Abhanga 2185
A small stomach creates an outsized uproar, and letting hunger and pride run your life turns it entirely into a business of craving.
The verse
वितीयेवढेंसें पोट । केवढा बोभाट तयाचा ॥१॥ जळो याची विटंबना । भूक जना नाचवी ॥ध्रु.॥ अभिमान सिरीं भार । जाले खर तृष्णेचे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे नरका जावें । हा चि जीवें व्यापार ॥३॥
Literal translation
Stomach the size of a vītī — how great its uproar. Burn its disgrace — hunger makes people dance. Pride is a burden on the head — they have become donkeys of tṛṣṇā. Tuka says: one goes to naraka — this is the very vyāpāra of the jīva.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| वितीयेवढेंसें पोट | "stomach the size of a vītī (~9-inch span)" |
| केवढा बोभाट तयाचा | "how great its uproar" |
| जळो याची विटंबना | "burn its disgrace" |
| भूक जना नाचवी | "hunger makes people dance" |
| अभिमान सिरीं भार | "pride is a burden on the head" |
| जाले खर तृष्णेचे | "they have become donkeys of tṛṣṇā" |
| तुका म्हणे नरका जावें | "Tuka says — one goes to naraka" |
| हा चि जीवें व्यापार | "this is the very vyāpāra of the jīva" |
What it means
Small-stomach-big-uproar + donkeys-of-tṛṣṇā abhang. Critique of belly-driven life.
The vītī-stomach image: vitīyēvaḍhēmsē pōṭa — kēvaḍhā bōbhāṭa tayāchā — stomach the size of a vītī — how great its uproar. Vītī = a span (the distance between thumb and little-finger when fully-stretched, ~9 inches). A stomach-only-a-span-wide makes-such-a-great-uproar. The disproportion: the size of the vessel is small, yet the demand-it-generates is huge.
The disgrace + hunger-dance: jaḷō yāchī viṭambanā — bhūka janā nāchavī — burn its disgrace — hunger makes people dance. Burn-this disgrace — hunger makes-people dance (= makes-them-do-anything).
The donkeys-of-tṛṣṇā: abhimāna sirīm bhāra — jālē khara tṛṣṇēchē — pride is a burden on the head — they have become donkeys of tṛṣṇā. Khara = donkey, ass. Tṛṣṇā = thirst, craving. Pride is-a-burden on-the-head; they-have-become donkeys-of-tṛṣṇā. (= people are loaded-like-donkeys with-cravings, with-pride as additional-load.)
The closing — naraka-as-jīva's-vyāpāra: Tukā mhaṇē narakā jāvē — hā chi jīvē vyāpāra — Tuka says: one goes to naraka — this is the very vyāpāra of the jīva. Vyāpāra = occupation, business. One-goes-to-naraka — this-is the-very-business of-the-jīva. (= the jīva's whole-business is naraka-bound.)
[T]
For someone today
For today: stomach the size of a vītī — how great its uproar; burn its disgrace — hunger makes people dance; pride is burden on head — become donkeys of tṛṣṇā; Tuka says — one goes to naraka — this is the jīva's vyāpāra.
Where this applies
- When you notice how much energy and worry go into feeding wants that are actually quite small
- When you catch yourself doing something you're ashamed of just because hunger or craving pushed you
- When pride piles on top of ordinary desire and the combination feels like a weight you're carrying everywhere
- When you realize your days have become entirely about chasing appetite, with nothing else in the picture