संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 2325 of 4582

Abhanga 2325

English: The children spoke — fool's crooked words.

The verse

बोलिलीं लेकुरें । वेडीं वांकुडीं उत्तरें ॥१॥ करा क्षमा अपराध । महाराज तुम्ही सिद्धी ॥ध्रु.॥ नाहीं विचारिला । अधिकार म्यां आपुला ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे ज्ञानेश्वरा । राखा पायांपें किंकरा ॥३॥

Literal translation

English: The children spoke — fool's crooked words. Forgive the offense — mahā-rāja, you are siddha. I haven't considered — my own adhikāra. ★ Tuka says — Jñāneśvara — keep this kinkara at your feet ★.

What it means

★ THE EXPLICIT JÑĀNEŚVARA-ADDRESS ABHANG ★. Third of the 4-abhang Jñānadēva-veneration cluster (2323-2326).

The opening — children's-crooked-words: bōlilīm lēkurē — vēḍīm vānkuḍīm uttarēthe children spoke — fool's crooked words. The children-(of-this-bhakta)-spoke fool's-crooked-words. Self-deprecation — Tukārām's-own-words to-Jñāneśvar are-children's-prattle.

The forgive-offense: karā kṣamā aparādha — mahā-rāja tumhī siddhīforgive the offense — mahā-rāja, you are siddha. Mahā-rāja = great-king. Siddhī = one perfected, siddha. Forgive-the-offense, mahā-rāja, you-are-siddha.

The no-adhikāra-considered: nāhīm vichārilā — adhikāra myām āpulāI haven't considered — my own adhikāra. I-haven't-considered my-own-adhikāra (qualification).

★ THE EXPLICIT JÑĀNEŚVARA-ADDRESS ★: Tukā mhaṇē Jñānēśvarā — rākhā pāyāmpē kinkarā★ Tuka says — Jñāneśvara — keep this kinkara at your feet ★. Kinkara = humble servant. ★ Tuka says: Jñāneśvara — keep this kinkara (humble servant) at your feet. ★ A direct-vocative-address-to-Jñāneśvar asking-to-be-kept-as-his-servant.

Historical-significance: this is one-of-the-explicit-direct-vocative-addresses to-Jñāneśvar in-Tukārām's-corpus, paired-with 2323's I-will-come-to-venerate-the-feet declaration and 2324's guru-of-jñānis veneration.

[T]

For someone today

For today: the children spoke — fool's crooked words; forgive the offense — mahā-rāja, you are siddha; I haven't considered — my own adhikāra; ★ Tuka says — Jñāneśvara — keep this kinkara at your feet ★.

Where this applies

Related verses