Abhanga 2126
For today: pick out the stones — then grinding works smoothly; otherwise it spoils — cause: only laziness remains; pick out the weeds — guard the field; Tuka says — the right — without considering, no hita.
The verse
निवडावें खडे । तरी दळण वोजें घडे ॥१॥ नाहीं तरि नासोनि जाय । कारण आळस उरे हाय ॥ध्रु.॥ निवडावें तन । सेतीं करावें राखण ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नीत । न विचारितां नव्हे हित ॥३॥
Literal translation
Pick out the stones — then grinding works smoothly. Otherwise it spoils — cause: only laziness remains. Pick out the weeds — guard the field. Tuka says: the right — without considering, no hita.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| निवडावें खडे | "pick out the stones" |
| तरी दळण वोजें घडे | "then grinding works smoothly" |
| नाहीं तरि नासोनि जाय | "otherwise it spoils" |
| कारण आळस उरे हाय | "cause: only laziness remains" |
| निवडावें तन | "pick out the weeds" |
| सेतीं करावें राखण | "guard the field" |
| तुका म्हणे नीत | "Tuka says — the right" |
| न विचारितां नव्हे हित | "without considering, no hita" |
What it means
Pick-stones-from-grain + weeds-from-field + consider-for-hita abhang. AGRICULTURAL-DISCERNMENT IMAGES.
The opening — pick-stones: nivaḍāvē khaḍē — tarī daḷaṇa vōjē ghaḍē — pick out the stones — then grinding works smoothly. Pick-stones-from-grain; then-grinding-works. Discernment-before-effort.
The spoiling: nāhīm tari nāsōni jāya — kāraṇa āḷasa urē hāya — otherwise it spoils — cause: only laziness remains. Without-discernment, things-spoil; only-laziness-remains as-residue.
The weeds-and-guard: nivaḍāvē tana — sētīm karāvē rākhaṇa — pick out the weeds — guard the field. Pick-weeds; guard-the-field. Continuous tending and vigilance.
The closing: Tukā mhaṇē nīta — na vichāritām navhē hita — the right — without considering, no hita. The right-way: without-consideration, no-hita comes. Discernment is-the-prerequisite of-hita.
[T]
For someone today
For today: pick out the stones — then grinding works smoothly; otherwise it spoils — cause: only laziness remains; pick out the weeds — guard the field; Tuka says — the right — without considering, no hita.
Where this applies
- When you're tempted to skip a careful, unglamorous step because it feels tedious.
- When something you worked on turns out poorly and the real cause was cutting corners.
- When you need to keep tending something, like a relationship, habit, or project, rather than leaving it unattended.
- When you want good results and need to remember that discernment comes before ease.