Abhanga 3718
Tukārām warns plainly against letting a bad companion get too close or familiar, because that kind of person disturbs your peace of mind again and again. He compares them to a snake that looks calm and harmless while resting, but strikes immediately the moment it is provoked, so its stillness should never be mistaken for real gentleness. His advice is simple and direct, keep such people at a distance, because their words and their actions rarely match. Real caution here is not cruelty, it is just clear-eyed self-protection.
The verse
नेदावी सलगी न करावा संग । करी चित्ता भंग वेळोवेळा ॥१॥
सर्प शांतिरूप न म्हणावा भला । झोंबे खवळीला तात्काळ तो ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे दुरी राखावा दुर्जन । करावें वचन न घडे तें ॥३॥
Literal translation
Don't-give-salagī-don't-keep-sanga — breaks-chitta-vēḷō-vēḷā. Don't-call-sarpa-good-in-śānti-rūpa — provoked-strikes-tāt-kāḷa. Tukā: keep-durjana-far — they-don't-do-what-they-say.
What it means
A 3-verse anti-bad-company text. Don't give intimacy, don't keep company — (the durjana) breaks the chitta time-and-again. Don't call the snake good when in peaceful-form — when provoked it strikes immediately. Tukā: keep the durjana far — they don't do what they promise. Companion to 3531 (sāpā na kaḷē kuravāḷilē — the snake doesn't know being-petted), 3392 (canonical 4-image anti-kusanga).
For someone today
Tukārām warns plainly against letting a bad companion get too close or familiar, because that kind of person disturbs your peace of mind again and again. He compares them to a snake that looks calm and harmless while resting, but strikes immediately the moment it is provoked, so its stillness should never be mistaken for real gentleness. His advice is simple and direct, keep such people at a distance, because their words and their actions rarely match. Real caution here is not cruelty, it is just clear-eyed self-protection.
मराठी: तुकाराम स्पष्टपणे इशारा देतात की वाईट सोबत्याला फार जवळ किंवा घरगुती येऊ देऊ नये, कारण अशी व्यक्ती वारंवार तुमच्या मनःशांतीला धक्का देते. ते अशा माणसाची तुलना सापाशी करतात जो शांत बसलेला दिसतो, निरुपद्रवी वाटतो, पण चिथावणी मिळताच लगेच दंश करतो, म्हणून त्याची शांतता खऱ्या सौम्यतेत गोंधळून घेऊ नये. त्यांचा सल्ला सोपा आणि थेट आहे, अशा लोकांना दूर ठेवा, कारण त्यांचे बोलणे आणि त्यांचे वागणे क्वचितच जुळते. इथली खरी सावधगिरी क्रूरता नाही, ती फक्त स्पष्ट दृष्टीने केलेली स्वतःची काळजी आहे.
Where this applies
- When someone repeatedly disturbs your peace of mind and you keep excusing it because they seem calm most of the time
- When a person appears harmless or gentle but has a history of turning sharp the moment they are provoked
- When you notice a gap between what someone promises and what they actually do
- When you have to decide to keep your distance from someone instead of letting them get closer to you