Abhanga 1853
For today: now your bhāva has come to be known, deva — deceiving, (you) take my service; throwing the tightness off your own head — placed the burden on these saints; getting stuti made — (you) struck the drum — who, dātāra, makes (it) true?; by jāti, I am vāṇī — false in the belly — don't try trickery before me; Tuka says — (it) hasn't come into experience — prematurely, deva, how shall I dance?.
The verse
आतां तुझा भाव कळों आला देवा । ठकूनियां सेवा घेसी माझी ॥१॥ टाकूनि सांकडें आपुलिये माथां । घातला या संतावरी भार ॥ध्रु.॥ स्तुती करवूनि पिटिला डांगोरा । तें कोण दातारा साच करी ॥२॥ जातीचें वाणी मी पोटींचे कुडें । नका मजपुढें ठकाठकी ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे नाहीं आलें अनुभवा । आधीं च मी देवा कैसें नाचों ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: Now your bhāva has come to be known, deva — deceiving, you take my service. Throwing the tightness off your own head — placed the burden on these saints. Getting stuti made — (you) struck the drum — who, dātāra, makes (it) true? By jāti, I am vāṇī — false in the belly — don't try trickery before me. Tuka says: (it) hasn't come into experience — prematurely, deva, how shall I dance?.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आतां तुझा भाव कळों आला देवा | "now — your bhāva — has come to be known — deva" |
| ठकूनियां सेवा घेसी माझी | "deceiving — (you) take my service" |
| टाकूनि सांकडें आपुलिये माथां | "throwing the tightness — off your own head" |
| घातला या संतावरी भार | "placed the burden — on these saints" |
| स्तुती करवूनि पिटिला डांगोरा | "getting stuti made — (you) struck the drum" |
| तें कोण दातारा साच करी | "who, dātāra — makes (it) true" |
| जातीचें वाणी मी पोटींचे कुडें | "by jāti, vāṇī — I am false in the belly" |
| नका मजपुढें ठकाठकी | "don't try — trickery before me" |
| तुका म्हणे नाहीं आलें अनुभवा | "Tuka says — (it) hasn't come — into experience" |
| आधीं च मी देवा कैसें नाचों | "prematurely — deva — how shall I dance" |
What it means
Anti-Lord-trickery + I-am-a-vāṇī-by-trade-don't-trick-me abhang. One of the rare abhangs where Tuka explicitly invokes his merchant-caste.
The opening: ātām tujhā bhāva kaḷōm ālā devā — ṭhakūniyām sēvā ghēsī mājhī — now your bhāva has come to be known, deva — deceiving, (you) take my service. The bhakta has-finally-figured-out the Lord's-game: you-deceive-and-take-service.
The burden-on-saints line: ṭākūni sānkaḍē āpuliyē māthām — ghātalā yā santāvarī bhāra — throwing the tightness off your own head — placed the burden on these saints. The Lord-has-shifted-his-burden onto-the-saints (= it's the saints who have to-mediate-and-bear-the-bhakta's-cause).
The drum-line: stuti karavūni piṭilā ḍāngōrā — tē kōṇa dātārā sāca karī — getting stuti made — (you) struck the drum — who, dātāra, makes (it) true?. Ḍāngōrā = a drum / public-announcement. You got the praises-spread-publicly, but who-actually-makes the promised-thing-true?.
The brilliant vāṇī-line: jātīcē vāṇī mī pōṭīñcē kuḍē — nakā majpuḍhē ṭhakāṭhakī — by jāti, I am vāṇī — false in the belly — don't try trickery before me. Vāṇī = Tuka's actual jāti, the merchant-caste; kuḍē = false, crooked (here used self-deprecatingly: I'm-a-merchant by-birth, naturally-business-shrewd, born-to-deceive-as-trade). Tuka invokes his own merchant-caste-skill in cunning to say: don't-try-trickery-on-me, I'm-an-expert-at-it. (Striking — Tuka rarely names his caste, here turning it into a witty-defense.)
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē nāhīm ālē anubhavā — ādhīm chi mī devā kaisē nācōm — Tuka says: it hasn't come into experience — prematurely, deva, how shall I dance?. The bhakta refuses to dance-the-bhakti-dance prematurely (= before the actual-experience comes). No public-show without inner-realization.
This is a remarkable abhang — Tuka deploys his vāṇī-merchant-identity as proof he can-spot-the-Lord's-trickery; refuses premature-celebration.
[T]
For someone today
For today: now your bhāva has come to be known, deva — deceiving, (you) take my service; throwing the tightness off your own head — placed the burden on these saints; getting stuti made — (you) struck the drum — who, dātāra, makes (it) true?; by jāti, I am vāṇī — false in the belly — don't try trickery before me; Tuka says — (it) hasn't come into experience — prematurely, deva, how shall I dance?.
Where this applies
- Lord's-bhāva-known-deceiving-takes-service.* Bhāva-kaḷa-ṭhakūni-sēvā.
- Burden-shifted-to-saints.* Sānkaḍē-māthā-santā-bhāra.
- Stuti-drum-who-makes-it-true.* Stuti-ḍāngōrā-sāca.
- I-am-a-vāṇī-don't-try-trickery-before-me.* Jātī-vāṇī-pōṭa-kuḍa-ṭhakāṭhakī.
- No-experience-no-premature-dance.* Anubhavā-na-nāca-na.