Abhanga 2886
THE canonical anti-vain-prattle text. Without Nāma — what useless chatter; vain prattle without Hari. Freely tells others' stories — Rāma doesn't come to (his) speech. Gathers loafer-friends and drinks alcohol — intoxicated by viṣaya-guṇa. Sitting, mocks others — no remembrance of Govinda. Mighty Yama grinds teeth at him — until the āyuṣya-rope fills. Who will release you? — Nārāyaṇa (you have) not remembered. The five-fold downward-trajectory: (1) Nāma-less chatter; (2) gossip about others; (3) alcohol + viṣaya-intoxication; (4) mockery; (5) Yama already-grinding-teeth. The diagnostic-question: am I speaking-Nāma or vaṭa-vaṭa? The verse extends 2884's mortality-warning (the māpārī) with the specific-social-failures of the non-remembrer.
The verse
नामाविण काय वाउगी चावट । वांयां वटवट हरीविण ॥१॥
फुकट चि सांगे लोकाचिया गोष्टी । राम जगजेठी वाचे नये ॥ध्रु.॥
मेळवूनि चाट करी सुरापान । विषयांच्या गुणें माततसे ॥२॥
बैसोनि टवाळी करी दुजयाची । नाहीं गोविंदाची आठवण ॥३॥
बळें यम दांत खाय तयावरी । जंव भरे दोरी आयुष्याची ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे तुला सोडवील कोण । नाहीं नारायण आठविला ॥५॥
Literal translation
Nāmāviṇa kāya vāugī chāvaṭa — without Nāma — what vāugī chāvaṭa (useless chatter, vain-jabbering); vāmyām vaṭa-vaṭa Harī-viṇa — vain vaṭa-vaṭa (prattle, idle-words) without Hari. Phukaṭa chi sānge lōkāñciyā gōṣṭī — (he) freely tells the gōṣṭī (stories) of (other) lōka (people); Rāma jagajeṭhī vāche nye — Rāma jagajeṭhī (world-conqueror) doesn't come to (his) speech. Meḷavūni chāṭa karī surā-pāna — gathering chāṭa (loafer-friends), (he) does surā-pāna (alcohol-drinking); viṣayāñcyā guṇe mātatase — by the guṇa of viṣaya (sense-objects), (he is) mātatasē (intoxicated). Baisōnī ṭavāḷī karī dujayāñcī — sitting, (he) does ṭavāḷī (mockery) of others; nāhī Govindāñcī āṭhavaṇa — there is no āṭhavaṇa (remembrance) of Govinda. Baḷe yama dāmta khāya tayāvarī — mighty yama grinds (his) teeth at him; jamva bhare dōrī āyuṣyāñcī — until the dōrī (rope) of āyuṣya fills. Tukā says: tulā sōḍavīla kōṇa — who will release you?; nāhī Nārāyaṇa āṭhavilā — (you have) not remembered Nārāyaṇa.
What it means
A canonical 5-verse anti-vain-prattle Nāma-supremacy verse. The verse-portrait is precise: the Nāma-less person engages in useless-chatter, gossip, intoxication, mockery — and Yama is already-grinding-teeth at him.
Verse 1 (the diagnostic): Nāmāviṇa kāya vāugī chāvaṭa — vāmyām vaṭa-vaṭa Harī-viṇa — without Nāma — vain-chatter; vain-prattle without Hari. The opening-diagnostic: speech-without-Nāma is mere-chatter.
Verse 2 (gossip): Phukaṭa chi sānge lōkāñciyā gōṣṭī — Rāma jagajeṭhī vāche nye — freely tells others'-stories — Rāma-jagajeṭhī doesn't come to speech. The diagnostic of gossiping-about-others.
Verse 3 (intoxication): Meḷavūni chāṭa karī surā-pāna — viṣayāñcyā guṇe mātatase — gathers loafer-friends, drinks alcohol — intoxicated by viṣaya-guṇa. The downward-trajectory: gossip leads to alcohol; viṣaya-intoxication follows.
Verse 4 (mockery): Baisōnī ṭavāḷī karī dujayāñcī — nāhī Govindāñcī āṭhavaṇa — sitting, mocks others — no remembrance of Govinda. The final social-action: mockery-of-others while Govinda-remembrance is absent.
Verse 5 (death-clock): Baḷe yama dāmta khāya tayāvarī — jamva bhare dōrī āyuṣyāñcī — Yama grinds teeth at him — until the rope of āyuṣya fills. The mortality-image: Yama's teeth are already-grinding; the āyuṣya-rope is filling up. (When-it-fills, time-is-up.)
Close: Tukā mhaṇe tulā sōḍavīla kōṇa — nāhī Nārāyaṇa āṭhavilā — who will release you? — (you have) not remembered Nārāyaṇa. The closing question: no-Nārāyaṇa-remembrance now → no-one-to-release-at-death. (Pairs with 2855 Hari-mhaṇatām kāḷa-yama-becomes-śaraṇa.)
For someone today
THE canonical anti-vain-prattle text. Without Nāma — what useless chatter; vain prattle without Hari. Freely tells others' stories — Rāma doesn't come to (his) speech. Gathers loafer-friends and drinks alcohol — intoxicated by viṣaya-guṇa. Sitting, mocks others — no remembrance of Govinda. Mighty Yama grinds teeth at him — until the āyuṣya-rope fills. Who will release you? — Nārāyaṇa (you have) not remembered. The five-fold downward-trajectory: (1) Nāma-less chatter; (2) gossip about others; (3) alcohol + viṣaya-intoxication; (4) mockery; (5) Yama already-grinding-teeth. The diagnostic-question: am I speaking-Nāma or vaṭa-vaṭa? The verse extends 2884's mortality-warning (the māpārī) with the specific-social-failures of the non-remembrer.
Where this applies
- THE canonical anti-vain-prattle / Nāma-supremacy text
- Recognizing vāmyām-vaṭa-vaṭa-without-Hari as the symptom
- Yama-grinds-teeth-at-the-non-remembrer warning
- The five-fold downward-trajectory from chatter to Yama-grinding
- Pairs with 2884 (māpārī mortality-warning), 2879 (no-disqualification-from-saying-Hari)