Abhanga 2167
For today: even while shitting, a vice — stick breaks the rhythm; such uncontrollable guṇas — how to restrain, say; even without sanga, rangas babble; Tuka says — Lord — your sēvā simply doesn't happen.
The verse
हागतां ही खोडी । चळण मोडवितें काडी ॥१॥ ऐसे अनावर गुण । आवरावे काय म्हुण ॥ध्रु.॥ नाहीं जरी संग । तरी बडबडविती रंग ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे देवा । तुमची न घडे चि सेवा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Even while shitting, a vice [is present] — a stick breaks the rhythm. Such uncontrollable guṇas — how to restrain them, say? Even if there's no sanga, the rangas make babble. Tuka says: Lord — your sēvā simply doesn't happen.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| हागतां ही खोडी | "even while shitting, a vice [is present]" |
| चळण मोडवितें काडी | "a stick breaks the rhythm" |
| ऐसे अनावर गुण | "such uncontrollable guṇas" |
| आवरावे काय म्हुण | "how to restrain them — say" |
| नाहीं जरी संग | "even if there's no sanga (company)" |
| तरी बडबडविती रंग | "the rangas (colors/passions) make babble" |
| तुका म्हणे देवा | "Tuka says — Lord" |
| तुमची न घडे चि सेवा | "your sēvā simply doesn't happen" |
What it means
Uncontrollable-guṇas + sēvā-doesn't-happen abhang. Frank-self-confession.
The earthy-image: hāgatām hī khōḍī — chaḷaṇa mōḍavitē kāḍī — even while shitting, a vice [is present] — a stick breaks the rhythm. Hāgaṇē = to defecate. Khōḍī = vice, mischief, naughty-habit. Chaḷaṇa = movement, course, rhythm. Kāḍī = stick, twig. Even in-the-most-basic-bodily-act, a-vice/mischief intrudes; even-a-small-thing (a-stick) breaks-the-rhythm. Tukārām's-typical earthiness — using-the-defecation-image to-illustrate how-impossible self-mastery is.
The uncontrollable-guṇas: aisē anāvara guṇa — āvarāvē kāya mhuṇa — such uncontrollable guṇas — how to restrain them, say. These guṇas are anāvara (un-cover-able, uncontrollable); how-to-restrain-them, say?
The rangas-babble-even-without-sanga: nāhīm jarī sanga — tarī baḍabaḍavitī ranga — even if there's no sanga, the rangas make babble. Sanga = company, contact. Ranga = color, passion, tint. Even-when-bad-company is-removed, the-rangas-(internal-passions) make-babble. (= the internal-residue persists even-in-isolation.)
The closing — sēvā-doesn't-happen: Tukā mhaṇē Dēvā — tumacī na ghaḍē chi sēvā — Tuka says: Lord — your sēvā simply doesn't happen. The frank-admission: Lord — your-sēvā simply-doesn't-happen with-such-uncontrollable-guṇas.
Continues the self-deprecation thread that runs through 2154-2156: kāma-krōdha-still-in-body (2156), outward-bhakti-inner-disease (2154), now uncontrollable-guṇas-defeat-sēvā (2167).
[T]
For someone today
For today: even while shitting, a vice — stick breaks the rhythm; such uncontrollable guṇas — how to restrain, say; even without sanga, rangas babble; Tuka says — Lord — your sēvā simply doesn't happen.
Where this applies
- When an old bad habit or reaction surfaces even in the most mundane, private moments of your day
- When you keep trying to control a persistent trait and honestly do not know how
- When you remove yourself from a tempting environment but find your restless thoughts keep chattering anyway
- When you feel like your own inconsistency is getting in the way of a practice or commitment you genuinely care about