Abhanga 2193
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.
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
English: 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
- Speech-without-Govinda-diarrhea-stink.* Gōvindāvāñchōni-vāṇī-hagavaṇa-ghāṇī-piṭa-piṭa.
- Head-flower-on-knee-fool's-course.* Mastaka-śisa-phūla-guḍhghām-bāvaḷyāchā.
- Sandals-as-anga-bhūta-not-wise.* Anga-bhūta-pūjitō-vāhāṇā-śāhāṇā.
- Vēśyā-claims-savāsiṇa-like-worship-of-others.* Vēśyā-savāsiṇī-itara-pūjanī.