Abhanga 1975
Tukaram tells his wife to speak their real losses aloud without shame, harden her resolve, and trade fleeting comforts for lasting joy, which cuts the ropes of worldly suffering.
The verse
भले लोक तुज बहु मानवती । वाढेल या कीर्ति जगामाजी ॥१॥ म्हणे मेलीं गुरें भांडीं नेलीं चोरें । नाहींत लेंकुरें जालीं मज ॥ध्रु.॥ आस निरसूनि कठिण हें मन । करीं वो समान वज्र तैसें ॥२॥ किंचित हें सुख टाकीं वो थुंकोनि । पावसील धनी परमानंद ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे थोर चुकती सायास । भवबंद पाश तुटोनियां ॥४॥
Literal translation
Good people will respect you much — your fame will grow in the world. Say: the cattle died, thieves took pots, no children to me. Remove desire — make this mind hard — make it like vajra. Spit out this little happiness — you'll obtain the great-bliss-Lord. Tuka says: great toils avoided — bhava-banda nooses cut.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| भले लोक तुज बहु मानवती | "good people will respect you much" |
| वाढेल या कीर्ति जगामाजी | "your fame will grow in the world" |
| म्हणे मेलीं गुरें भांडीं नेलीं चोरें | "say — the cattle died, thieves took pots" |
| नाहींत लेंकुरें जालीं मज | "no children to me" |
| आस निरसूनि कठिण हें मन | "remove desire — make this mind hard" |
| करीं वो समान वज्र तैसें | "make it like vajra" |
| किंचित हें सुख टाकीं वो थुंकोनि | "spit out this little happiness" |
| पावसील धनी परमानंद | "you'll obtain the great-bliss-Lord" |
| तुका म्हणे थोर चुकती सायास | "Tuka says — great toils avoided" |
| भवबंद पाश तुटोनियां | "bhava-banda nooses cut" |
What it means
Say-cattle-died-no-children-make-mind-vajra abhang.
The opening — fame: bhalē lōka tuja bahu mānavatī — vāḍhēla yā kīrtī jagāmājī — good people will respect you much — fame will grow in the world. The good-people will-respect-you (for accepting-loss); fame-will-grow.
THE INVENTORY of Tukārām's-actual-historical-losses: mhaṇē mēlīm gurē bhāṇḍī nēlīm chōrē — nāhīmta lēnkurē jālīm maja — say: the cattle died, thieves took pots, no children to me. Three-historical-losses listed: (1) mēlīm gurē = cattle died (recorded historical-fact: Tukārām's cattle died-in-famine); (2) bhāṇḍī nēlīm chōrē = thieves took pots; (3) nāhīmta lēnkurē = no surviving-children (Tukārām's first wife and elder son died in famine; later children also lost). Tukārām instructs his wife — say-this-out-loud (= accept-it-publicly).
The vajra-mind: āsa nirasūni kaṭhiṇa hē mana — karī vō samāna vajra taisē — remove desire — make this mind hard — like vajra. Vajra = the diamond/thunderbolt — hardest-substance. Make-the-mind vajra-hard.
The bargain: kiñchita hē sukha ṭākīm vō thunkōni — pāvasīla dhanī paramānanda — spit out this little happiness — you'll obtain the great-bliss-Lord. Spit-out-the-trivial-happiness; gain-the-great-bliss-Lord (paramānanda dhanī).
The closing-resolution: Tukā mhaṇē thōra chukatī sāyāsa — bhava-banda pāśa tuṭōniyām — Tuka says: great toils avoided — bhava-banda nooses cut. Great-effort avoided; samsāra-nooses (bhava-banda) cut.
[T]
For someone today
For today: good people will respect you — fame will grow; say cattle died, thieves took pots, no children to me; remove desire — make mind hard like vajra; spit out little happiness — you'll get the great-bliss-Lord; Tuka says — great toils avoided — bhava-banda nooses cut.
Where this applies
- When you've suffered real losses, financial, family, or health, and feel pressure to hide or downplay them
- When you're tempted to chase small, immediate comforts instead of pursuing something deeper and lasting
- When you need to toughen your resolve after repeated hardship
- When you want to stop feeling shame about hardships that weren't your fault