Abhanga 2959
A useful satirical anti-mercenary-singer warning. Uplifting (his) mouth, (he) makes a great loud cry. (He) varies the rāga; but what he sings cannot be understood. Holding hope in (his) mind — that something will be given; for the belly's sake — (he) has become toiling-much. The verse names the singer-for-money signature: (1) loud-uplifted-cry; (2) varied-rāga but-no-meaning; (3) hope-for-payment; (4) toil-for-stomach. The diagnostic-test: does the singer sing-for-Lord or for-belly?
The verse
वरतें करोनियां तोंड । हाका मारितो प्रचंड ॥१॥
राग आळवितो नाना । गातो काय तें कळेना ॥ध्रु.॥
आशा धरोनि मनीं । कांहीं देईंल म्हणऊनि ॥२॥
पोटा एका साटीं । तुका म्हणे जाले कष्टी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Varate karōnīyām tōṇḍa — uplifting (his) mouth; hākā māritō prachaṇḍa — (he) makes a greatprachaṇḍa(loud)hākā(call, cry). Rāga āḷavitō nānā — (he) varies therāga(musical-mode); gātō kāya te kaḷenā — what he is singing cannot be understood. Āśā dharōnī manī — holdingāśā(hope) in (his) mind; kāmhī deīla mhaṇaūnī — (thinking that) something will be given. Pōṭā ekā sāṭīm — for thepōṭa(belly's) sake alone; Tukā says: jāle kaṣṭī — (he) has becomekaṣṭī(toiling-much).
What it means
A short anti-mercenary-singer satirical verse. Varate karōnīyām tōṇḍa — hākā māritō prachaṇḍa — uplifting his mouth — loud cry. The opening-image: singer-with-uplifted-face-and-loud-voice.
Rāga āḷavitō nānā — gātō kāya te kaḷenā — varies the rāga — what he sings cannot be understood. The diagnostic: much-musical-variation but no-meaning.
Āśā dharōnī manī — kāmhī deīla mhaṇaūnī — hope in mind — something will be given. The motive: expectation-of-payment.
The close: Pōṭā ekā sāṭīm — Tukā mhaṇe jāle kaṣṭī — for belly's-sake only — toiling much. The diagnostic: all this toil — for stomach-only. (Compare 2744 pōṭā-sāṭhī khaṭa-paṭa — for-stomach-they-hassle.)
For someone today
A useful satirical anti-mercenary-singer warning. Uplifting (his) mouth, (he) makes a great loud cry. (He) varies the rāga; but what he sings cannot be understood. Holding hope in (his) mind — that something will be given; for the belly's sake — (he) has become toiling-much. The verse names the singer-for-money signature: (1) loud-uplifted-cry; (2) varied-rāga but-no-meaning; (3) hope-for-payment; (4) toil-for-stomach. The diagnostic-test: does the singer sing-for-Lord or for-belly?
Where this applies
- When you notice someone perform devotion loudly and dramatically while clearly angling for money or attention
- When you catch yourself going through religious motions mainly to please a paying audience
- When a performance is so showy that the actual meaning behind it gets completely lost
- When you want to check your own motive before doing something that looks like devotion