Abhanga 1854
For today: people worship — for this, why is the burden on me? — this account, you know, deva; who accepts a letter? — they bow to the seal — honor goes to the servant only by it; I existed in self-conception, among people, before — who gave anything then?; now you are the enjoyer of all, Nārāyaṇa — don't afflict us, the dīna; by your own hand, you'll give wages — Tuka says — that is our true (wages).
The verse
जन पूजी याचा मज कां आभार । हा तुम्ही विचार जाणां देवा ॥१॥ पत्र कोण मानी वंदितील सिक्का । गौरव सेवका त्या चि मुळें ॥ध्रु.॥ मी मीपणें होतों जनामधीं आधीं । कोणें दिलें कधीं काय तेव्हां ॥२॥ आतां तूं भोगिता सर्व नारायणा । नको आम्हां दीनां पीडा करूं ॥३॥ आपुलिया हातें देसील मुशारा । तुका म्हणे खरा तो चि आम्हां ॥४॥
Literal translation
English: People worship — for this, why is the burden on me? — this account, you know, deva. Who accepts a letter? — they bow to the seal — honor goes to the servant only by that. I existed in self-conception, among people, before — who gave anything when, then? Now you are the enjoyer of all, Nārāyaṇa — don't make affliction for us, the dīna. By your own hand, you'll give wages — Tuka says — that is the true (wages) for us.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| जन पूजी याचा मज कां आभार | "people worship — for this — why is the burden on me" |
| हा तुम्ही विचार जाणां देवा | "this account — you know — deva" |
| पत्र कोण मानी वंदितील सिक्का | "who accepts a letter — they bow to the seal (sikkā)" |
| गौरव सेवका त्या चि मुळें | "honor — to the servant — only by that" |
| मी मीपणें होतों जनामधीं आधीं | "I existed in self-conception — among people, before" |
| कोणें दिलें कधीं काय तेव्हां | "who gave — when, what — then" |
| आतां तूं भोगिता सर्व नारायणा | "now — you are the enjoyer of all — Nārāyaṇa" |
| नको आम्हां दीनां पीडा करूं | "don't make affliction — for us, the dīna" |
| आपुलिया हातें देसील मुशारा | "by your own hand — you'll give wages (muśārā)" |
| तुका म्हणे खरा तो चि आम्हां | "Tuka says — that is true — for us" |
What it means
Honor-comes-from-Lord's-seal + give-true-wages abhang. Part of the 1848-1857 cluster.
The opening: jana pūjī yācā maja kām ābhāra — hā tumhī vicāra jāṇām devā — people worship — why is the burden on me? — this account, you know, deva. The bhakta deflects-the-people's-worship away-from-himself toward-the-Lord.
The seal-and-letter image: patra kōṇa mānī vandita sikkā — gauravā sēvakā tyā chi muḷē — who accepts a letter? — they bow to the seal — honor goes to the servant only by that. Patra = letter; sikkā = the official-seal / royal-stamp. The brilliant analogy: people don't accept the letter (= the bhakta) per-se; they bow to the royal-seal (= the Lord's-mark on-the-bhakta); the servant's honor comes only-from-the-seal. (= the bhakta is-honored-only because-the-Lord-stamps-him.)
The pre-stamp line: mī mīpaṇē hōtōm janāmadhīm ādhī — kōṇē dilē kadhīm kāya tēvhām — I existed in self-conception, among people, before — who gave anything when, then?. Before-the-stamp, I-existed in-self-conception — but-no-one-gave-me-anything. (= all-honor-came-only-after-the-stamp.)
The Nārāyaṇa-as-enjoyer: ātām tūm bhōgitā sarva Nārāyaṇā — nakō āmhām dīnā pīḍā karūm — now you are the enjoyer of all, Nārāyaṇa — don't make affliction for us, the dīna. Now-you-take-all-the-bhoga (= the worship); don't-afflict-the-dīna (= us, the lowly-servants).
The wages-line: āpuliyā hātē dēsīla muśārā — Tukā mhaṇē kharā tō chi āmhām — by your own hand, you'll give wages — Tuka says — that is the true (wages) for us. Muśārā = wages. The true-wages come-from-your-own-hand — that's the only-real-payment for us.
The implicit-message: people's-worship belongs-to-the-Lord; the bhakta is honored only-because-of-the-Lord's-seal-on-him; the bhakta wants only-the-Lord's-direct-wages, not the people's-honor.
[T]
For someone today
For today: people worship — for this, why is the burden on me? — this account, you know, deva; who accepts a letter? — they bow to the seal — honor goes to the servant only by it; I existed in self-conception, among people, before — who gave anything then?; now you are the enjoyer of all, Nārāyaṇa — don't afflict us, the dīna; by your own hand, you'll give wages — Tuka says — that is our true (wages).
Where this applies
- People-worship-but-burden-on-me-Lord-knows.* Jana-pūjī-ābhāra-vicāra.
- Letter-bowed-to-because-of-seal-servant-honored.* Patra-sikkā-gaurava-sēvakā.
- Before-stamp-no-one-gave-anything.* Mīpaṇa-kōṇē-dilē-na.
- You-enjoyer-of-all-don't-afflict-dīna.* Bhōgitā-Nārāyaṇa-dīnā-pīḍā-na.
- Wages-by-your-hand-true.* Muśārā-kharā.