Abhanga 1860
For today: deva is forehead-destitute — no root, no branch — (he is) paradēśī; deva is no-family — anywhere makes relations; deva is clinging-leech — Tuka says — (he is) a hireling — deceives by dambha.
The verse
देव निढळ देव निढळ । मूळ नाहीं डाळ परदेशी ॥१॥ देव अकुळी देव अकुळी । भलते ठायीं सोयरीक ॥२॥ देव लिगाड्या देव लिगाड्या । तुका म्हणे भाड्या दंभें ठकी ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Deva is niḍhaḷa, deva is niḍhaḷa — no root, no branch — (he is) paradēśī. Deva is akuḷī, deva is akuḷī — anywhere makes relations. Deva is ligāḍyā, deva is ligāḍyā — Tuka says — (he is) bhāḍyā — deceives by dambha.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| देव निढळ देव निढळ | "deva is niḍhaḷa (forehead-destitute / brazen) — (repeated)" |
| मूळ नाहीं डाळ परदेशी | "no root, no branch — (he is) paradēśī (foreigner)" |
| देव अकुळी देव अकुळी | "deva is akuḷī (no-family) — (repeated)" |
| भलते ठायीं सोयरीक | "anywhere — makes-relations (sōyarīka)" |
| देव लिगाड्या देव लिगाड्या | "deva is ligāḍyā (clinging-leech) — (repeated)" |
| तुका म्हणे भाड्या दंभें ठकी | "Tuka says — (he is) bhāḍyā (hireling) — deceives by dambha" |
What it means
Deva-deva-litany — anti-establishment-deva abhang. Continues 1858-1865 cluster — comic-deflation register.
Verse 1 — niḍhaḷa: deva has-no-root, no-branch (no genealogy, no lineage) — paradēśī (foreigner). Niḍhaḷa = with-bare-forehead / brazen. The deva is no-establishment-figure — he-doesn't-belong-to-any-family-tree, he-is-a-foreigner-everywhere. (Echoes 1781's paradēśī image — but here it's the deva-himself who is paradēśī.)
Verse 2 — akuḷī: deva is akuḷī (no-family) — anywhere, makes-relations (sōyarīka). Sōyarīka = kinship-by-marriage / in-laws-relations. The deva, having-no-family-of-his-own, makes-in-laws-anywhere (= adopts-anyone-as-kin). (= the deva-of-everyone, of-no-particular-lineage. Foundational anti-jāti claim re-cast as deva-self-description.)
Verse 3 — ligāḍyā / bhāḍyā / dambhē-ṭhakī: deva is ligāḍyā (clinging-leech) — Tuka says — bhāḍyā (hireling) — deceives-by-dambha. Ligāḍyā = one-who-clings-leech-like; bhāḍyā = hireling, mercenary. The deva clings-and-deceives-by-dambha — a hireling. (Comic-deflation: the cosmic-Lord is a clinging-mercenary.)
The implicit-message: the deva is no-respectable-establishment-figure; he's a paradēśī, akuḷī, ligāḍyā, bhāḍyā — a no-family, no-respectability cosmic-vagabond. The Vārkarī tradition's-anti-Brahmanical implicit-claim re-cast comically.
[T]
For someone today
For today: deva is forehead-destitute — no root, no branch — (he is) paradēśī; deva is no-family — anywhere makes relations; deva is clinging-leech — Tuka says — (he is) a hireling — deceives by dambha.
Where this applies
- No-root-no-branch-paradēśī.* Deva-niḍhaḷa-mūḷa-na-paradēśī.
- No-family-makes-relations-anywhere.* Deva-akuḷī-sōyarīka.
- Clinging-leech-hireling-deceiver.* Deva-ligāḍyā-bhāḍyā-dambha-ṭhakī.