संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2115 of 4582

Abhanga 2115

For today: they populated Yama-city — uprooted bhajana by their vidhi; nobody when told does the hard — the easy is sweet to many; were the ṛṣis of old ignorant — they made granthas as support; who set up dravya-dārā-dhana — piṇḍa-protection, viṣaya-enjoyment?; Tuka says — disgrace in both places — falls into Yama-dūta's hands.

When you'd condemn those-who-uproot-bhajana-by-easy-vidhi + ṛṣis-knew-wrote-for-people — Yama-purī-vasavilī-uchchēda-bhajanā; avaghaḍa-na-sulabha-bahutām-gōḍa; ṛṣī-nēṇatē-na-grantha-kēlē; dravya-dārā-dhana-piṇḍa-viṣaya-bhōga; dōhīm-phajita-Yama-dūta

The verse

यमपुरी त्यांणीं वसविली जाणा । उच्छेद भजना विधी केला ॥१॥ अवघड कोणी न करी सांगतां । सुलभ बहुतां गोड वाटे ॥ध्रु.॥ काय ते नेणते होते मागें ॠषी । आधार लोकांसी ग्रंथ केले ॥२॥ द्रव्य दारा कोणें स्थापियेलें धन । पिंडाचें पाळण विषयभोग ॥३॥ तुका म्हणे दोहीं ठायीं हा फजित । पावे यमदूतजना हातीं ॥४॥

Literal translation

English: They populated Yama-city, know — uprooted bhajana by (their) vidhi. Nobody, when told, does the hard — the easy is sweet to many. Were the ṛṣis of old ignorant — they made granthas as support for people. Who set up dravya-dārā-dhana — piṇḍa-protection, viṣaya-enjoyment? Tuka says: disgrace in both places — falls into Yama-dūta's hands.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
यमपुरी त्यांणीं वसविली जाणा "they populated Yama-city, know"
उच्छेद भजना विधी केला "uprooted bhajana by (their) vidhi"
अवघड कोणी न करी सांगतां "nobody, when told, does the hard"
सुलभ बहुतां गोड वाटे "the easy is sweet to many"
काय ते नेणते होते मागें ॠषी "were the ṛṣis of old ignorant"
आधार लोकांसी ग्रंथ केले "they made granthas as support for people"
द्रव्य दारा कोणें स्थापियेलें धन "who set up dravya-dārā-dhana"
पिंडाचें पाळण विषयभोग "piṇḍa-protection, viṣaya-enjoyment"
तुका म्हणे दोहीं ठायीं हा फजित "Tuka says — disgrace in both places"
पावे यमदूतजना हातीं "falls into Yama-dūta's hands"

What it means

Those-who-uproot-bhajana-by-easy-vidhi-populate-Yama-city + ṛṣis-knew-they-wrote-for-people abhang.

The opening accusation: Yama-purī tyāṇī vasavilī jāṇā — uchchēda bhajanā vidhi kēlāthey populated Yama-city, know — uprooted bhajana by (their) vidhi. They've-populated Yama-purī — by uprooting-bhajana with-their-(easy-)-vidhi.

The reason: avaghaḍa kōṇī na karī sāngatām — sulabha bahutām gōḍa vāṭēnobody, when told, does the hard — the easy is sweet to many. Nobody-does-the-hard-when-told; the-easy is-sweet-to-many.

The defense of the ṛṣis: kāya tē nēṇatē hōtē māgē ṛṣī — ādhāra lōkāmsī grantha kēlēwere the ṛṣis of old ignorant — they made granthas as support for people. Were-the-ancient-ṛṣis ignorant? — they-made-granthas as-the-people's-support. Tukārām defends-scriptural-tradition against-those-who-reject-it.

The world-of-property: dravya dārā kōṇēm sthāpiyēlē dhana — piṇḍāchē pāḷaṇa viṣaya-bhōgawho set up dravya-dārā-dhana — piṇḍa-protection, viṣaya-enjoyment. Who-established the wealth-and-wife-and-property of-piṇḍa-protection-and-viṣaya-enjoyment? (= the worldly-life is grounded-in-ṛṣi-instruction too, properly understood).

The closing: Tukā mhaṇē dōhīm ṭhāyīm hā phajita — pāvē Yama-dūta-janā hātīmTuka says: disgrace in both places — falls into Yama-dūta's hands. He's-disgraced both-here-and-there; falls-into Yama-dūta's-hands.

[T]

For someone today

For today: they populated Yama-city — uprooted bhajana by their vidhi; nobody when told does the hard — the easy is sweet to many; were the ṛṣis of old ignorant — they made granthas as support; who set up dravya-dārā-dhana — piṇḍa-protection, viṣaya-enjoyment?; Tuka says — disgrace in both places — falls into Yama-dūta's hands.

Where this applies

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