Abhanga 2801
Santa-sevēsī anga chōrī — (one who) does anga-chōrī (body-stealing, holding-back) from santa-sevā; drṣṭi na paḍō tayāvarī — let the drṣṭi (gaze) not fall on him.
The verse
संतसेवेसि अंग चोरी । दृष्टी न पडो तयावरी ॥१॥
ऐसियासी व्याली रांड । जळो जळो तिचें तोंड ॥ध्रु.॥
संतचरणीं ठेवितां भाव । आपेंआप भेटे देव ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे संतसेवा । माझ्या पूर्वजांचा ठेवा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Santa-sevēsī anga chōrī — (one who) does anga-chōrī (body-stealing, holding-back) from santa-sevā; drṣṭi na paḍō tayāvarī — let the drṣṭi (gaze) not fall on him. Aisiyāsī vyālī rāṇḍa — such-a-one — vyālī rāṇḍa (the rāṇḍa (degraded-woman) who-bore-him); jaḷō jaḷō tichē tōṇḍa — let-her-mouth-burn, let-her-mouth-burn. Santa-charaṇī ṭhevitām bhāva — placing bhāva at the sant-feet; āpem-āpa bheṭē Deva — Deva meets āpem-āpa (of-itself, on-its-own). Tukā says: santa-sevā mājhyā pūrvajāñcā ṭhevā — santa-sevā is my pūrvajāñcā ṭhevā (ancestors' stored-inheritance).
What it means
A strong santa-sevā-foundational verse. Santa-sevēsī anga chōrī — drṣṭi na paḍō tayāvarī — the one who steals-his-body-away from santa-sevā — let the gaze not fall on him. Anga-chōrī (body-stealing, withholding-the-body) — refusing-to-do-the-physical-service. Tukārām's-response: don't even let your gaze fall on such a one. (Compare 2696's fajita-khōrā-mhaṇatām-baravā-ugā-rahā.)
The dhrūpada is unusually-harsh: aisiyāsī vyālī rāṇḍa — jaḷō jaḷō tichē tōṇḍa — the rāṇḍa who-bore-such-a-one — let her mouth burn, let her mouth burn. The vyālī rāṇḍa (the rāṇḍa-mother-who-gave-birth) — let her tōṇḍa (mouth) burn. The doubled jaḷō jaḷō (burn, burn) is emphatic. This is among Tukārām's harshest-curses; he reserves it for santa-sevā-avoiders.
The second verse names the operational-mechanism: santa-charaṇī ṭhevitām bhāva — āpem-āpa bheṭē Deva — placing bhāva at the sant-feet — Deva meets of-itself. The mechanism: bhāva-at-sant-feet → Deva-meets-of-itself. The Deva-meeting doesn't-require-direct-effort-toward-Deva; the sant-feet are the channel.
The close: santa-sevā mājhyā pūrvajāñcā ṭhevā — santa-sevā is my ancestors' stored-inheritance. The bhakta declares: santa-sevā is my pūrvajān-ṭhevā (inheritance from the ancestors). It is the family-tradition, not invented-now.
For someone today
A strong santa-sevā-foundational claim. The one who steals-his-body-away from santa-sevā — let the gaze not fall on him. Cursed be the mother who bore such a one. Placing bhāva at the sant-feet — Deva meets of-itself. Santa-sevā is my ancestors' stored-inheritance. The harshness-of-the-curse signals the importance-of-santa-sevā. The mechanism — bhāva-at-feet → Deva-meets-of-itself — names santa-sevā as the easiest route (because the Deva-meeting happens āpem-āpa, of-itself). And the family-tradition close grounds it in pūrvajān-ṭhevā — the ancestral-inheritance.
Where this applies
- The canonical santa-sevā-as-pūrvajān-ṭhevā family-tradition claim
- Recognizing bhāva-at-sant-feet → Deva-meets-of-itself mechanism
- The strong-stance against santa-sevā avoiders
- Santa-sevā as the easiest-route to Deva