संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2208 of 4582

Abhanga 2208

For today: calling oneself bhakta yet cheating with jīva — for what eat dung; spoiled kaupīna and mālā — obstruction in temple; took up sēvā but antarāya — case is the potsherd's; Tuka says — where can stink last — fickleness in mind.

When you'd critique fake-bhakta-cheating-jīva + spoiled-kaupīna-māḷā — bhaktā-vañchāvē-jīvē-śēṇa-khāvē; nāsilē-aḍa-banda-kaupīna-māḷā-rāuḷā-aḍa-chaṇa; angīkārilē-sēvē-antarāya-khaparāchā; tagōm-ghāṇīm-āhācha-manīm-adhīratā

The verse

भक्ता म्हणऊनि वंचावें जीवें । तेणें शेण खावें काशासाटीं ॥१॥ नासिले अडबंद कौपीन ते माळा । अडचण राउळामाजी केली ॥ध्रु.॥ अंगीकारिले सेवे अंतराय । तया जाला न्याय खापराचा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे कोठें तगों येती घाणीं । आहाच ही मनीं अधीरता ॥३॥ ॥१॥ २२०९

Literal translation

English: Calling oneself bhakta yet cheating with jīva — for what should that one eat dung? Spoiled the under-cloth, the kaupīna, the mālā — caused obstruction in the temple. Took up sēvā but [made] antarāya — his case is that of the potsherd. Tuka says: where can such stink last — fickleness in the mind. ॥1॥ 2209

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
भक्ता म्हणऊनि वंचावें जीवें "calling oneself bhakta yet cheating with jīva"
तेणें शेण खावें काशासाटीं "for what should that one eat dung"
नासिले अडबंद कौपीन ते माळा "spoiled the under-cloth, the kaupīna, the mālā"
अडचण राउळामाजी केली "caused obstruction in the temple"
अंगीकारिले सेवे अंतराय "took up sēvā but [made] antarāya"
तया जाला न्याय खापराचा "his case is that of the potsherd"
तुका म्हणे कोठें तगों येती घाणीं "Tuka says — where can such stink last"
आहाच ही मनीं अधीरता "fickleness in the mind"
॥१॥ २२०९ colophon — verse-1 marker; pointer to next abhang 2209

What it means

Bhakta-cheating-with-jīva-stink-doesn't-last + spoiled-kaupīna-māḷā-temple-obstruction abhang.

The opening — bhakta-eating-dung: bhaktā mhaṇa'ūni vañchāvē jīvē — tēṇē śēṇa khāvē kāśāsāṭīmcalling oneself bhakta yet cheating with jīva — for what should that one eat dung. Calling-oneself-bhakta-while-cheating-with-the-jīva (= half-heartedly, dishonestly) — for-what-is-such-a-one-eating-dung? (= the fake-bhakta swallows-the-disgrace-of-eating-dung for-nothing.)

The spoiled-bhakta-garb image: nāsilē aḍa-banda kaupīna tē māḷā — aḍa-chaṇa rāuḷā-mājhī kēlīspoiled the under-cloth, the kaupīna, the mālā — caused obstruction in the temple. Aḍa-banda = under-cloth. Kaupīna = loin-cloth of-the-renunciate. Māḷā = the rosary. Rāuḷā = temple. Spoiled the kaupīna, the māḷā (= polluted-the-bhakta-symbols by-being-unworthy); created-obstruction in-the-temple.

The potsherd-case (echoing 2186): angīkārilē sēvē antarāya — tayā jālā nyāya khaparāchātook up sēvā but [made] antarāya — his case is that of the potsherd. Antarāya = obstruction, interruption. Khapara = potsherd, broken-shard. Took-up-sēvā but-then-broke-it; his-case is-that-of-the-potsherd (= unusable, unfixable). Echoes 2186's khapara-khuṇṭī before-the-parisa.

The closing — stink-and-fickleness: Tukā mhaṇē kōṭhē tagōm yētī ghāṇīm — āhācha hī manīm adhīratāTuka says: where can such stink last — fickleness in the mind. Where-can-the-stink-(of-such-fake-bhakti)-tolerate (= persist)? The fickleness-in-the-mind makes-it-not-last.

Editorial note: the source-line ending in ॥१॥ २२०९ is unusual — ॥१॥ marks the verse-1-completion-(or-single-abhang-completion), and २२०९ points to the next abhang.

[T]

For someone today

For today: calling oneself bhakta yet cheating with jīva — for what eat dung; spoiled kaupīna and mālā — obstruction in temple; took up sēvā but antarāya — case is the potsherd's; Tuka says — where can stink last — fickleness in mind.

Where this applies

Related verses