Abhanga 2872
Parate mī āhe sahaja chi dūrī — I am parate (away, on the other-side), naturally dūrī (far); vegaḷe bhikāri nāma-rūpā — a vegaḷā bhikāri (separate-beggar) from Nāma-rūpa (Name-form).
The verse
परतें मी आहें सहज चि दुरी । वेगळें भिकारी नामरूपा ॥१॥
न लगे रुसावें धरावा संकोच । सहज तें नीच आलें भागा ॥ध्रु.॥
पडिलिये ठायीं उच्छिष्ट सेवावें । आरते तें चि देवें केलें ऐसें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तुम्ही आम्हां जी वेगळे । केलेती निराळे द्विज देवें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Parate mī āhe sahaja chi dūrī — I am parate (away, on the other-side), naturally dūrī (far); vegaḷe bhikāri nāma-rūpā — a vegaḷā bhikāri (separate-beggar) from Nāma-rūpa (Name-form). Na lage rusāve dharāvā sankocha — (one) need not be angry, (need not) hold back; sahaja te nīcha āle bhāgā — naturally the nīcha (low) has come to (my) share. Paḍiliye ṭhāyī ucchiṣṭa sevāve — in the paḍiliye ṭhāyī (fallen-place), (I should) eat ucchiṣṭa (leftovers); ārate te chi Deve kele aise — the ārate (the eager, the requesting-thing) — Deva has made (it) such. Tukā says: tumhī āmhām jī vegaḷe — you, sir, have (made) us separate; keletī nirāḷe dvija Deve — Deva has made (us) nirāḷe (distinct) from the dvija (twice-born).
What it means
A 3-verse caste-marginality-as-Deva-given declaration. Parate mī āhe sahaja chi dūrī — vegaḷe bhikāri nāma-rūpā — I am away, naturally far — a separate-beggar from Nāma-rūpa. The opening self-positioning: I am vegaḷā (separate) from the Nāma-rūpa (the named-formal-religion); I am a bhikāri (beggar).
Na lage rusāve dharāvā sankocha — sahaja te nīcha āle bhāgā — don't be angry, don't hold back — naturally the low has come to my share. The acceptance: the nīcha-status came-naturally to me; no point in resentment.
Paḍiliye ṭhāyī ucchiṣṭa sevāve — ārate te chi Deve kele aise — in the fallen-place, eat leftovers — the eager-one — Deva has made (it) such. The discipline: eat ucchiṣṭa (leftovers) in the fallen-place. The ārate (eager, requesting) — Deva has made (the eager-one — the bhakta-himself) such.
The close: Tukā mhaṇe tumhī āmhām jī vegaḷe — keletī nirāḷe dvija Deve — you, sir, have (made) us separate — Deva has made (us) distinct from the dvija (twice-born). The radical-caste-claim: Deva-himself made-us-separate from the dvija-class. The caste-marginality is Deva-given, not accidental.
This is a Tukārām-self-positioning text — paired with 2755's śūdra-vamśī and 2742's yātī-hīna declarations. The bhakta accepts-his-low-status as Deva-given, eats-the-ucchiṣṭa-prasāda, and-becomes-a-vegaḷā-bhikāri-from-the-formal-religion. The status-low is not-resented but accepted-as-Deva-given.
For someone today
A canonical caste-marginality-as-Deva-given declaration. I am away, naturally far — a separate-beggar from Nāma-rūpa. Don't be angry, don't hold back — the low came naturally to my share. In the fallen-place, eat leftovers — the eager-one — Deva has made (it) such. You have made us separate — Deva has made (us) distinct from the dvija. The verse permits the low-caste-bhakta's-self-positioning: (1) the low-status came-naturally; (2) accept-it-without-resentment; (3) eat-ucchiṣṭa as-the-fitting-share; (4) the Lord-himself made-us-vegaḷā-from-the-dvija. The radical-claim: vegaḷā-from-the-dvija (separate-from-twice-born) is not punishment but Deva-given-distinctness — perhaps marking-the-bhakta-as-different (and-special) in his-own-way.
Where this applies
- The canonical caste-marginality-as-Deva-given declaration
- Recognizing vegaḷā-bhikāri-from-Nāma-rūpa self-positioning
- Deva-made-me-separate-from-the-dvija claim
- Pairs with 2755 (śūdra-vamśī) and 2742 (yātī-hīna) as caste-foundational