Abhanga 1867
For today: the saints will recognize me — by which I feel shame; you have not done kṛpā — my chitta is witness to me; tangled in greatness — sorrow comes to the jīva; Tuka says — this māyā — restrain, Pandhari-rāyā.
The verse
संत मानितील मज । तेणें वाटतसे लाज ॥१॥ तुम्ही कृपा केली नाहीं । चित्त माझें मज ग्वाही ॥ध्रु.॥ गोविलों थोरिवां । दुःख वाटतसे जीवा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे माया । अवरा हे पंढरिराया ॥३॥
Literal translation
The saints will recognize me — by which I feel shame. You have not done kṛpā — my chitta is witness to me. Tangled in greatness — sorrow comes to the jīva. Tuka says: this māyā — restrain, Pandhari-rāyā.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| संत मानितील मज | "the saints will recognize me" |
| तेणें वाटतसे लाज | "by which — I feel shame" |
| तुम्ही कृपा केली नाहीं | "you — have not done kṛpā" |
| चित्त माझें मज ग्वाही | "my chitta — is witness to me" |
| गोविलों थोरिवां | "tangled — in greatness (thōrivām)" |
| दुःख वाटतसे जीवा | "sorrow comes — to the jīva" |
| तुका म्हणे माया | "Tuka says — this māyā" |
| अवरा हे पंढरिराया | "restrain — Pandhari-rāyā" |
What it means
Anti-being-recognized-by-saints + don't-let-me-tangle-in-greatness abhang.
The opening: santa mānitīla maja — tēṇē vāṭatasē lāja — the saints will recognize me — by which I feel shame. Mānitīla = will respect / recognize / honor. Striking-anti-recognition stance: the saints' coming-recognition causes-me-shame, not-pride.
The chitta-witness: tumhī kṛpā kēlī nāhī — chitta mājhē maja gvāhī — you have not done kṛpā — my chitta is witness to me. The bhakta's-internal-self-witness: I-know-internally that you-haven't-actually-given-kṛpā; my-chitta is-the-witness. (= external-recognition is hollow without-internal-experience.)
The greatness-trap: gōvilōm thōrivām — duḥkha vāṭatasē jīvā — tangled in greatness — sorrow comes to the jīva. Thōrivām = greatness, importance. Being-tangled-in-greatness causes-sorrow, not joy (= fame is a trap; the jīva-suffers-from-it).
The closing-petition: Tukā mhaṇē māyā — avarā hē Pandhari-rāyā — Tuka says: this māyā — restrain, Pandhari-rāyā. Restrain this māyā (= the māyā-of-public-fame).
The implicit-message: I-fear the saints'-recognition because I-know-from-my-chitta that the kṛpā hasn't-yet-fully-come; getting-tangled-in-greatness-now would-be-shameful and-sorrow-bringing; Pandhari-rāyā, restrain this māyā.
This abhang is one of Tuka's most-honest self-confessions — pairs with 1774's vācā-cāpalyē-kuśaḷa-pūjya-jālōm-angā-ālā-abhimāna and 1775's kāḍhā-kāḍhī-rescue-cry. Tuka's lifelong-fear of fame-as-trap.
[T]
For someone today
For today: the saints will recognize me — by which I feel shame; you have not done kṛpā — my chitta is witness to me; tangled in greatness — sorrow comes to the jīva; Tuka says — this māyā — restrain, Pandhari-rāyā.
Where this applies
- When people start praising you or treating you as someone special because of your devotion or good work
- When you feel more shame than pride when others admire you, because you know your inner state doesn't match the image
- When you notice yourself getting pulled toward status, importance, or being seen as great
- When outward acclaim starts to feel more satisfying than genuine inner change