Abhanga 2279
For today: shitter's sneeze — fool sees bad-omen; extreme moment, not knowing misfortune — hold restraint; meal-time, remembering vomit — jīva miserable; Tuka says — guṇas of unfortunate are uncontrollable.
The verse
हागिल्याचे सिंके वोणवा चि राहे । अपशकुन पाहे वेडगळ ॥१॥ अत्यंत समय नेणतां अवकळा । येऊं नये बळा सिक धरा ॥ध्रु.॥ भोजनसमयीं ओकाचा आठव । ठकोनियां जीव कष्टी करी ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे किती सांगों उगवून । अभाग्याचे गुण अनावर ॥३॥
Literal translation
At the shitter's sneeze, [auspicious mantra] stays [seen] as bad-omen — the fool sees bad-omen. At extreme moment, not knowing the misfortune — don't let it come, hold restraint. At meal-time, remembering vomit — cheating, makes the jīva miserable. Tuka says: how much shall I explain — the guṇas of the unfortunate are uncontrollable.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| हागिल्याचे सिंके वोणवा चि राहे | "at the shitter's sneeze, [auspicious mantra] stays as [seen-as-]bad-omen" |
| अपशकुन पाहे वेडगळ | "the fool sees bad-omen" |
| अत्यंत समय नेणतां अवकळा | "at extreme moment, not knowing the misfortune" |
| येऊं नये बळा सिक धरा | "don't let it come — hold restraint" |
| भोजनसमयीं ओकाचा आठव | "at meal-time, remembering vomit" |
| ठकोनियां जीव कष्टी करी | "cheating, makes the jīva miserable" |
| तुका म्हणे किती सांगों उगवून | "Tuka says — how much shall I explain" |
| अभाग्याचे गुण अनावर | "the guṇas of the unfortunate are uncontrollable" |
What it means
Unfortunate-finds-bad-omens-everywhere + uncontrollable-guṇas abhang. Earthy critique.
The opening — shitter's-sneeze: hāgilyāchē sīnkē vōṇavā chi rāhē — apaśakuna pāhē vēḍagaḷa — at the shitter's sneeze, [auspicious mantra] stays [seen] as bad-omen — the fool sees bad-omen. Hāgaṇē = to defecate. Sīnka = sneeze. Vōṇavā = auspicious-mantra/exclamation (e.g., śata-jīva, "live a hundred"). The fool sees-a-sneeze-while-shitting as-a-bad-omen (= imposing-folk-superstition where-there's-no-real-occasion).
The extreme moment: atyanta samaya nēṇatām avakaḷā — yē'ūm nayē baḷā sika dharā — at extreme moment, not knowing the misfortune — don't let it come, hold restraint. At-the-extreme-moment, without-knowing the-(real)-misfortune; don't-let-bad-luck come by-force, hold-restraint.
The meal-time-vomit image: bhōjana-samayīm ōkāchā āṭhava — ṭhakōniyām jīva kaṣṭī karī — at meal-time, remembering vomit — cheating, makes the jīva miserable. Ōka = vomit. Remembering-vomit at-meal-time — cheating-(oneself)-makes the-jīva miserable. The Tukārām-characteristic earthy-image — the unfortunate-one's-mind brings-up-disgusting-thoughts at-the-worst-times.
The uncontrollable-guṇas: Tukā mhaṇē kitī sāngōm ugavūn — abhāgyāchē guṇa anāvara — Tuka says: how much shall I explain — the guṇas of the unfortunate are uncontrollable. How-much-shall-I-explain? The-guṇas (qualities) of-the-unfortunate are-anāvara (uncontrollable). Echoes 2167's anāvara guṇa line.
[T]
For someone today
For today: shitter's sneeze — fool sees bad-omen; extreme moment, not knowing misfortune — hold restraint; meal-time, remembering vomit — jīva miserable; Tuka says — guṇas of unfortunate are uncontrollable.
Where this applies
- When you catch yourself reading bad luck into ordinary, meaningless coincidences.
- When something frightening happens and your first instinct is to panic instead of hold steady.
- When your own mind ruins a good moment by dragging up something unpleasant at the wrong time.
- When you keep repeating self-defeating habits even after people point them out to you.