Abhanga 1882
For today: what deposit you give — only Viṭhṭhal should be ours; you've shown yourself udāra — for a barter, a parisa-stone; even if I give the jīva — it doesn't equal my word; Tuka says — wealth — to us, equal to cow-meat.
The verse
काय दिला ठेवा । आम्हां विठ्ठल चि व्हावा ॥१॥ तुम्ही कळलेती उदार । साटीं परिसाची गार ॥ध्रु.॥ जीव दिला तरी । वचना माझ्या नये सरी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे धन । आम्हां गोमासासमान ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: What deposit you give — only Viṭhṭhal should be ours. You've shown yourself udāra — for a barter, parisa-stone. Even if I give the jīva — (it) doesn't equal my word. Tuka says: wealth — to us, equal to cow-meat.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| काय दिला ठेवा | "what deposit you give" |
| आम्हां विठ्ठल चि व्हावा | "only Viṭhṭhal should be ours" |
| तुम्ही कळलेती उदार | "you've shown yourself udāra" |
| साटीं परिसाची गार | "for a barter (sāṭīm) — (you give) a parisa-stone (gāra)" |
| जीव दिला तरी | "even if I give the jīva" |
| वचना माझ्या नये सरी | "it doesn't equal — my word" |
| तुका म्हणे धन | "Tuka says — wealth" |
| आम्हां गोमासासमान | "to us — equal to gō-māsa (cow-meat)" |
What it means
Wealth-equals-cow-meat + only-Viṭhṭhal-should-be-ours abhang. The strongest-rejection of wealth in the Śivājī-cluster.
The opening: kāya dilā ṭhēvā — āmhām Viṭhṭhala chi hōvā — what deposit you give — only Viṭhṭhal should be ours. Whatever-deposit-you-(Lord)-give: only-Viṭhṭhal-himself is what we want, no-other-deposit.
The parisa-line: tumhī kaḷalētī udāra — sāṭīm parisācī gāra — you've shown yourself udāra — for a barter, parisa-stone. Sāṭīm = for the sake-of, in-barter; parisa = philosopher's-stone; gāra = stone, pebble. You're-known-as udāra; for-a-barter, you-give-a-parisa-stone (= alchemy-stone that turns iron-to-gold). (Or: for-this-particular-bhakta-barter (= my bhakti), you-want-to-give-a-parisa-stone — but-I-don't-want-it.)
The vow-line: jīva dilā tarī — vacanā mājhyā nayē sarī — even if I give the jīva — (it) doesn't equal my word. Even-staking-my-jīva doesn't-match-my-vow (= the bhakta's-vow is greater-than even-the-jīva-itself).
The closing — strongest line of the cluster: Tukā mhaṇē dhana — āmhām gōmāsa-samāna — Tuka says: wealth — to us, equal to cow-meat. Gō-māsa = cow-meat (= the most-impure / most-forbidden-substance for-a-Vaiṣṇava). Wealth-equals-cow-meat for-the-bhakta. In the Śivājī-context, this is the most-direct rejection-of-the-royal-wealth-symbols.
The implicit-message: Lord, even-if-you-give-me-a-parisa-stone (alchemy-prize), I-don't-want-it; I-want-only-Viṭhṭhal; my-vow is-greater-than-the-jīva; wealth is-equal-to-the-most-impure-substance for-me. Foundational anti-wealth declaration.
[T]
For someone today
For today: what deposit you give — only Viṭhṭhal should be ours; you've shown yourself udāra — for a barter, a parisa-stone; even if I give the jīva — it doesn't equal my word; Tuka says — wealth — to us, equal to cow-meat.
Where this applies
- Only-Viṭhṭhal-no-other-deposit.* Ṭhēvā-Viṭhṭhal-chi-hōvā.
- Even-parisa-stone-rejected-in-barter.* Udāra-sāṭīm-parisa-gāra.
- Jīva-doesn't-equal-my-vow.* Jīva-vacana-sarī-na.
- Wealth-equals-cow-meat.* Dhana-gōmāsa-samāna.