Abhanga 2228
You don't need perfect words or proof of worthiness to keep reaching out; sometimes boldness has to replace certainty.
The verse
स्तुती तरि करूं काय कोणापासीं । कीर्त तरि कैसी वाखाणावी ॥१॥ खोट्या तंव नाहीं अनुवादाचें काम । उरला भ्रम वरि बरा ॥ध्रु.॥ म्हणवावें त्याची खुण नाहीं हातीं । अवकळा फजिती सावकाशें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे हेंगे तुमचें माझें तोंड । होऊनिया लंड आळवितों ॥३॥
Literal translation
What stuti shall I do, to whom — how should kīrti be described? For the false, there's no anuvāda-work — the bhrama-residue is above. To call myself [bhakta], the sign is not in hand — misfortune-and-disgrace at-leisure. Tuka says: we're tongue-tied — becoming brazen, I call out.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| स्तुती तरि करूं काय कोणापासीं | "what stuti shall I do, to whom" |
| कीर्त तरि कैसी वाखाणावी | "how should kīrti be described" |
| खोट्या तंव नाहीं अनुवादाचें काम | "for the false, there's no anuvāda-work" |
| उरला भ्रम वरि बरा | "the bhrama-residue is above" |
| म्हणवावें त्याची खुण नाहीं हातीं | "to call myself [bhakta], the sign is not in hand" |
| अवकळा फजिती सावकाशें | "misfortune-and-disgrace at-leisure" |
| तुका म्हणे हेंगे तुमचें माझें तोंड | "Tuka says — we're tongue-tied" |
| होऊनिया लंड आळवितों | "becoming brazen, I call out" |
What it means
No-stuti-no-sign-in-hand + becoming-brazen-I-call-out abhang. Eighteenth abhang of the niḍrā-cluster (position 18 of 20).
The opening — no-stuti, no-kīrti: stutī tari karūm kāya kōṇāpāśīm — kīrta tari kaisī vākhāṇāvī — what stuti shall I do, to whom — how should kīrti be described. What stuti-can-I-do, to-whom? How should kīrti-be-described? (= all-conventional-praise-modes are-blocked-now.)
The no-anuvāda for the false: khōṭyā tanva nāhīm anuvādāchē kāma — uralā bhrama vari barā — for the false, there's no anuvāda-work — the bhrama-residue is above. Anuvāda = repetition, recitation. Bhrama = delusion, mistake. For-the-false, there's-no-anuvāda-work; the bhrama-residue is-above (= remains-as-the-surface-layer).
The no-sign in hand: mhaṇavāvē tyāchī khuṇa nāhīm hātīm — avakaḷā phajitī sāvakāśē — to call myself [bhakta], the sign is not in hand — misfortune-and-disgrace at-leisure. To-call-myself-(bhakta), the-sign isn't-in-hand; misfortune-and-disgrace are-at-leisure (= continually).
The closing — tongue-tied, brazenly-calling: Tukā mhaṇē hēngē tumacē mājhē tōṇḍa — hō'ūniyā laṇḍa āḷavitōm — Tuka says: we're tongue-tied — becoming brazen, I call out. Laṇḍa = brazen, shameless. We're-tongue-tied; but-becoming-brazen, I-call-out. The exhaustion-and-defiance pair.
[T]
For someone today
For today: what stuti, to whom; for the false no anuvāda — bhrama-residue above; to call self bhakta — sign not in hand — disgrace at-leisure; Tuka says — tongue-tied — becoming brazen, I call out.
Where this applies
- When you feel unworthy of speaking up because you don't have the right words
- When you doubt whether you've truly earned a role or title you claim for yourself
- When self-doubt makes you want to stay silent instead of reaching out
- When you choose to speak up boldly anyway, despite feeling tongue-tied or unsure