Abhanga 3429
Even relentless inner struggles like anger and desire can be borne honestly, accepted as part of one's fate rather than a battle fully within one's control.
The verse
कामक्रोध माझे लावियेले पाठीं । बहुत हिंपुटीं जालों देवा ॥१॥
आवरितां तुझे तुज नावरती । थोर वाटे चित्तीं आश्चर्य हें ॥ध्रु.॥
तुझिया विनोदें आम्हां प्राणसाटी । भयभीत पोटीं सदा दुःखी ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे माझ्या कपाळाचा गुण । तुला हांसे कोण समर्थासी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Kāma-krōdha-set-on-my-back — greatly-harassed. Restraining-doesn't-control-your-own — great-āścharya. Your-vinōda — for-us-prāṇa-sāṭi — always-duḥkhī. Tukā: my-kapāḷa's-guṇa — who-laughs-at-samartha.
What it means
A 3-verse complaint-petition. Even you cannot restrain your own kāma-krōdha — your sport costs us our life-breath; this is my fate — who can laugh at the all-powerful?
For someone today
Tukaram admits he's been chased relentlessly by lust and anger, which sit on his back like a burden he can't shake off, leaving him worn down and troubled. He notices something strange, even God, who created these forces, seems unable to fully restrain them, and that paradox genuinely puzzles him. What feels like a divine game or sport ends up costing ordinary people dearly, leaving their hearts fearful and their lives full of suffering. In the end he shrugs it off as simply his own fate, admitting that no one, however clever, can really laugh at or outwit the all-powerful.
मराठी: तुकाराम कबूल करतात की काम आणि क्रोध त्यांच्या पाठीशी सतत लागले आहेत, ओझ्यासारखे जे झटकताच येत नाही, त्यामुळे ते थकून, त्रासून गेले आहेत. त्यांना एक विचित्र गोष्ट जाणवते, या शक्ती निर्माण करणारा देवसुद्धा त्यांना पूर्णपणे आवरू शकत नाही, आणि हा विरोधाभास त्यांना खरोखर बुचकळ्यात टाकतो. जे देवाचे खेळ किंवा विनोद वाटते ते सामान्य माणसांना मात्र खूप महाग पडते, त्यांची मने भयभीत आणि आयुष्य दुःखाने भरलेले राहते. शेवटी ते हे आपले नशीब म्हणून स्वीकारतात, आणि कबूल करतात की कितीही हुशार असला तरी कोणीही सर्वशक्तिमानाला हसू शकत नाही किंवा फसवू शकत नाही.
Where this applies
- When lust or anger keep resurfacing no matter how hard you try to control them
- When you're puzzled that even powerful forces or systems can't fully restrain their own creations
- When something that feels like a game to others causes you real fear and suffering
- When you resign yourself to a difficult pattern in life as simply your own fate to bear