Abhanga 2213
For today: what to do as poet now, no shame — bhakta-rāja will laugh; day of decision — without truth, rasa is tasteless; without anubhava, who commits pāpa — empty sankalpa shames; Tuka says — patience can't be held — jīva not stable.
The verse
करूं कवि काय आतां नाही लाज । मज भक्तराज हांसतील ॥१॥ आतां आला एका निवाड्याचा दिस । सत्याविण रस विरसला ॥ध्रु.॥ अनुभवाविण कोण करी पाप । रिते चि संकल्प लाजलावे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे आतां न धरवे धीर । नव्हे जीव स्थिर माझा मज ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: What to do as poet now, no shame — the bhakta-rāja will laugh at me. Now has come the day of decision — without truth, rasa is tasteless. Without anubhava, who commits pāpa — empty sankalpa shames. Tuka says: now patience can't be held — my jīva isn't stable to me.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| करूं कवि काय आतां नाही लाज | "what to do as poet now, no shame" |
| मज भक्तराज हांसतील | "the bhakta-rāja will laugh at me" |
| आतां आला एका निवाड्याचा दिस | "now has come the day of decision" |
| सत्याविण रस विरसला | "without truth, rasa is tasteless" |
| अनुभवाविण कोण करी पाप | "without anubhava, who commits pāpa" |
| रिते चि संकल्प लाजलावे | "empty sankalpa shames" |
| तुका म्हणे आतां न धरवे धीर | "Tuka says — now patience can't be held" |
| नव्हे जीव स्थिर माझा मज | "my jīva isn't stable to me" |
What it means
Day-of-decision-no-more-empty-poetry + jīva-not-stable abhang. Third abhang of the niḍrā-cluster (2211-2230) — the poetry-shame moment.
The poetry-shame: karūm kavi kāya ātām nāhī lāja — maja bhakta-rāja hāmsatīla — what to do as poet now, no shame — the bhakta-rāja will laugh at me. Kavi = poet. Bhakta-rāja = the great-bhakta(s), the saintly-elders. What-to-do-as-poet now? There's-no-shame-(in-stopping); the bhakta-rājas-will-laugh-(at-me-if-I-continue). The poetry-renunciation moment — explicitly tied to the kavitvā-buḍavaṇē incident.
The day-of-decision: ātām ālā ēkā nivāḍyāchā disa — satyāviṇa rasa virasalā — now has come the day of decision — without truth, rasa is tasteless. Nivāḍā = decision, settlement, judgment. Virasa = tasteless, devoid-of-rasa. Now-the-day-of-decision has-come; without-truth, rasa is-tasteless (= poetry-without-real-anubhava is rasa-less).
The anubhava-and-sankalpa: anubhavāviṇa kōṇa karī pāpa — ritē chi sankalpa lājalāvē — without anubhava, who commits pāpa — empty sankalpa shames. Without-anubhava, who-commits-pāpa? (= who-takes-the-risk?) Empty-sankalpa shames-(the-utterer).
The closing — patience-broken, jīva-unstable: Tukā mhaṇē ātām na dharavē dhīra — navhē jīva sthira mājhā maja — Tuka says: now patience can't be held — my jīva isn't stable to me. Patience-can-no-longer-be-held; my-jīva is-not-stable-to-me. The acute-crisis of-the-niḍrā moment.
[T]
For someone today
For today: what to do as poet now, no shame — bhakta-rāja will laugh; day of decision — without truth, rasa is tasteless; without anubhava, who commits pāpa — empty sankalpa shames; Tuka says — patience can't be held — jīva not stable.
Where this applies
- Poetry-shame-bhakta-rāja-will-laugh.* Karūm-kavi-nāhī-lāja-bhakta-rāja-hāmsatīla.
- Day-of-decision-truthless-rasa.* Nivāḍyāchā-disa-satyāviṇa-rasa-virasalā.
- Anubhava-less-pāpa-empty-sankalpa.* Anubhavāviṇa-pāpa-ritē-sankalpa-lājalāvē.
- Patience-broken-jīva-unstable.* Na-dharavē-dhīra-jīva-sthira.