Abhanga 2113
English: Blackened-face daughter-in-law — secretly does anything before people.
The verse
काळतोंडा सुना । भलतें चोरुनि करी जना ॥१॥ धिग त्याचें साधुपण । विटाळुनि वर्ते मन ॥ध्रु.॥ मंत्र ऐसे घोकी । वश व्हावें जेणें लोकीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे थीत । नागवला नव्हे हित ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Blackened-face daughter-in-law — secretly does anything before people. Fie on his sādhu-pose — defiles, the mind moves. Chants such mantras — by which the world should fall-under-his-spell. Tuka says: thīta — stripped — not for hita.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| काळतोंडा सुना | "blackened-face daughter-in-law" |
| भलतें चोरुनि करी जना | "secretly does anything before people" |
| धिग त्याचें साधुपण | "fie on his sādhu-pose" |
| विटाळुनि वर्ते मन | "defiles, the mind moves" |
| मंत्र ऐसे घोकी | "chants such mantras" |
| वश व्हावें जेणें लोकीं | "by which the world should fall-under-his-spell" |
| तुका म्हणे थीत | "Tuka says — thīta (in-his-place)" |
| नागवला नव्हे हित | "stripped — not for hita" |
What it means
False-sādhu-blackened-face + mantras-for-control-not-hita abhang.
The opening figure: kāḷa-tōṇḍā sunā — bhalatē chōruni karī janā — blackened-face daughter-in-law — secretly does anything before people. Kāḷa-tōṇḍā sunā = the daughter-in-law with blackened-face (= a-shamed-daughter-in-law caught in misconduct). Tukārām's recurring-figure for the false-bhakta: outwardly-respectable, inwardly-defiled. Doing anything-secretly while-appearing-public.
The sādhu-pose: dhig tyāchē sādhu-paṇa — viṭāḷuni vartē mana — fie on his sādhu-pose — defiles, the mind moves. Fie-on-the-sādhu-pose; the mind-moves-defiled (viṭāḷuni = polluting-as-it-goes).
The mantras-for-control: mantra aisē ghōkī — vaśa hvāvē jēṇē lōkīm — chants such mantras — by which the world should fall-under-his-spell. He-chants-mantras for-controlling-people (vaśa = fall-under-spell), not-for-Lord-realization. Magic-for-power, not bhakti.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē thīta — nāgavalā navhē hita — Tuka says: thīta — stripped — not for hita. Thīta = in-place, where-he-stands. Right-where-he-stands he-is-stripped (nāgavalā = stripped-naked); not-for-hita (= no-good-comes).
[T]
For someone today
For today: blackened-face daughter-in-law — secretly does anything before people; fie on his sādhu-pose — defiles, the mind moves; chants such mantras — by which the world should fall-under-his-spell; Tuka says — thīta — stripped — not for hita.
Where this applies
- Blackened-face-secret-misconduct.* Kāḷa-tōṇḍā-sunā-chōruni-janā.
- Sādhu-pose-defiles.* Sādhu-paṇa-viṭāḷuni-vartē-mana.
- Mantras-for-control-not-realization.* Mantra-ghōkī-vaśa-lōkīm.
- Stripped-in-place-no-hita.* Thīta-nāgavalā-navhē-hita.