Abhanga 2086
Taking pleasure in slandering or gossiping about others is a grave sin that leads straight to suffering, and those who enjoy it are fooling themselves about what they are really tasting.
The verse
पूर्वजांसी नकाऩ । जाणें तें आइका ॥१॥ निंदा करावी चाहाडी । मनीं धरूनि आवडी ॥ध्रु.॥ मात्रागमना ऐसी । जोडी पातकांची रासी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे वाट । कुंभपाकाची ते नीट ॥ वेडीं तें वेडीं बहुत चि वेडीं । चाखतां गोडी चवी नेणे ॥ध्रु.॥
Literal translation
The ancestors' destination — know, listen. Let-the-nindā-be — gossip — holding favor in mind. Equal to mātrā-gamana — a pile of pātakas accumulates. Tuka says: the path to kumbhī-pāka is direct. Foolish, foolish, very-very foolish — tasting sweetness, doesn't know the flavor.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| पूर्वजांसी नकाऩ | "the ancestors' destination" |
| जाणें तें आइका | "know — listen" |
| निंदा करावी चाहाडी | "let-the-nindā-be — gossip" |
| मनीं धरूनि आवडी | "holding favor in mind" |
| मात्रागमना ऐसी | "equal to mātrā-gamana" |
| जोडी पातकांची रासी | "a pile of pātakas accumulates" |
| तुका म्हणे वाट | "Tuka says — the path" |
| कुंभपाकाची ते नीट | "to kumbhī-pāka is direct" |
| वेडीं तें वेडीं बहुत चि वेडीं | "foolish, foolish, very-very foolish" |
| चाखतां गोडी चवी नेणे | "tasting sweetness, doesn't know the flavor" |
What it means
Nindā-equals-mātṛ-gamana-direct-to-kumbhī-pāka abhang. STRONG-CONDEMNATION of slander.
The opening — ancestral-destination: pūrvajāmsī nakām — jāṇē tē aikā — the ancestors' destination — know, listen. Listen, where-the-ancestors-go.
The slander-equation: nindā karāvī chāhāḍī — manīm dharūni āvaḍī — mātrā-gamanā aisī — jōḍī pātakāñchī rāsī — let-the-nindā-be — gossip — holding favor in mind — equal to mātrā-gamana — a pile of pātakas accumulates. Mātrā-gamana = incest with the mother (the supreme-pātaka in Hindu-dharmaśāstra). Slander (nindā) with-relish equals mātṛ-gamana; accumulates a-pile-of-pātakas. Tukārām's strongest equation: gossiping-about-saints (or anyone) is-as-vile-as the most-supreme-sin.
The closing — direct-to-hell: Tukā mhaṇē vāṭa — kumbhā-pākāchī tē nīṭa — Tuka says: the path to kumbhī-pāka is direct. Kumbhī-pāka = the boiling-cauldron-hell. Direct-route to kumbhī-pāka.
The dhruva-fragment: vēḍīm tē vēḍīm bahuta chi vēḍīm — chākhatām gōḍī chavī nēṇē — foolish, foolish, very-very foolish — tasting sweetness, doesn't know the flavor. Triple-foolish — tasting-sweetness, doesn't-know-the-flavor. (This appears as-a-stranded-dhruva in the source, possibly the dhruva of-the-next-abhang at-2087 misplaced; preserved here as-found.)
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For someone today
Know where the path of your ancestors leads, and listen closely. Slandering and gossiping about others while secretly relishing it is, Tukaram says, as grave a sin as the worst imaginable crime, and it piles up sin after sin. That road leads straight to the boiling cauldron of hell. Truly foolish, utterly foolish, are those who taste this bitter pleasure and mistake it for something sweet.
मराठी: आपल्या पूर्वजांची वाट कुठे जाते हे जाणून घ्या, नीट ऐका. मनात गोडी धरून दुसऱ्याची निंदा-कुचाळी करणं हे मातृगमनाइतकं मोठं पाप आहे, त्यामुळे पापांची रास साचत जाते. तुका म्हणतो, ही वाट थेट कुंभीपाकाकडे नेणारी आहे. हे वेडे, अगदी वेडे, गोडी चाखतानाही खरी चव न ओळखणारे वेडे आहेत.
Where this applies
- When you feel a small thrill in your chest while gossiping or running someone down behind their back
- When a group around you is enjoying trading rumors and it feels harmless in the moment
- When you catch yourself defending gossip as harmless fun rather than seeing its real weight
- When you notice that speaking ill of someone brings a strange, sweet satisfaction you have not questioned