संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 3167 of 4582

Abhanga 3167

Deha mrtyāñce bhātuke — deha (is) Death's snack; kaḷōm āle kavatuke — came-to-knowing as delight.

Tukārām's body-is-Death's-snack mortality-meditation

The verse

देह मृत्याचें भातुकें । कळों आलें कवतुकें ॥१॥ काय मानियेलें सार । हें चि वाटतें आश्चर्य ॥ध्रु.॥ नानाभोगांची संचितें । करूनि ठेविलें आइतें ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे कोडीं । उगवून न सकती बापुडीं ॥३॥

Literal translation

Deha mrtyāñce bhātukedeha (is) Death's snack; kaḷōm āle kavatukecame-to-knowing as delight. Kāya māniyele sārawhat taken as sāra; he chi vāṭatē āścharyathis feels (as) astonishment. Nānā-bhōgāñcī samchitevaried-bhōga accumulations; karūnī ṭhevile āitestored and readied. Tukā mhaṇe kōḍīTukā says: the knot; ugavūn na sakatī bāpuḍīthe helpless can't untie.

What it means

Tukārām's mortality-meditation: the-body-is-Death's-snack; we-(stupidly)-stored-up-bhōga-samchita; the-bhōga-knot-cannot-be-untied-by-the-helpless.

For someone today

The bhakti-warning: bhōga-stored is bhōga-knotted; without-bhakti-grace, the-knot-is-irresolvable.

Where this applies

Related verses