Abhanga 3545
Tukārām's anti-non-bhajaka warning. Why do you not bhajan Hari? — who will accept you? There will be yama-purī — yama-daṇḍa, yātanā. What hurry was (yours)? — what will you do there then? Why are you filled with pride? — they'll do rough-treatment as they take you on the path. The mouth gets a hot iron-clamp; the tongue is pulled and beaten. Why have you fallen for public-shame? — who will release you? Hold shame — don't go in vain, for free. The verse permits the canonical anti-non-bhajaka warning with yama-purī-imagery.
The verse
कां रे न भजसी हरी । तुज कोण अंगीकारी ॥१॥
होइल यमपुरी । यमदंड यातना ॥ध्रु.॥
कोण जाली लगबग । काय करिसि तेथें मग ॥२॥
कां रे भरला ताठा । करिती वोज नेतां वाटा ॥३॥
तोंडा पडिली खळिणी । जिव्हा पिटिती वोढूनि ॥४॥
कां रे पडिली जनलाज । कोण सोडवील तुज ॥५॥
लाज धरीं म्हणे तुका । नको वांयां जाऊं फुका ॥६॥
Literal translation
Kām re na bhajasī Harī — why don't you bhajan Hari; tuja kōṇa angīkārī — who will accept you. Hōila yama-purī — there will be yama-purī; yama-damḍa yātanā — yama-damḍa, yātanā. Kōṇa jālī laga-baga — what hurry was (yours); kāya karisi tethe maga — what will you do there then. Kām re bharalā ṭāṭhā — why is (you) filled with ṭāṭhā; karitī vōja netām vāṭā — they'll do rough-treatment taking on the path. Tōṇḍā paḍilī khaḷiṇī — the mouth gets a hot iron-clamp; jihvā piṭitī vōḍhūnī — the jihvā is pulled and beaten. Kām re paḍilī jana-lāja — why have you fallen for jana-lāja; kōṇa sōḍavīla tuja — who will release you. Lāja dharīm mhaṇe Tukā — Tukā says: hold shame; nakō vāmyām jāūm phukā — don't go in vain, for free.
What it means
A striking 6-verse anti-non-bhajaka warning by Tukārām. The 6 rhetorical-questions/warnings: 1. Why-don't-you-bhajan-Hari? who-will-accept-you? 2. Yama-purī-daṇḍa-yātanā await 3. What-was-the-hurry? what-will-you-do-there? 4. Why-filled-with-pride? rough-treatment-on-the-path 5. Red-hot-iron on-mouth; jihvā-pulled-and-beaten 6. Why-fall-for-public-shame? who-will-release-you?
Closing: hold-shame; don't-go-in-vain, for-nothing.
★ The image of jihvā-piṭitī (beaten and pulled) is striking — the tongue-that-didn't-bhajan-Hari is-the-organ-that-gets-the-yama-punishment.
For someone today
Tukārām's anti-non-bhajaka warning. Why do you not bhajan Hari? — who will accept you? There will be yama-purī — yama-daṇḍa, yātanā. What hurry was (yours)? — what will you do there then? Why are you filled with pride? — they'll do rough-treatment as they take you on the path. The mouth gets a hot iron-clamp; the tongue is pulled and beaten. Why have you fallen for public-shame? — who will release you? Hold shame — don't go in vain, for free. The verse permits the canonical anti-non-bhajaka warning with yama-purī-imagery.
Where this applies
- ★ Tukārām's 6-verse anti-non-bhajaka warning text
- Yama-daṇḍa, red-hot-iron-on-mouth, jihvā-pulled canonical-images
- Companion to 2884 (māpārī mortality-warning)