Abhanga 1967
For today: the gossip's mother — adulteress in essence; looks for saints' shortcomings — finds holes to harass — the daughter-in-law; by whose tongue — something untied from the purse; Tuka says — destruction — should be — such joining-of-words.
The verse
चाहाडाची माता । व्यभिचारीण तत्वता ॥१॥ पाहे संतांचें उणें । छिद्र छळावया सुनें ॥ध्रु.॥ जेणों त्याच्या वाचें । कांहीं सोडिलें गाठीचें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे घात । व्हावा ऐसी जोडी मात ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: The gossip's mother — adulteress in essence. Looks for saints' shortcomings — finds holes to harass — the daughter-in-law. By whose tongue — something untied from the purse. Tuka says: destruction — should-be — such joining-of-words.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| चाहाडाची माता | "the gossip's mother" |
| व्यभिचारीण तत्वता | "adulteress in essence" |
| पाहे संतांचें उणें | "looks for saints' shortcomings" |
| छिद्र छळावया सुनें | "finds holes to harass — the daughter-in-law" |
| जेणों त्याच्या वाचें | "by whose tongue" |
| कांहीं सोडिलें गाठीचें | "something untied from the purse" |
| तुका म्हणे घात | "Tuka says — destruction" |
| व्हावा ऐसी जोडी मात | "should-be — such joining-of-words" |
What it means
Sharp-condemnation-of-saint-fault-finders abhang. SHIFT IN TONE — from the welcoming/devotional cluster, Tukārām pivots to a sharp-rebuke-mode.
The opening insult: chāhāḍāchī mātā — vyabhichāriṇa tatvatā — the gossip's mother — adulteress in essence. Chāhāḍa = gossip, slander. The very mother-of-gossip is fundamentally-adulterous — Tukārām's strongest-form of condemnation: gossip is born-of-an-adulterous-source.
The fault-finding: pāhē santāmchē uṇē — chidra chaḷāvayā sunē — looks for saints' shortcomings — finds holes to harass — the daughter-in-law. Sunē = daughter-in-law (the proverbially-harassed figure in patriarchal-household). The gossip looks-for-saints'-shortcomings like-a-harassing-mother-in-law looks-for-holes-in-the-daughter-in-law.
The slipped-tongue: jēṇōm tyāchyā vāchē — kāhīm sōḍilē gāṭhīchē — by whose tongue — something untied from the purse. From-whose-tongue something-leaks (= secret-revealed) — the loose-tongue spills.
The closing-curse: Tukā mhaṇē ghāta — hvāvā aisī jōḍī māta — Tuka says: destruction — should be — such joining-of-words. Ghāta = destruction; jōḍī māta = joining-of-words (= conspiratorial-talk). Such conspiratorial-gossip-talk should-meet-destruction — Tukārām's sharpest-mode.
This is a shift-of-tone — from welcoming/longing to sharp-rebuke. Suggests a new theme begins here: defending-the-saints-against-detractors (a recurring Tukārām theme).
[T]
For someone today
For today: the gossip's mother — adulteress in essence; looks for saints' shortcomings — finds holes to harass — the daughter-in-law; by whose tongue — something untied from the purse; Tuka says — destruction — should be — such joining-of-words.
Where this applies
- Gossip's-mother-adulteress-in-essence.* Chāhāḍāchī-mātā-vyabhichāriṇa.
- Looking-for-saints'-shortcomings-to-harass.* Santāmchē-uṇē-chidra-chaḷāvayā.
- Slipped-tongue-untied-from-purse.* Vāchē-sōḍilē-gāṭhīchē.
- Destruction-should-meet-such-joining-of-words.* Ghāta-jōḍī-māta.