Abhanga 2193
Devotion without genuine feeling is hollow and even foul, and worship aimed at the wrong object, or falsely claimed, is folly rather than real bhakti.
The verse
गोविंदावांचोनि वदे ज्याची वाणी । हगवण घाणी पिटपिट ते ॥१॥ मस्तक सांडूनि सिसफूल गुडघां । चार तो अवघा बावळ्याचा ॥ध्रु.॥ अंगभूत म्हूण पूजितो वाहाणा । म्हणतां शाहाणा येइल कैसा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे वेश्या सांगे सवासिणी । इतर पूजनीं भाव तैसा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Whose vāṇī speaks without Govinda — [is] diarrhea-stink — drip-drip. Leaving the head, placing the head-flower on the knee — the whole course is the fool's. Calling them anga-bhūta, he worships sandals — how can such-a-one be called wise? Tuka says: a vēśyā tells of being a savāsiṇa — like that the bhāva in worship of others.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| गोविंदावांचोनि वदे ज्याची वाणी | "whose vāṇī speaks without Govinda" |
| हगवण घाणी पिटपिट ते | "[is] diarrhea-stink — drip-drip" |
| मस्तक सांडूनि सिसफूल गुडघां | "leaving the head — placing the head-flower on the knee" |
| चार तो अवघा बावळ्याचा | "the whole course is the fool's" |
| अंगभूत म्हूण पूजितो वाहाणा | "calling them anga-bhūta, he worships sandals" |
| म्हणतां शाहाणा येइल कैसा | "how can such-a-one be called wise" |
| तुका म्हणे वेश्या सांगे सवासिणी | "Tuka says — a vēśyā tells of being a savāsiṇa" |
| इतर पूजनीं भाव तैसा | "like that — the bhāva in worship of others" |
What it means
Speech-without-Govinda-is-diarrhea-stink + vēśyā-claiming-savāsiṇa-status abhang. Bitter false-worship critique with characteristic earthy register.
The diarrhea-image: gōvindāvāñchōni vadē jyāchī vāṇī — hagavaṇa ghāṇī piṭa-piṭa tē — whose vāṇī speaks without Govinda — [is] diarrhea-stink — drip-drip. Hagavaṇa = diarrhea. Piṭa-piṭa = drip-drip, the sound of liquid issuing. The speech-without-Govinda is-mere-diarrhea, dripping-stink. Tukārām's earthy register again — speech-without-the-Name is-not-just-empty, it's-actively-foul.
The head-flower-on-knee image: mastaka sāṇḍūni śisa-phūla guḍhghām — chāra tō avaghā bāvaḷyāchā — leaving the head, placing the head-flower on the knee — the whole course is the fool's. Śisa-phūla = the flower [decoration] for the head. Bāvaḷyā = fool, simpleton. Putting the-head-flower on-the-knee (= placing-the-ornament-on-the-wrong-part) — the fool's-entire-conduct. (= putting the ornament-of-bhakti on-the-wrong-object.)
The sandals-as-anga-bhūta: anga-bhūta mhūṇa pūjitō vāhāṇā — mhaṇatām śāhāṇā yē'īla kaisā — calling them anga-bhūta, he worships sandals — how can such-a-one be called wise. Anga-bhūta = part of-the-body, organic-member. Vāhāṇā = sandals, footwear. Worshipping sandals while-calling-them anga-bhūta — how is-such-a-one wise? (= the sandals are merely-the-Lord's-footwear, not-his-body, yet such-a-one-treats-them as-the-Lord-himself.)
The closing — vēśyā claiming savāsiṇa: Tukā mhaṇē vēśyā sāngē savāsiṇī — itara pūjanī bhāva taisā — Tuka says: a vēśyā tells of being a savāsiṇa — like that the bhāva in worship of others. Vēśyā = courtesan, prostitute. Savāsiṇa = married woman, auspicious-wife. A vēśyā claims-to-be a savāsiṇa — like-that is-the-bhāva of-worship-directed-elsewhere (= toward-anyone-but-Govinda). The status-mismatch is-the-false-bhakti.
The thematic-link to 2188-2189: 2188 (durjana-store-bag-of-naraka), 2189 (worse-than-onion-stink), 2193 (diarrhea-stink) — Tukārām maintains the foul-smell register as the signature of-the-anti-bhakti.
[T]
For someone today
For today: speech without Govinda — diarrhea-stink, drip-drip; head-flower on knee — fool's whole course; worshipping sandals as anga-bhūta — how is such wise; Tuka says — vēśyā claims savāsiṇa — like that bhāva in worship of others.
Where this applies
- When you catch yourself going through religious motions without any real feeling behind them
- When you honor an object or relic tied to someone you admire more than what that person actually taught
- When you claim a virtue, title, or spiritual status that your actual life doesn't back up
- When your words sound holy but ring hollow even to you