Abhanga 2286
For today: māhāra fills with mother's snake — what's truly ahead unknown; foul, adhama's guṇas — depart in a moment; dog's bag by master's sattā — anger comes, descends; Tuka says — why silent — tell people of adhama.
The verse
माहार माते चपणी भरे । न कळे खरें पुढील ॥१॥ वोंगळ अधमाचे गुण । जातां घडी न लगे चि ॥ध्रु.॥ श्वान झोळी स्वामिसत्ता । कोप येतां उतरे ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे गुमान कां । सांगों लोकां अधमासी ॥३॥
Literal translation
The māhāra fills with the snake of his mother — what's truly ahead isn't known. The guṇas of the foul, the adhama — they take no moment to depart. A dog's bag — by the master's sattā — when anger comes, it descends. Tuka says: why be silent — let me tell the people of the adhama.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| माहार माते चपणी भरे | "the māhāra fills with the snake of his mother" |
| न कळे खरें पुढील | "what's truly ahead isn't known" |
| वोंगळ अधमाचे गुण | "the guṇas of the foul, the adhama" |
| जातां घडी न लगे चि | "they take no moment to depart" |
| श्वान झोळी स्वामिसत्ता | "a dog's bag — by the master's sattā" |
| कोप येतां उतरे | "when anger comes, it descends" |
| तुका म्हणे गुमान कां | "Tuka says — why be silent" |
| सांगों लोकां अधमासी | "let me tell the people of the adhama" |
What it means
Adhama's-guṇas-quick-coming-going + dog's-bag-by-master's-sattā abhang. Anti-adhama critique.
The opening — māhāra's snake: māhāra mātē chapaṇī bharē — na kaḷē kharē puḍhīla — the māhāra fills with the snake of his mother — what's truly ahead isn't known. Māhāra = a low-caste person. Chapaṇī = snake. The māhāra fills his-basket-with-his-mother's-snake (a folk-image of-snake-handling); what's-truly-ahead isn't-known. (= strange-folk-practices and-the-unknown-future.)
The adhama's-quick-departing guṇas: vōngaḷa adhamāchē guṇa — jātām ghaḍī na lagē chi — the guṇas of the foul, the adhama — they take no moment to depart. The adhama's-foul-guṇas take-no-moment to-depart (= they-pass-quickly-when-the-circumstances-shift) — fickle nature.
The dog's-bag image: śvāna jhōḷī svāmi-sattā — kōpa yētām utarē — a dog's bag — by the master's sattā — when anger comes, it descends. Jhōḷī = bag. A dog carries-the-(food)-bag by-the-master's-sattā (authority); when-the-(master's)-anger-comes, (the bag)-descends (= is taken-away). The image: even-what-the-dog-carries depends-on-the-master; when-the-master is-displeased, the-dog-loses-its-burden.
The closing — speak out: Tukā mhaṇē gumāna kām — sāngōm lōkām adhamāsī — Tuka says: why be silent — let me tell the people of the adhama. Gumāna = silence, hesitation. Why be-silent? Let-me-tell people of-the-adhama (= I will-not-be-silent-about-the-base-ones).
[T]
For someone today
For today: māhāra fills with mother's snake — what's truly ahead unknown; foul, adhama's guṇas — depart in a moment; dog's bag by master's sattā — anger comes, descends; Tuka says — why silent — tell people of adhama.
Where this applies
- When someone's good behavior toward you suddenly disappears the moment circumstances change.
- When you notice your security depends entirely on staying in a powerful person's good graces.
- When you are tempted to stay silent about someone's bad character just to keep the peace.
- When you see a person acting kind only as long as it benefits them, and turning cold the moment it does not.