Abhanga 3701
Those who mock and condemn a sincere devotee for their devotion are the ones who bring trouble on themselves, not the devotee.
The verse
काय करूं पोरा लागली चट । धरी वाट देउळाची ॥१॥
सांगितलें नेघे कानीं । दुजें मनीं विठ्ठल ॥ध्रु.॥
काम घरीं न करी धंदा । येथें सदा दुश्चित ॥२॥
आमचे कुळीं नव्हतें ऐसें । हें च पिसें निवडलें ॥३॥
लौकिकाची नाहीं लाज । माझें मज पारिखें ॥४॥
तुका म्हणे नरका जाणें । त्या वचनें दुष्टांचीं ॥५॥
Literal translation
(Elder:) What-to-do-pōrā-chaṭa-stuck-takes-temple-path. Doesn't-hear — Viṭhṭhal-in-mind. No-household-work — always-restless. Wasn't-our-family-way — only-this-pisē-sorted-out. No-lokika-lāja — mine-alien. Tukā: those-speaking-such — go-to-naraka.
What it means
A rare 5-verse ventriloquist text — Tukārām voices a complaining-elder (likely a relative or neighbor) speaking-about-him. The complaint: my-boy is stuck-on-temple-going, doesn't-hear-me, doesn't-work-household, always-restless, wasn't-our-family-way, no-shame-for-public-opinion, mine-became-alien. Then Tukārām snaps back: such-speakers-go-to-naraka. The dramatic device is rare in this corpus. Compare 3617 (Tukā-jhalā-sāṇḍā), 3627 (deva-pisī-self-identification).
For someone today
Tukārām puts on the voice of a frustrated elder complaining about a young man who is completely devoted to going to the temple, someone who will not listen, will not do his household work, and seems restless and strange to a family that never had someone like this before. The elder says this boy has lost all shame for what people will think and feels like a stranger to his own family. Then Tukārām turns the verse around sharply, saying that people who mock and condemn a sincere devotee like this are the ones truly headed for trouble. If you have ever been called foolish or shamed for caring too much about something sacred, this verse is on your side, not the critics'.
मराठी: तुकाराम एका वैतागलेल्या वडीलधाऱ्या माणसाच्या तोंडून बोलतात, जो एका तरुणाबद्दल तक्रार करतो जो पूर्णपणे देवळात जाण्यात मग्न आहे, जो काही ऐकत नाही, घरचे काम करत नाही, आणि ज्या कुटुंबात असे कोणी कधी नव्हते त्या कुटुंबाला हा बेचैन आणि विचित्र वाटतो. तो वडीलधारा माणूस म्हणतो की या मुलाला लोक काय म्हणतील याची लाजच उरलेली नाही आणि तो स्वतःच्याच कुटुंबाला परका वाटू लागला आहे. मग तुकाराम कडाडून हे वळण फिरवतात आणि म्हणतात की अशा प्रामाणिक भक्ताची थट्टा करणारे आणि त्याला दोष देणारे तेच खरे संकटात सापडणार आहेत. जर एखाद्या पवित्र गोष्टीची तुम्हाला खूप काळजी वाटते म्हणून तुम्हाला कधी मूर्ख ठरवले गेले असेल किंवा लाजवले गेले असेल, तर हा अभंग टीका करणाऱ्यांच्या नाही, तुमच्या बाजूने आहे.
Where this applies
- Rare ventriloquist text — elder-voice complaining about Tukārām
- Closing-curse on those-who-speak-against-bhaktas
- Companion to 3617 (Tukā-jhalā-sāṇḍā), 3627 (deva-pisī)