Abhanga 2913
The precise design of your body's senses, each doing its own distinct job in one body, points to a puppeteer behind it all, so do not forget the Infinite who animates you.
The verse
जिव्हा जाणे फिकें मधुर क्षार । येर मास पर हातास न कळे ॥१॥
देखावें नेत्रीं बोलावें मुखें । चित्ता सुखदुःखें कळों येती ॥ध्रु.॥
परिमळासी घ्राण ऐकती श्रवण । एकाचे कारण एका नव्हे ॥२॥
एकदेहीं भिन्न ठेवियेल्या कळा । नाचवी पुतळा सूत्रधारी ॥३॥
तुका म्हणे ऐशी जयाची सत्ता । कां तया अनंता विसरलेती ॥४॥
Literal translation
Jivhā jāṇe phike madhura kṣāra — thejivhā(tongue) knowsphike(insipid),madhura(sweet),kṣāra(salty); yera māsa para hātāsa na kaḷe — othermāsa(flesh, body-parts) — for the hand, (these) cannot be known. Dekhāve netrī bōlāve mukhe — (one should) see with thenetra(eye), speak with themukha(mouth); chittā sukha-duḥkhe kaḷōm yetī — sukha and duḥkha come tokaḷōm(knowing) in the chitta. Parimaḷāsī ghrāṇa aikatī śravaṇa — theghrāṇa(nose) (knows) theparimaḷa(fragrance); theśravaṇa(ear) listens; ekāñce kāraṇa ekā navhe — one's role is not another's. Eka-dehī bhinna ṭheviyelyā kaḷā — in one body, distinctkaḷā(faculties, arts) have been placed; nāchavī putalā sūtra-dhārī — thesūtra-dhārī(puppeteer) makes theputalā(puppet) dance. Tukā says: aiśī jayāñcī sattā — of whom is suchsattā(sovereign-power)?; kām tayā Anantā visaraletī — why have (you) forgotten thatAnanta?
What it means
A canonical 4-verse body-as-puppet, senses-as-distinct-faculties, one-puppeteer image-verse.
Verse 1: Jivhā jāṇe phike madhura kṣāra — yera māsa para hātāsa na kaḷe — tongue knows tastes — other body-parts, the hand doesn't know. The observation: only-the-tongue can-taste; the hand cannot, despite being made of the-same-flesh.
Dhrūpada: Dekhāve netrī bōlāve mukhe — chittā sukha-duḥkhe kaḷōm yetī — see with eye, speak with mouth — sukha-duḥkha come-to-knowing in chitta. The structured-division-of-faculties.
Verse 2: Parimaḷāsī ghrāṇa aikatī śravaṇa — ekāñce kāraṇa ekā navhe — the nose (knows) fragrance, ear listens — one's role is not another's. The complete-functional-division: each faculty has-its-own-role; no faculty does-another's-work.
Verse 3 (the puppeteer image): Eka-dehī bhinna ṭheviyelyā kaḷā — nāchavī putalā sūtra-dhārī — in one body, distinct faculties placed — the puppeteer makes the puppet dance. The image: the body is the puppet; the senses are the distinct kaḷā (faculties); the sūtra-dhārī (puppeteer) is the Lord.
Close: Tukā mhaṇe aiśī jayāñcī sattā — kām tayā Anantā visaraletī — of whom is such sattā (sovereign-power) — why have (you) forgotten that Ananta? The design-argument: the precise-design of the body-with-distinct-faculties points-to a designer; why-forget-him?
This is one of the most-precise design-argument-for-the-Lord verses in Tukārām. Each faculty cleanly-distinct, all in one body — points to a designer-puppeteer. Pairs with 2820 (Nārāyaṇa-puppeteer-and-monkeys-floated-stones).
For someone today
Tukaram points out something simple: your tongue can taste sweet, salty, or bland, but your hand — made of the very same flesh — can't taste anything at all. You see with your eyes, speak with your mouth, and feel joy and sorrow in your heart; your nose knows fragrance, your ears hear sound, and no one sense ever does another's job. All these distinct abilities live together in a single body, like a puppet made to dance by an unseen puppeteer. Whose power arranges things this precisely? Tukaram asks why we forget that Infinite one who animates us this way — the careful design of your own body is itself proof of the maker behind it.
मराठी: तुकाराम एक साधी गोष्ट दाखवतात — तुमची जीभ गोड, खारट किंवा बेचव चव ओळखते, पण हात, जो त्याच मांसाचा बनलेला आहे, त्याला कोणतीही चव कळत नाही. तुम्ही डोळ्यांनी पाहता, तोंडाने बोलता, आणि मनात सुख-दुःख जाणवते; नाकाला सुगंध कळतो, कानाला आवाज ऐकू येतो, आणि कोणतीही एक इंद्रिय दुसऱ्याचे काम करत नाही. या सर्व वेगवेगळ्या क्षमता एकाच शरीरात एकत्र राहतात, जणू एखाद्या अदृश्य सूत्रधाराने नाचवलेली बाहुली. इतक्या अचूकपणे हे सगळे कोणाच्या सत्तेने घडते? तुकाराम विचारतात, तुम्हाला अशा प्रकारे जिवंत ठेवणाऱ्या त्या अनंताला तुम्ही का विसरता — तुमच्या स्वतःच्या शरीराची काळजीपूर्वक रचना हाच त्या निर्मात्याचा पुरावा आहे.
Where this applies
- When you're marveling at how each of your senses does one job perfectly without overlapping into another's role
- When you feel like you're just moving through mechanical routines and want to remember a deeper power behind your own body
- When you're looking for evidence of a designer in ordinary, everyday workings rather than in dramatic miracles
- When you've been taking your own body and its abilities completely for granted