Abhanga 2570
Death is a constant companion for every being, and only when the mind turns away from the illusion of permanence does clear inner light become visible.
The verse
मेलियांच्या रांडा इच्छिती लेकरूं । लाज नाहीं धरूं प्रीती कैशी ॥१॥ मागिलां पुढिलां एकी सरोबरी । काळाची पेटारी खांदा वाहे ॥ध्रु.॥ आन दिसे परी मरणें चि खरें । सांपळा उंदिरें सामाविलीं ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे जाली मनाची परती । निवळली ज्योती दिसों आली ॥३॥
Literal translation
Widows-of-the-dead desire children — no shame in maintaining love, how?. Past and future in the same row — kāla's-bundle carried on shoulder. Appears otherwise — but death is true — mice trapped in cage. Tuka says: mind has turned-back — pure flame became seen.
What it means
THE STRONG-DEATH-IMAGERY ABHANG. Three concentric death-meditation images.
The widows-and-children: mēliyāñchyā rāṇḍā ichchhitī lēkarūm — widows-of-the-dead desire children. Even widows-of-the-already-dead desire children — the absurd-persistence of-creaturely-attachment in the face-of-mortality.
The kāla-bundle: kāḷāchī pēṭārī khāndā vāhē — kāla's-bundle carried on shoulder. Every-being carries kāla's-bundle on-its-shoulder — death-as-constant-companion.
The mice-in-trap: sāmpaḷā undirē sāmāvilīm — mice trapped in cage. All-living-beings are mice-in-a-cage, unaware of their entrapment.
The closing: jālī manāchī paratī — nivaḷalī jyōtī disōm ālī — mind has turned-back, pure flame became seen. Only-when-the-mind-turns-back from this delusion does the pure-flame become-visible.
[T]
For someone today
For today: widows desire children — kāla's-bundle on shoulder — mice in cage; turn the mind back — pure flame appears.
Where this applies
- When you notice yourself or others chasing comfort and permanence despite knowing life is fleeting
- When death feels distant and you need reminding that it travels with everyone, always
- When you are caught up in busy plans and forget you might be like a mouse unaware it is already trapped
- When you want to turn your mind inward, away from illusion, toward real clarity