Abhanga 2767
Craving honor invites disgrace, and dressing up a desire with a nicer name never changes what it actually is.
The verse
मान इच्छी तो अपमान पावे । अमंगळ सवे अभाग्याची ॥१॥
एकाचिये अंगीं दुजियाचा वास । आशा पुढें नाश सद्धि करी ॥ध्रु.॥
आधीं फळासी कोठें पावों शके । वासनेची भिकेवरी चाली ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे राजहंस ढोरा नांव । काय तया घ्यावें अळंकाराचें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Māna ichchhī tō apamāna pāve — one whoichchhī(desires)māna(honor) —pāve apamāna(gets disgrace); amangaḷa savē abhāgyāñcī — (this)amangaḷa(inauspicious-thing) issavē(companion) of theabhāgya(misfortunate). Ekāñciye angīm dujiyāñcā vāsa — in one'sanga(body), thedujā(other, second)'svāsa(dwelling); āśā puḍhē nāśa siddhi karī — āśā (desire) precedesnāśa-siddhi(destruction-perfection). Ādhīm fāḷāsī kōṭhē pāvō śake — first, where can (one) at-allpāvō(reach)fāḷa(fruit)?; vāsanēñcī bhikēvarī chālī — by thevāsanēñcī(vāsanā's)bhikēvarī chālī(beggar-route walk). Tukā says: rāja-hamsa ḍhōrā nāva — therāja-hamsa(royal-swan) calledḍhōrā(cattle); kāya tayā ghyāve aḷankārāñce — whataḷankāra(ornament) is taken (by the name-substitution)?
What it means
A sharp diagnostic verse. Māna ichchhī tō apamāna pāve — amangaḷa savē abhāgyāñcī — one who desires honor gets disgrace — the inauspicious is the misfortunate's companion. The celebrated-line: the very desire-for-honor produces disgrace. The māna-seeker attracts apamāna by his seeking. And the abhāgya (misfortunate-one) has amangaḷa (inauspicious-event) as constant savē (companion).
The dhrūpada: ekāñciye angīm dujiyāñcā vāsa — āśā puḍhē nāśa siddhi karī — in one's body, the other's dwelling; āśā precedes nāśa-siddhi (destruction-perfection). The diagnostic-claim: āśā (desire) precedes nāśa (destruction). Āśā is the precursor. Siddhi karī — perfects-the-destruction — the desire brings the destruction to its perfection. The desire-engine produces destruction.
The second verse: ādhīm fāḷāsī kōṭhē pāvō śake — vāsanēñcī bhikēvarī chālī — first, where can one reach the fruit at all? — by the vāsanā's beggar-route walk. The bhakta points out: given vāsanā-beggar-route, where would you even reach the fruit? Bhikēvarī chālī — the walking of the beggar (who walks-with-extended-hand). The vāsanā-driven walking never arrives at the fruit.
The close offers the celebrated name-substitution-test: rāja-hamsa ḍhōrā nāva — kāya tayā ghyāve aḷankārāñce — the royal-swan calledḍhōrā(cattle, beast) — what ornament is taken (by this)? Calling the royal-swan (the most-noble bird) by the name ḍhōrā (cattle, lowly-beast) — does this change anything substantive? No. The ornament (aḷankāra) — the renaming — doesn't change the substance. (Compare 2649's surā-called-milk, 2740's poison-called-amrta.)
For someone today
A useful canonical diagnostic. One who desires honor gets disgrace; amangaḷa is the misfortunate's companion. In one's body, the other's dwelling — āśā precedes destruction-perfection. Where can one even reach the fruit by vāsanā's beggar-route walk? Calling the royal-swan cattle — what ornament does that give? The structure: (1) desire-for-honor is its own punishment; (2) āśā is the engine of destruction; (3) vāsanā-driven walking never arrives; (4) renaming doesn't change substance. The verse is unsparing about how seeking honor produces disgrace, and about how renaming something doesn't fool anyone.
मराठी: एक उपयुक्त पारंपरिक निदान. जो मानाची इच्छा करतो त्याला अपमान मिळतो; अमंगळ हा दुर्दैवी माणसाचा सोबती असतो. एकाच्या अंगात दुसऱ्याचा वास असतो — आशा ही विनाशाच्या पूर्णतेच्या आधी येते. वासनेच्या भिकाऱ्यासारख्या वाटचालीने फळ तरी कुठे मिळणार? राजहंसाला ढोर म्हटलं तर त्यातून काय अलंकार मिळतो? रचना अशी आहे: (१) मानाची इच्छा हीच स्वतःची शिक्षा ठरते; (२) आशा हेच विनाशाचं इंजिन आहे; (३) वासनेने चाललेली वाटचाल कधीच पोहोचत नाही; (४) नाव बदलल्याने वस्तूचं मूळ स्वरूप बदलत नाही. मान मिळवण्याच्या इच्छेतून अपमानच कसा निर्माण होतो, आणि नाव बदलल्याने कुणाचीच फसवणूक कशी होत नाही, याबद्दल हा अभंग निर्दय आहे.
Where this applies
- When you're chasing recognition or status and can't figure out why it keeps backfiring on you
- When you notice a craving quietly steering your choices toward a goal you'll never truly reach
- When you dress up a selfish motive in noble-sounding language to make it seem acceptable
- When you want a plain check for whether your effort is chasing the actual fruit or just performing