Abhanga 3586
Tāke krpaṇa tō jevūm kāya ghālī — one stingy-with-tāka — what will he serve to eat; āhācha te chālīvarunī kaḷe — superficiality is known by his stride.
The verse
ताकें कृपण तो जेवूं काय घाली । आहाच ते चालीवरुनि कळे ॥१॥
काय तुम्हां वेचे घातलें सांकडें । माहें आलें कोडें आजिवरि ॥ध्रु.॥
सेवेंविण आम्ही न लिंपों काया । जाला देवराया निर्धार हा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तुझीं राखावया ब्रीदें । येणें अनुवादें कारियासी ॥३॥
Literal translation
Tāke krpaṇa tō jevūm kāya ghālī — one stingy-with-tāka — what will he serve to eat; āhācha te chālīvarunī kaḷe — superficiality is known by his stride. Kāya tumhām veche ghātale sāmkaḍe — what have you spent — what sāmkaḍē; māhe āle kōḍe ājivari — my (something) came only as kōḍe until now. Sevevīṇa āmhī na limpōm kāyā — without sevā, we won't tend the body; jālā devarāyā nirdhāra hā — this is the resolve, O Deva-rāya. Tukā mhaṇe tujhīm rākhāvayā bride — Tukā says: to preserve your bride; yeṇe anuvāde kāriyāsī — by this anuvāda for the kāriya.
What it means
A 3-verse provocation-prayer. The-stingy-tāka-host can't-serve-anything; superficiality is-visible-in-stride; what-have-you-really-spent on me — my-thing was a riddle till-now; without-sevā I-won't-anoint-this-kāyā — that's the-resolve, O Deva-rāya; Tukā says: this-refrain is for-preserving your-vow, for the work. The argument: even the Lord's brida (vow) is being-protected by this very-prayer-of-protest.
For someone today
A theological-rhetorical move: I-won't-do-the-bare-minimum without-your-sevā-being-actual; even my-protest serves-your-vow.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's tāka-stingy-host; preserve-your-vow provocation
- Companion to 3584-3585 (chāḷavaṇī, after-cooking-false)