Abhanga 1855
Real compassion can't be indefinitely postponed; someone struggling now needs help now, not a comfortable spectator's promise of help someday.
The verse
आमची कां नये तुम्हासी करुणा । किती नारायणा आळवावें ॥१॥ काय जाणां तुम्ही दुर्बळाचें जिणें । वैभवाच्या गुणें आपुलिया ॥ध्रु.॥ देती घेती करिती खटपटा आणिकें । निराळा कौतुकें पाहोनियां ॥२॥ दिवस बोटी आम्हीं धरियेलें माप । वाहातों संकल्प स्वहिताचा ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे मग देसी कोण्या काळें । चुकुर दुर्बळें होतों आम्ही ॥४॥
Literal translation
Why doesn't karuṇā come, for us, to you? — how much, Nārāyaṇa, should we cry? What do you know of the durbaḷa's life — with your own vaibhava qualities? Others give-take-do-struggles — (you) watch like a separated-spectator. We hold counting on fingers — days — (we) bear the sankalpa of svahita. Tuka says: if you'll give later — which time? — we are already weak and mistaken.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आमची कां नये तुम्हासी करुणा | "for us — why doesn't karuṇā come — to you" |
| किती नारायणा आळवावें | "how much — Nārāyaṇa — should we cry" |
| काय जाणां तुम्ही दुर्बळाचें जिणें | "what do you know — of the durbaḷa's life" |
| वैभवाच्या गुणें आपुलिया | "by your own — vaibhava qualities" |
| देती घेती करिती खटपटा आणिकें | "others — give-take-do-struggles" |
| निराळा कौतुकें पाहोनियां | "(you) watch like a spectator — separated" |
| दिवस बोटी आम्हीं धरियेलें माप | "we hold counting on fingers — days" |
| वाहातों संकल्प स्वहिताचा | "(we) bear the sankalpa — of svahita" |
| तुका म्हणे मग देसी कोण्या काळें | "Tuka says — if you'll give later — which time" |
| चुकुर दुर्बळें होतों आम्ही | "we are weak — and mistaken-already" |
What it means
Cry-of-the-durbaḷa-needing-immediate-help abhang. Part of the 1848-1857 cluster.
The opening: āmacī kām nayē tumhāsī karuṇā — kitī Nārāyaṇā āḷavāvē — for us, why doesn't karuṇā come to you? — how much, Nārāyaṇa, should we cry?. Direct-cry: how-long must-the-bhakta-keep-crying?.
The class-line: kāya jāṇām tumhī durbaḷācē jiṇē — vaibhavācyā guṇē āpuliyā — what do you know of the durbaḷa's life — with your vaibhava?. Vaibhava = splendor, opulence. Sharp class-criticism: you, with-your-vaibhava, can't-understand the durbaḷa's-life. (= the prosperous can't-empathize-with-the-poor. Tuka applies this to-the-Lord — you, in-your-cosmic-vaibhava, don't-know-the-durbaḷa-bhakta's-daily-struggle.)
The detached-spectator line: dētī ghētī karitī khaṭapaṭā āṇikē — nirāḷā kautukē pāhōniyām — others give-take-do-struggles — (you) watch like a spectator, separated. The Lord-as-detached-spectator while the world-engages-in-struggle.
The day-counting: divasa bōṭī āmhī dhariyēlē māpa — vāhātōm sankalpa svahitācā — we hold counting on fingers — days — bear the sankalpa of svahita. The bhakta is counting-the-days-on-fingers, bearing the sankalpa-of-svahita — the wait is becoming intolerable.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē maga dēsī kōṇyā kāḷē — cukura durbaḷē hōtōm āmhī — Tuka says: if you'll give later — which time? — we are already weak and mistaken. Cukura durbaḷē = mistaken-and-weak. If-you-give-later, then-when? — we-are-already-faltering.
The implicit-message: don't-postpone the help; the durbaḷa needs-it-now, not in-some-future-time. The class-conscious bhakta-cry.
[T]
For someone today
For today: why doesn't compassion come to you for us? How much longer, Nārāyaṇa, must we cry out? What do you really know of a poor person's life, living in your own splendor? Other people struggle to give, take, and get by, while you watch from a distance like a detached spectator enjoying the show. We're counting the days on our fingers, carrying our own hopes and needs. Tuka says: if you're going to give help later, then when? — we are already faltering and worn down.
मराठी: आजसाठी: आमच्यावर तुला करुणा का येत नाही? किती वेळ, नारायणा, आम्ही आक्रोश करावा? तू आपल्या वैभवात राहून गरिबाचे जगणे तुला काय कळणार? इतर लोक द्यायला, घ्यायला, धडपडायला झटत असतात, आणि तू लांबून एखाद्या तटस्थ प्रेक्षकासारखा हा खेळ पाहत बसतोस. आम्ही बोटांवर दिवस मोजतो, आपल्या भल्याची आस उराशी बाळगून. तुका म्हणतो: नंतर द्यायचेच असेल तर मग कधी? — आम्ही आधीच थकलेले, दुर्बळ झालो आहोत.
Where this applies
- When you're waiting on someone with power or resources to act and they seem unmoved by your struggle.
- When you feel like the people who could help you don't really understand what hardship feels like.
- When you're counting days, exhausted, just trying to survive to the next relief or paycheck.
- When someone tells you help is coming eventually and you know eventually might be too late.