Abhanga 2217
For today: now the resolve is made — at this pinnacle, Viṭhṭhalā; I won't hold the pen — what's the use of cracked speech; knowing that time — spend the rest; Tuka says — at the end — lick the dried-trough.
The verse
आतां नेम जाला । या च कळसीं विठ्ठला ॥१॥ हातीं न धरीं लेखणी । काय भुसकट ते वाणी ॥ध्रु.॥ जाणें तेणें काळ । उरला सारीन सकळ ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे घाटी । चाटू कोरडा शेवटीं ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: Now the resolve is made — at this very pinnacle, Viṭhṭhalā. I won't hold the pen — what's the use of this cracked speech? Knowing that time — I'll spend the rest. Tuka says: at the end — I'll lick the dried-trough.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| आतां नेम जाला | "now the resolve is made" |
| या च कळसीं विठ्ठला | "at this very pinnacle, Viṭhṭhalā" |
| हातीं न धरीं लेखणी | "I won't hold the pen" |
| काय भुसकट ते वाणी | "what's the use of this cracked speech" |
| जाणें तेणें काळ | "knowing that time" |
| उरला सारीन सकळ | "I'll spend the rest [of time]" |
| तुका म्हणे घाटी | "Tuka says — at the end" |
| चाटू कोरडा शेवटीं | "I'll lick the dried-trough" |
What it means
I-won't-hold-the-pen + I'll-lick-the-dried-trough-at-the-end abhang — the explicit poetry-renunciation moment. Seventh abhang of the niḍrā-cluster (2211-2230).
The opening — the resolve at-the-pinnacle: ātām nēma jālā — yā cha kaḷasīm Viṭhṭhalā — now the resolve is made — at this very pinnacle, Viṭhṭhalā. Nēma = resolve, rule. Kaḷasa = pinnacle. Now the-resolve is-made — at-this-very-pinnacle, Viṭhṭhalā. Echoes 2211's bhaktīcā kaḷasa — there at the pinnacle came the dōṣas; here at the pinnacle comes the resolve.
THE EXPLICIT POETRY-RENUNCIATION: hātīm na dharīm lēkhaṇī — kāya bhuskaṭa tē vāṇī — I won't hold the pen — what's the use of this cracked speech. Lēkhaṇī = pen, reed-stylus. Bhuskaṭa = cracked, withered, useless. I-won't-hold the-pen any-more; what's-the-use of-this cracked-speech? The pen-down moment — Tukārām's-explicit-vow during-the-niḍrā to-stop-writing.
The time-passing: jāṇē tēṇē kāḷa — uralā sārīna sakaḷa — knowing that time — I'll spend the rest. Knowing-(this)-time, I'll-spend the-rest-(of-it-without-poetry).
The closing — lick-the-dried-trough: Tukā mhaṇē ghāṭī — chāṭūm kōraḍā śēvaṭīm — Tuka says: at the end — I'll lick the dried-trough. Ghāṭī = at the end, in the conclusion. Chāṭū = to lick. Kōraḍā = dried, dried-up. At-the-end, I'll-lick the-dried-(empty)-trough. Echoes 2216's jātī-ukhaḷē-chāṭūm (lick-the-millstone) — both images of-utter-poverty and-mortification, of reducing-oneself to-the-dried-out-essentials.
Historical position: this is one of-the-most-famous moments in-Tukārām's-corpus — the explicit poetry-renunciation-oath made during the niḍrā/vigil following the kavitvā-buḍavaṇē. The pen-down here is-the-climax of-the-renunciation-thread that-runs-through 2212 (forest-retreat), 2213 (day-of-decision), 2214 (staying-at-the-place), 2215 (master-discards), 2216 (lick-the-millstone).
[T]
For someone today
For today: now the resolve is made — at this pinnacle, Viṭhṭhalā; I won't hold the pen — what's the use of cracked speech; knowing that time — spend the rest; Tuka says — at the end — lick the dried-trough.
Where this applies
- Resolve-at-the-pinnacle.* Ātām-nēma-yā-kaḷasīm-Viṭhṭhalā.
- No-pen-cracked-speech.* Hātīm-na-dharīm-lēkhaṇī-bhuskaṭa-vāṇī.
- Spend-the-rest-of-time-knowingly.* Jāṇē-tēṇē-kāḷa-uralā-sārīna.
- Lick-the-dried-trough-at-the-end.* Ghāṭī-chāṭūm-kōraḍā-śēvaṭīm.