Abhanga 2997
Kanhoba protests the unfairness of unending hardship compared to the peace his ancestors received, saying the visible gap between the fed and the starving is too much to bear in silence.
The verse
पूवाअ पूर्वजांची गती । हे चि आईंकिली होती । सेवे लावूनि श्रीपती । निश्चिंती केली तयांची ॥१॥
कां रे पाठी लागलासी । ऐसा सांग हृषीकेशी । अद्यापवरी न राहासी । अंत पाहासी किती म्हुण ॥ध्रु.॥
जन्मजन्मांतरीं दावा । आम्हां आपणां केशवा । निमित्य चालवा । काईंसयास्तव हें ॥२॥
तुकयाबंधु म्हणे अदेखणा । किती होसी नारायणा । देखों सकवेना । खातयासी न खात्या ॥३॥
Literal translation
Pūrvā pūrvajāñcī gatī — thegatī(lot, destiny) of past-ancestors; he chi āīmkilī hōtī — this we had heard. Seve lāvūnī Śrīpatī — engaging (them) insevā, Śrīpati; niścintī kelī tayāñcī — madeniścintī(free-of-care) for them. Kām re pāṭhī lāgalāsī — why have you come-after-(us); aise sānga Hrṣīkeśī — say so, Hrṣīkeśī; adyāpavarī na rāhāsī — even-now you-do-not-stay (your hand); anta pāhāsī kitī mhuṇa — how long will-you-test-the-end, saying (= what)? Janma-janmāntarī dāvā — in life-after-life,dāvā(custom, demand, offering); āmhām āpaṇām Keśavā — for us and yourself, Keśava; nimitya chālavā — kāīmsayāstava he — why-takenimitya(cause, pretext) — for what? Tukyā-bandhu mhaṇe adekhaṇā — Tukārām's-brother says:adekhaṇā(un-suitable to-look-at, un-seen); kitī hōsī Nārāyaṇā — how much (more) will-you-become, Nārāyaṇa; dekhōm sakavēnā — (the) sight (of-this) cannot-be-borne; khātayāsī na khātyā — (the difference) between eater and non-eater (one fed, one starved).
What it means
A striking 3-verse injustice-protest verse by Tukyā-bandhu. NON-Tukārām.
The bhakta-brother's complaint: past-ancestors (of-our-line) engaged-in-sevā and-the-Lord made them niścintī (free-of-care); why is it different for-us? The injustice-claim: the Lord has-not-stayed-his-hand even-after-we've-engaged-in-sevā; instead-he-keeps-testing-us.
The closing-image: the difference between eater and non-eater (one-fed, one-starved) is intolerable to see. The Lord's-favoritism is so-blatant that the very-sight cannot-be-borne.
For someone today
This is Kānhobā's raw protest against injustice, not a lesson from Tukārām himself. He points out that the Lord took care of past generations, freeing them from worry once they served him — so why does the Lord keep testing him and his family instead of doing the same for them? He asks bluntly why service should be repaid so unevenly, life after life. The image that closes the verse is stark: watching one person eat well while another goes hungry is unbearable to witness, and it feels like the Lord is simply playing favorites. It gives you permission to voice that same complaint when your devotion hasn't brought the relief you were promised.
मराठी: ही तुकारामांच्या भावाची, कान्होबाची, अन्यायाविरुद्धची थेट तक्रार आहे — ती तुकारामांची स्वतःची शिकवण नाही. तो सांगतो की परमेश्वराने पूर्वजांची सेवा स्वीकारून त्यांना निश्चिंत केले होते — मग आपल्याच घरच्यांची परीक्षा तो सतत का घेत आहे, त्यांना तसाच दिलासा का देत नाही? जन्मोजन्मी सेवा करूनही असा भेदभाव का, असा तो स्पष्ट प्रश्न विचारतो. शेवटी एक विदारक चित्र उभे राहते — एक जण पोटभर खातो आणि दुसरा उपाशी राहतो, हे पाहणे असह्य आहे, जणू परमेश्वराचा पक्षपातच दिसतो. भक्ती करूनही अपेक्षित दिलासा मिळत नसेल, तेव्हा अशी तक्रार मांडण्याची मुभा हा अभंग देतो.
Where this applies
- When you compare your own hardship to others who seem to have been rewarded for similar faithfulness.
- When you feel you've done everything asked of you and yet the trials keep coming without relief.
- When you witness a stark gap between people who have enough and people who go without, and it feels wrong to stay quiet about it.
- When you want to ask directly why suffering continues despite years of devotion or service.