Abhanga 2177
English: Veda-śāstra-Purāṇa — no pramāṇa — don't look at his face.
The verse
वेद शास्त्र नाहीं पुराण प्रमाण । तयाचें वदन नावलोका ॥१॥ तार्कियाचें अंग आपणा पारिखें । माजिर्यासारिखें वाईंचाळे ॥ध्रु.॥ माता निंदी तया कोण तो आधार । भंगलें खपर याचे नावें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आडराणें ज्याची चाली । तयाची ते बोली मिठेंविण ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Veda-śāstra-Purāṇa — no pramāṇa — don't look at his face. The dialectician's body is alien to himself — like cat-tricks. Who supports him who reviles his mother — broken-potsherd in his name. Tuka says: whose walk is sideways-by-wilderness — his speech is without salt.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वेद शास्त्र नाहीं पुराण प्रमाण | "Veda-śāstra-Purāṇa — no pramāṇa" |
| तयाचें वदन नावलोका | "don't look at his face" |
| तार्कियाचें अंग आपणा पारिखें | "the dialectician's body is alien to himself" |
| माजिर्यासारिखें वाईंचाळे | "like cat-tricks" |
| माता निंदी तया कोण तो आधार | "who supports him who reviles his mother" |
| भंगलें खपर याचे नावें | "broken-potsherd in his name" |
| तुका म्हणे आडराणें ज्याची चाली | "Tuka says — whose walk is sideways-by-wilderness" |
| तयाची ते बोली मिठेंविण | "his speech is without salt" |
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
- No-pramāṇa-don't-look-at-face.* Vēda-śāstra-Purāṇa-pramāṇa-vadana-nāvalōkā.
- Dialectician-alien-to-self-cat-tricks.* Tārkiyāchē-pārikhē-māñjarya-vā'īñchāḷē.
- Mother-reviler-broken-potsherd.* Mātā-nindī-bhangalē-khapara.
- Sideways-wilderness-walk-salt-less-speech.* Āḍa-rāṇē-bōlī-miṭhēviṇa.