Abhanga 2310
For today: I'm not a true dāsa — yet this drum-beat; what shall I do — you know all; no puṇya-knot — for whom to spend; Tuka says — why grow upādhi — kṛpā-nidhi.
The verse
नव्हें दास खरा । परि जाला हा डांगोरा ॥१॥ यासी काय करूं आतां । तूं हें सकळ जाणता ॥ध्रु.॥ नाहीं पुण्यगाठीं । जे हें वेचूं कोणासाठीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे कां उपाधी । वाढविली कृपानिधी ॥३॥
Literal translation
English: I'm not a true dāsa — yet this drum-beat has happened. What shall I do now — you know all this. There's no puṇya-knot in [my] possession — for whom shall I spend this. Tuka says: why [grow] upādhi — you've grown [it], kṛpā-nidhi.
Word-by-word gloss
| Marathi | Meaning |
|---|---|
| नव्हें दास खरा | "I'm not a true dāsa" |
| परि जाला हा डांगोरा | "yet this drum-beat has happened" |
| यासी काय करूं आतां | "what shall I do now" |
| तूं हें सकळ जाणता | "you know all this" |
| नाहीं पुण्यगाठीं | "there's no puṇya-knot in [my] possession" |
| जे हें वेचूं कोणासाठीं | "for whom shall I spend this" |
| तुका म्हणे कां उपाधी | "Tuka says — why [grow] upādhi" |
| वाढविली कृपानिधी | "you've grown [it], kṛpā-nidhi" |
What it means
★ SELF-DEPRECATION before-the-Aḷankāpurī-Brahmin-pilgrim ★. Third abhang of the upadēśa-cluster.
The opening — not-a-true-dāsa: navhēm dāsa kharā — pari jālā hā ḍāngōrā — I'm not a true dāsa — yet this drum-beat has happened. Ḍāngōrā = drum-beat, public-announcement. I'm-not-a-true-dāsa; yet-this-drum-beat (= the-fame-that-brought-the-Brahmin-here) has-happened. The bhakta-protests-the-fame (= the Aḷankāpurī-Brahmin came-because-Tukārām's-name-was-drum-beaten, but-Tukārām doesn't-feel-he-is-truly-a-dāsa).
The puzzle: yāsī kāya karūm ātām — tūm hē sakaḷa jāṇatā — what shall I do now — you know all this. What-shall-I-do-now? You-know-all-this.
The no-puṇya-stock: nāhīm puṇya-gāṇṭhīm — jē hē vēchūm kōṇāsāṭhīm — there's no puṇya-knot in [my] possession — for whom shall I spend this. I-have-no-puṇya-knot-(in-store) to-spend-on-anyone.
The closing — why-grow-my-upādhi: Tukā mhaṇē kām upādhī — vāḍhavilī kṛpā-nidhī — Tuka says: why [grow] upādhi — you've grown [it], kṛpā-nidhi. Why-(have-you)-grown my-upādhi (the trouble-of-being-famous), kṛpā-nidhi? The bhakta's-complaint: the fame-that-attracts-pilgrims is-itself-a-burden.
Within the cluster: this self-deprecation continues from 2308's Lord plays in both places — Tukārām appeals-that-the-Lord, not-Tukārām himself, handle-the-Brahmin's-case.
[T]
For someone today
For today: I'm not a true dāsa — yet this drum-beat; what shall I do — you know all; no puṇya-knot — for whom to spend; Tuka says — why grow upādhi — kṛpā-nidhi.
Where this applies
- Not-true-dāsa-yet-drum-beat.* Navhēm-dāsa-kharā-jālā-ḍāngōrā.
- No-puṇya-stock-to-spend.* Nāhīm-puṇya-gāṇṭhīm-vēchūm-kōṇāsāṭhīm.
- Why-grow-my-upādhi.* Kām-upādhī-vāḍhavilī-kṛpā-nidhī.