Abhanga 2994
Even fierce grief and accusation toward God can be spoken plainly, as Kanhoba does here, instead of being hidden behind polite devotion.
The verse
आतां कळों आले गुण । अवघे चि यावरोन । चोखट लक्षण । धरिलें हें घरघेणें ॥१॥
या नांवें कृपासिंधु । म्हणवितोसी दीनबंधु । मज तरी मैंदु । दिसतोसी पाहातां ॥ध्रु.॥
अमळ दया नाहीं पोटीं । कठीण तैसाचि कपटी । अंधर्याची काठी । माझी गुदरसी च ना ॥२॥
तुकयाबंधु म्हणे पुरता । नाहीं म्हुण बरें अनंता । एरवीं असतां । तुझा घोंट भरियेला ॥३॥
Literal translation
Ātām kaḷōm āle guṇa — now theguṇa(qualities) have come to (my)kaḷōm(knowing); avaghe chi yāvarōn — from all (these); chōkhaṭa lakṣaṇa — dharile he ghara-gheṇe — the clearlakṣaṇa(mark) — you have-held-thisghara-gheṇe(house-grabbing-behavior). Yā nāve krpā-sindhu — in this name —krpā-sindhu(ocean-of-compassion); mhaṇavitōsī dīna-bandhu — you make (yourself) calleddīna-bandhu(friend-of-destitute); maja tarī maindu — disatōsī pāhātām — but to me, on looking, you look (like a)maindu(cheat). Amaḷa dayā nāhī pōṭī — (you have) noamaḷa-dayā(pure-compassion) in (your) belly; kaṭhīṇa taisāchi kapaṭī — (you are) harsh andkapaṭī(deceitful) likewise; andharyāñcī kāṭhī — mājhī gudarasī cha nā — theandharyāñcī kāṭhī(blind-man's-stick) — mine, you do notgudarasī(return, pass). Tukyā-bandhu mhaṇe pūrtā — nāhī mhuṇa bare Anantā — Tukārām's-brother says: notpūrtā(complete) — by (favor of) Ananta — good; eravīm asatām — tujhā ghōṭa bhariyelā — otherwise — I would havebhariyelā(emptied, filled) yourghōṭa(throat-pulse) (cursed-you-to-death).
What it means
A striking 3-verse protest verse by Tukyā-bandhu. NON-Tukārām. Critically: this verse directly-references Tukārām's-own abhang 2849 — the blind-man's-stick image — andharyāñcī kāṭhī. This is rare-direct textual-engagement-with-Tukārām's-own-work by-his-brother.
Verse 2 reference: andharyāñcī kāṭhī — mājhī gudarasī cha nā — the blind-man's-stick — mine, you do not return. This refers-to Tukārām's-2849: "He snatches the blind-man's stick — pushes (him) off the cliff" — and-extends-the-image: now Kānhōbā says the Lord-has-similarly-snatched-his-(family's)-stick (= Tukārām) and-doesn't-return-it.
Close: Tukyā-bandhu mhaṇe pūrtā — nāhī mhuṇa bare Anantā — eravīm asatām — tujhā ghōṭa bhariyelā — not complete — by favor of Ananta — good — otherwise — I would have emptied your throat-pulse. The brother says: if I were a complete-bhakta (sant) with-spiritual-power, I would have cursed-you-(the-Lord)-to-death; fortunately for you, I'm not such a sant. This is one of the most-radical bhakti-protests in the corpus.
For someone today
This is a striking protest by Kānhōbā, and it directly answers his own brother Tukārām's earlier verse about the blind man's stick. Now I can see your true colors, he says, and behind them all lies a clear mark of house-grabbing behavior. You call yourself an ocean of compassion, a friend of the destitute, but to me, looking closely, you seem like nothing but a cheat. There's no real compassion in your belly; you're harsh and deceitful just the same — you took away my blind man's stick and you won't give it back. Tukārām's brother says: it's a good thing I'm not a fully realized saint, by Ananta's grace — otherwise, I would have cursed you dead on the spot. The verse takes the image Tukārām himself used elsewhere and turns it back on the Lord directly, letting the grieving brother voice this fierce protest in the plainest, most unguarded terms.
मराठी: हा कान्होबांचा एक तीव्र निषेध आहे, आणि तो थेट तुकारामांच्याच 'आंधळ्याची काठी' या प्रतिमेला उत्तर देतो. आता तुझे खरे रंग दिसू लागले आहेत, ते म्हणतात, आणि यातून एक स्पष्ट खूण उघड होते — तू घर हिसकावून घेण्याचा हा स्वभाव जपला आहेस. तू स्वतःला कृपासिंधू, दीनबंधू म्हणवतोस, पण मला तर तू पाहताक्षणी लबाड वाटतोस. तुझ्या पोटात खरी करुणा नाही; तू तितकाच कठोर आणि कपटी आहेस — तू माझी आंधळ्याची काठी हिसकावलीस आणि परत देत नाहीस. तुकयाबंधू म्हणतात — अनंताच्या कृपेने बरे झाले की मी पूर्ण सामर्थ्यशाली संत नाही — नाहीतर मी तुझा घोट भरून टाकला असता. हा अभंग तुकारामांनीच वापरलेली प्रतिमा घेऊन ती थेट देवाकडेच वळवतो, आणि दुःखी भावाला हा तीव्र निषेध अगदी उघडपणे, बिनआडपडदा मांडू देतो.
Where this applies
- When you feel let down by someone whose kindness you always trusted, and you want to say so honestly instead of pretending it's fine.
- When someone close to you has been taken away and you can't make peace with it as an act of mercy.
- When you catch yourself using polite, pious language to cover up real anger or grief underneath.
- When you need permission to voice doubt about someone you deeply love, without that meaning you're walking away from them.