Abhanga 2967
Surrendering your own will entirely to keep another person satisfied, at the cost of your purpose and devotion, wastes a life, though this is one man's specific complaint, not a rule about women.
The verse
बाइले अधीन होय ज्याचें जिणें । तयाच्या अवलोकनें पडिजे द्वाड ॥१॥
कासया ते जंत जिताती संसारीं । माकडाच्या परी गारोड्यांच्या ॥ध्रु.॥
वाइलेच्या मना येईंल तें खरें । अभागी तें पुरें बाइलेचें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे मेंग्या गाढवाचें जिणें । कुतर्याचें खाणें लगबगा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Bāile adhīna hōya jyāñce jiṇe — (he) whose life isadhīna(subject) to thebāila(wife); tayāñcyā avalōkane paḍije dvāḍa — at hisavalōkana(sight, beholding), one falls (becomes)dvāḍa(vile, repulsive). Kāsayā te janta jitātī samsārī — for what (purpose) do thesejanta(creatures) live insamsāra; mākaḍāñcyā parī gārōḍyāñcyā — (they live) like themākaḍa(monkeys) ofgārōḍī(snake-charmers)? Bāileñcyā manā yeīla te khare — whatever comes to thebāila'smind — that (becomes) true; abhāgī te pure bāileñce — theabhāgī(unfortunate) ispure(fulfilled) by thebāila. Tukā says: mengyā gāḍhavāñce jiṇe — themengyā-gāḍhavāñce(stupid-donkey's) life; kutaryāñce khāṇe lagabagā — eats like akutarā(dog) —lagabagā(greedily-grasping).
What it means
A 4-verse anti-wife-subjection polemic. Paired with 2966 as a 2-abhang cluster on the same theme.
Verse 1: Bāile adhīna hōya jyāñce jiṇe — tayāñcyā avalōkane paḍije dvāḍa — whose life is wife-subject — at his sight, one becomes vile. The diagnostic-claim: even-seeing such-a-man makes-one-feel-vile.
Dhrūpada: Kāsayā te janta jitātī samsārī — mākaḍāñcyā parī gārōḍyāñcyā — for what do these creatures live — like snake-charmer's-monkeys? The image: snake-charmer's-monkeys do-tricks at-the-charmer's-command, having-no-will-of-their-own. So-too the wife-subject-husband.
Verse 2: Bāileñcyā manā yeīla te khare — abhāgī te pure bāileñce — whatever comes to wife's mind — that becomes true; the unfortunate is fulfilled-by-the-wife. The diagnostic: the wife rules the household; the husband is unfortunately-fulfilled-by-her-orders.
Close: Tukā mhaṇe mengyā gāḍhavāñce jiṇe — kutaryāñce khāṇe lagabagā — stupid-donkey's life — eats like a dog, greedily-grasping. The brutal-conclusion.
Note on social-context: As with 2966, this text is bound-to-its-17th-c context. The criticism is specifically of bhakti-preventing household-subjection, not of women generally. Tukārām elsewhere honors-women (2811 mother-image, 2810 sant-women including Mīrā-Janī-Sajana, 2896 māyabāpe-Kāśī). The text must-be-read-historically.
For someone today
A 17th-century polemic by Tukārām against being subject to one's wife. (He) whose life is subordinate to the wife — at his sight, one becomes vile. For what do these creatures live in samsāra — like snake-charmer's monkeys? Whatever comes to the wife's mind — that becomes true; the unfortunate is fulfilled by the wife. The stupid donkey's life — eats like a dog, grasping greedily. The text criticizes household subjection that prevents bhakti. It must be understood in its historical context, shaped by 17th-century patriarchal norms, and read alongside Tukārām's respect for sant women and for mothers elsewhere.
मराठी: तुकाराम महाराजांचा हा १७व्या शतकातील अभंग बायकोच्या पूर्ण अधीन राहणाऱ्या पुरुषावर टीका करतो. ज्याचे जीवन बायकोच्या अधीन असते, त्याला पाहताच माणसाला किळस येते. असे लोक संसारात कशासाठी जगतात — जणू गारुड्याची माकडे? बायकोच्या मनात जे येईल तेच खरे मानले जाते; असा दुर्दैवी पुरुष तिच्याच मर्जीवर जगतो. अशा माणसाचे जिणे मूर्ख गाढवासारखे — कुत्र्यासारखे लालचीपणाने खाणारे. हा मजकूर भक्तीच्या आड येणाऱ्या घरगुती दास्यावर टीका करतो. हे १७व्या शतकातील पितृसत्ताक विचारसरणीच्या पार्श्वभूमीवर समजून घ्यायला हवे, आणि तुकारामांनी अन्यत्र संत स्त्रिया व मातांबद्दल दाखवलेल्या आदराबरोबरच वाचायला हवे.
Where this applies
- 17th-c anti-wife-subjection polemic — bound to time-and-context
- Pairs with 2966 as 2-abhang anti-bad-wife cluster
- Documentary-evidence of 17th-c household-tensions
- Note: must be contextualized historically; not prescriptive