asks; but who-is-actually-which?).
Pair 3 — Enjoyment: kavaṇa bhōgitā kavaṇa bhōgavitā — who enjoys, who makes-enjoy? (= the enjoyer-vs-creator-of-enjoyment paradox).
Pair 4 — Form: kavaṇa tē rūpa kavaṇa arūpatā — what is form, what is formlessness? (= the saguṇa-nirguṇa paradox).
The refrain: na kaḷē kṛpāvantā māva tujhī — not understood, kṛpāvanta, your māyā. The paradoxes are not-resolvable by-discrimination; only-the-Lord's-māyā explains-them.
The advaita-resolution: sarvām ṭhāyīm tūm chi sarva hī jālāsī — Tukā mhaṇē yāsī dujē navhē — everywhere, you alone — have become all. Tuka says: for this, there is no second. Pure advaita-pronouncement: you-alone-have-become-everything; no-second-exists.
This abhang is one of Tuka's most-elegant compressed advaita-cascades — four-paradox-pairs followed by a unifying advaita-statement. Vārkarī compressed neti-neti / advaita-paradox abhang — pairs with 1801's classical-image-cascade.
[T]
For someone today
For today: who is born, who births? — your māyā is not understood, kṛpāvanta; who is the giver, who is the asker? — your māyā; who enjoys, who makes-enjoy? — your māyā; what is form, what is formlessness? — your māyā; everywhere, you alone — have become all; Tuka says — for this, there is no second.
Where this applies
- Born-and-births-māyā-not-understood.* Janma-janmavitā-māva.
- Giver-and-asker.* Dātā-māgatā-māva.
- Enjoyer-and-makes-enjoy.* Bhōgitā-bhōgavitā-māva.
- Form-and-formlessness.* Rūpa-arūpatā-māva.
- Everywhere-you-alone-no-second.* Sarvām-tūm-chi-dujē-navhē.