Abhanga 1974
Tuka counsels loosening the grip of attachment to a child's fate, since each person's future belongs to them alone, and clinging only tightens the noose of worldly suffering.
The verse
नको धरूं आस व्हावें या बाळांस । निर्माण तें त्यांस त्यांचें आहे ॥१॥ आपुला तूं गळा घेई उगवूनि । चुकवीं जाचणी गर्भवास ॥ध्रु.॥ अवेज देखोनि बांधितील गळा । म्हणोनि निराळा पळतुसें ॥२॥ देखोनियां त्यांचा अवघड मार । कांपे थरथर जीव माझा ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे जरी आहे माझी चाड । तरी करीं वाड चित्ति आतां ॥४॥
Literal translation
Don't hope these children should "be"-(somebody) — their fate is theirs. Release your own throat, disentangle — escape garbha-vāsa torment. Seeing collateral they'll bind your throat — therefore I run separate. Seeing their cruel beating — my jīva trembles thar-thar. Tuka says: if there's any care for me — open up your chitta now.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नको धरूं आस व्हावें या बाळांस | "don't hope these children should 'be'" |
| निर्माण तें त्यांस त्यांचें आहे | "their fate is theirs" |
| आपुला तूं गळा घेई उगवूनि | "release your own throat — disentangle" |
| चुकवीं जाचणी गर्भवास | "escape garbha-vāsa torment" |
| अवेज देखोनि बांधितील गळा | "seeing collateral they'll bind your throat" |
| म्हणोनि निराळा पळतुसें | "therefore I run separate" |
| देखोनियां त्यांचा अवघड मार | "seeing their cruel beating" |
| कांपे थरथर जीव माझा | "my jīva trembles thar-thar" |
| तुका म्हणे जरी आहे माझी चाड | "Tuka says — if there's any care for me" |
| तरी करीं वाड चित्ति आतां | "open up your chitta now" |
What it means
Don't-hope-for-children-disentangle-yourself abhang. STARK RENUNCIATION-COUNSEL.
The opening — stark counsel about children: nakō dharūm āsa hvāvē yā bāḷāmsa — nirmāṇa tē tyāmsa tyāñcē āhē — don't hope these children should "be"-(somebody) — their fate is theirs. Don't-hope-for-children's-prospects; their-nirmāṇa (fate-creation) is-their-own. This is a particularly-poignant counsel because Tukārām's-own-children had-died-in-poverty/famine before-this period (historical record). Tukārām's hard-earned wisdom: don't-bind-yourself-to-hope-for-children's-future.
The throat-release: āpulā tūm gaḷā ghē'ī ugavūni — chukavīm jāchaṇī garbha-vāsa — release your own throat, disentangle — escape garbha-vāsa torment. Garbha-vāsa = womb-residence (= rebirth-cycle). Disentangle-your-throat (= release-yourself-from-the-noose-of-attachment); escape-the-rebirth-torment.
The collateral-binding: avēja dēkhōni bāndhitīla gaḷā — mhaṇōni nirāḷā paḷatusē — seeing collateral they'll bind your throat — therefore I run separate. Seeing-anything-as-pledge (avēja = collateral) they-bind-the-throat; that's-why-I-run-separate.
The trembling-beating: dēkhōniyām tyāñcā avaghaḍa māra — kāmpē tharathara jīva mājhā — seeing their cruel beating — my jīva trembles thar-thar. Thar-thar = trembling-onomatopoeia. Seeing-the-cruel-beatings (in samsāra) my-jīva trembles.
The closing-plea: Tukā mhaṇē jarī āhē mājhī chāḍa — tarī karī vāḍa chittī ātām — Tuka says: if there's any care for me — open up your chitta now. If-you-care-for-me, open-up-your-chitta now (= broaden-your-mind-to-this-truth).
[T]
For someone today
For today: don't hope these children should "be"-(somebody) — their fate is theirs; release your own throat — disentangle — escape garbha-vāsa torment; seeing collateral they'll bind your throat — I run separate; seeing their cruel beating — my jīva trembles thar-thar; Tuka says — if any care for me — open up your chitta now.
Where this applies
- When you're a parent anxiously trying to control or guarantee your child's future
- When grief or fear about a loved one's fate is choking your own peace of mind
- When you notice that your hope for someone else's success has become a source of your own suffering
- When you need to widen your perspective instead of clenching tighter around an outcome you can't control