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 2209 of 4582

Abhanga 2209

For today: lazy one's work is obstruction — no shame, no phajiti; what doesn't match chitta — thorn to eye, stay far; no sanga, no speech — no watchfulness in them; Tuka says — monkeys give pain backwards.

When you'd refuse lazy-one's-sanga + warn-of-monkeys-giving-pain-backwards — gayāḷāchē-kāma-hitāchā-āvārā-lāja-phajita-khōrā; chittī-na-miḷē-ḍōḷām-salōm-paratē-javaḷūni; sanga-mata-sāvadhāna-chittī-nāhīm; duḥkha-mākaḍē-sānkaḍē-uphurāṭē

The verse

गयाळाचें काम हिताचा आवारा । लाज फजितखोरा असत नाहीं ॥१॥ चित्ती न मिळे तें डोळां सलों येतें । असावें परतें जवळूनि ॥ध्रु.॥ न करावा संग न बोलावी मात । सावधान चित्ती नाहीं त्यासी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे दुःख देतील माकडें । घालिती सांकडें उफराटें ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: The lazy one's work is obstruction-of-good — no shame, no public-disgrace [for him]. What doesn't match the chitta becomes a thorn to the eye — better be far from such. Don't make sanga, don't speak — there is no watchfulness in them. Tuka says: monkeys will give pain — they create difficulties backwards.

Word-by-word gloss
Marathi Meaning
गयाळाचें काम हिताचा आवारा "the lazy one's work is obstruction-of-good"
लाज फजितखोरा असत नाहीं "no shame, no public-disgrace [for him]"
चित्ती न मिळे तें डोळां सलों येतें "what doesn't match the chitta becomes a thorn to the eye"
असावें परतें जवळूनि "better be far from such"
न करावा संग न बोलावी मात "don't make sanga, don't speak"
सावधान चित्ती नाहीं त्यासी "there is no watchfulness in them"
तुका म्हणे दुःख देतील माकडें "Tuka says — monkeys will give pain"
घालिती सांकडें उफराटें "they create difficulties — backwards"

What it means

Lazy-one-no-shame + monkeys-give-pain-backwards abhang.

The opening — lazy-and-shameless: gayāḷāchē kāma hitāchā āvārā — lāja phajita-khōrā asata nāhīmthe lazy one's work is obstruction-of-good — no shame, no public-disgrace [for him]. Gayāḷa = lazy, sluggard. Āvārā = obstruction, enclosure. Phajita-khōrā = of public-disgrace. The lazy-one's-work obstructs-the-good; he-has-no-shame, no public-disgrace-shakes-him.

The eye-thorn: chittī na miḷē tē ḍōḷām salōm yētē — asāvē paratē javaḷūniwhat doesn't match the chitta becomes a thorn to the eye — better be far from such. What-doesn't-match-the-chitta becomes a-thorn-in-the-eye; best to-be-far-(from-them).

The no-sanga rule: na karāvā sanga na bōlāvī māta — sāvadhāna chittī nāhīm tyāsīdon't make sanga, don't speak — there is no watchfulness in them. Don't-keep-company, don't-talk; they-have-no sāvadhāna (watchfulness) in-chitta.

The closing — monkeys-give-pain-backwards: Tukā mhaṇē duḥkha dētīla mākaḍē — ghālitī sānkaḍē uphurāṭēTuka says: monkeys give pain — they create difficulties backwards. Mākaḍa = monkey. Uphurāṭē = backwards, upside-down. Monkeys-give-pain; they create-difficulties backwards (= in inverted-form). Echoes 2204's monkey-up-and-down image — there it was Tukārām's own mind; here it's the troublesome-others.

[T]

For someone today

For today: lazy one's work is obstruction — no shame, no phajiti; what doesn't match chitta — thorn to eye, stay far; no sanga, no speech — no watchfulness in them; Tuka says — monkeys give pain backwards.

Where this applies

Related verses