Abhanga 2802
Time never releases a single moment back to you, so stop clinging to mine and mine, notice the signs already on your body, and turn toward God now before it is too late.
The verse
गेले पळाले दिवस रोज । काय म्हणतोसि माझें माझें ॥१॥
सळे धरोनि बैसला काळ । फाकों नेदी घटिका पळ ॥ध्रु.॥
कां रे अद्यापि न कळे । केश फिरले कान डोळे ॥२॥
हित कळोनि असतां हातीं । तोंडीं पाडोनि घेसी माती ॥३॥
तुज ठाउकें मी जाणार । पाया शोधोनि बांधिसी घर ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे वेगें । पंढरिराया शरण रिघें ॥५॥
Literal translation
Gele paḷāle divasa rōja — days have gone-fled, daily; kāya mhaṇatōsi mājhe mājhe — what (do you) saymājhe mājhe(mine, mine)? Saḷē dharōnī baisalā kāḷa — Kāḷa (Time) has sat-down clutching-tight (saḷē); fākōm nēdī ghaṭikā paḷa — does not let (a)ghaṭikā(24-min) orpaḷa(24-sec)fākōm(spread, escape). Kā re adyāpī na kaḷe — why still you don't know; kēśa firale kāna ḍoḷē — hair has turned (gray), ear (and) eye (have failed). Hita kaḷōnī asatām hātī — welfare being known (and) in the hand; tōṇḍī pāḍōnī ghēsī mātī — (you) putmātī(dirt) in (your) mouth. Tuja ṭhāukē mī jāṇāra — you know — I am going (i.e., the body is leaving); pāyā śōdhōnī bāndhisī ghara — yet seeking-the-foundation, you build the house. Tukā says: vegē — Paṇḍharī-rāyā śaraṇa righē — swiftly — take refuge in Paṇḍharī-rāyā.
What it means
A canonical 5-verse mortality-warning verse, companion to 2797. Each verse intensifies the warning.
1: Gele paḷāle divasa rōja — kāya mhaṇatōsi mājhe mājhe — days have gone-fled — what do you saymājhe mājhe? The challenge: days-are-gone, why do you still claim mine-mine?
2 (dhrūpada): Saḷē dharōnī baisalā kāḷa — fākōm nēdī ghaṭikā paḷa — Time has sat-down clutching-tight; doesn't release a ghaṭikā or paḷa. The image: Time clutching-tight, not-releasing even a minute. The saḷē-dharaṇa (clutching-firm) is unrelenting.
3: Kā re adyāpī na kaḷe — kēśa firale kāna ḍoḷē — why still don't you know — hair-turned, ear (and) eye (failing)? The physical-signs of aging are visible — gray hair, failing-ear-and-eye — and yet adyāpī na kaḷe (still you don't know).
4: Hita kaḷōnī asatām hātī — tōṇḍī pāḍōnī ghēsī mātī — welfare being-known in hand — (yet) you put dirt in your mouth. The contradiction: you KNOW the welfare; it's IN YOUR HAND; yet you put DIRT in your MOUTH. The voluntary-self-harm despite knowledge.
5: Tuja ṭhāukē mī jāṇāra — pāyā śōdhōnī bāndhisī ghara — you know I am going — yet (still) seeking-the-foundation, you build the house. The most-poignant-contradiction: the body knows it is going; yet the same body is still building-the-house. The pāyā-śōdhōnī (searching-for-foundation) is the project-of-permanent-construction; bāndhisī ghara (you build the house) — knowing you are leaving.
6 (close): vegē — Paṇḍharī-rāyā śaraṇa righē — swiftly — take refuge in Paṇḍharī-rāyā. The instruction: swiftly (not at-leisure) — take refuge.
This verse pairs with 2797 (kāḷa-grāsāvayā) and 2677 (jarā-karṇa-mūḷīm) to form Tukārām's three-fold mortality-warning canon. 2802 is unique in specifically-listing the physical-signs (gray-hair, failing-ear-eye) and naming the contradiction (knowing-yet-doing-otherwise).
For someone today
A canonical mortality-warning. Days have gone, why say mine? Time clutches tight, doesn't release a minute. Why still don't you know — hair-turned, ear-eye-failing? Welfare in hand, yet you put dirt in mouth. You know you're going, yet still you build the house. Swiftly — take Paṇḍharī-refuge. The most-piercing line: knowing the welfare is in hand, yet putting dirt in the mouth. The diagnostic-question: what dirt am I putting in my mouth, despite knowing the welfare is in my hand?
Where this applies
- When you notice signs of aging in your own body and realize you have been ignoring what they mean
- When you keep making choices you know are bad for you even though you can clearly see the better path
- When you are pouring energy into long-term plans while avoiding the deeper question of how you are spending your time
- When you feel it is time to stop delaying and turn seriously toward your spiritual life