Abhanga 2177

Be wary of clever arguers estranged from real wisdom, and know that someone who disrespects their mother or whose life has wandered off track speaks words with no real substance.

The verse

Literal translation

What it means

Don't-look-at-the-non-pramāṇa-face + revile-mother-broken-potsherd abhang. Critique of the unmoored disputant.

The opening — no-pramāṇa: vēda śāstra nāhīm purāṇa pramāṇa — tayāchē vadana nāvalōkā — for whom Veda-śāstra-Purāṇa is not pramāṇa — don't look at his face. One-who-rejects Veda-śāstra-Purāṇa as-pramāṇa — don't-even-look-at-his-face. Tukārām's-position on-pramāṇa: the three (Veda, śāstra, Purāṇa) are the-authoritative-touchstones.

The dialectician's body: tārkiyāchē anga āpaṇā pārikhē — māñjaryāsārikhē vā'īñchāḷē — the dialectician's body is alien to himself — like cat-tricks. Tārkika = the dialectician, the logic-chopper. Māñjara = cat. Vā'īñchāḷa = trick, mischief. The dialectician's-own-body is-alien-to-him; his moves are-like cat-tricks. (= the over-reasoner is alienated-from-himself; his moves are pouncing-and-feinting like-a-cat's.)

The mother-reviler: mātā nindī tayā kōṇa tō ādhāra — bhangalē khapara yāchē nāvē — who supports him who reviles his mother — broken-potsherd in his name. Khapara = potsherd, broken-shard. Who-supports the mother-reviler — a broken-potsherd is-in-his-name (= his-name itself is-a-broken-potsherd). The strongest social-curse: one-who-reviles-the-mother is-beyond-support.

The closing — sideways-walk, salt-less-speech: Tukā mhaṇē āḍa-rāṇē jyāchī chālī — tayāchī tē bōlī miṭhēviṇa — Tuka says: whose walk is sideways-by-wilderness — his speech is without salt. Āḍa-rāṇē = sideways through wilderness. Miṭhē-viṇa = without salt. Whose-walk is-off-the-path through-wilderness — his speech is-without-salt (= tasteless, useless).

[T]

For someone today

For today: Veda-śāstra-Purāṇa-no-pramāṇa — don't look at his face; dialectician's body alien to himself — cat-tricks; mother-reviler — broken-potsherd in his name; Tuka says — sideways-wilderness-walk — speech without salt.

Where this applies

• When you meet someone who dismisses established wisdom just to win an argument
• When you notice a clever talker who seems disconnected from their own values
• When someone disrespects their mother or family and still expects your loyalty
• When you hear advice from someone whose own life has clearly drifted off course

Related verses

• Abhanga 2425 — Surrender every part of your life completely to what you trust most, and let go of the res
• Abhanga 2477 — Like a child too absorbed in play to notice how tired he is, let go and trust the parent c
• Abhanga 2484 — Real devotion can include anger and demand, not just sweetness, because a devotee who trul
• Abhanga 2540 — Even the smallest, most helpless creature that cries out to God in danger is sheltered and