Abhanga 3753
Cling to what truly matters as stubbornly as an ant clings to sugar or a hungry dog clings to food, and let that same fierce grip go toward devotion instead of craving and rivalry.
The verse
आतां येणें पडिपाडें । रस सेवूं हा निवाडें । मुंगी नेली गोडें । ठेविलिये अडचणी ॥१॥
तैसें होय माझ्या जीवा । चरण न सोडीं केशवा । विषयबुद्धि हेवा । वोस पडो सकळ ॥ध्रु.॥
भुकेलिया श्वाना । गांठ पडे सवें अन्ना । भुकों पाहे प्राणा । परि तोंडिंची न सोडी ॥२॥
काय जिंकियेलें मन । जीवित्व कामातुरा तृण । मागे विभिचारिण । भक्ती तुका ये जाती ॥३॥
Literal translation
Ātām yeṇe paḍipāḍe — rasa sevūm hā nivāḍe — now in this paḍipāḍa — taste the rasa with nivāḍa; mumgī nelī gōḍe — ṭhevaliye aḍchaṇī — the ant taken-by-sugar is stuck in difficulty. Taise hōya mājhyā jīvā — charaṇa na sōḍīm Keśavā — so let it be with my jīva — don't leave charaṇa, Keśava; viṣaya-buddhi hevā — vōsa paḍō sakaḷa — let all viṣaya-buddhi and hevā fall vōsa. Bhukeliyā śvānā — gāṇṭha paḍe save annā — hungry dog — a knot binds with anna; bhukōm pāhe prāṇā — pari tōṇḍimñcī na sōḍī — ready to give prāṇa — yet won't leave the mouth's (food). Kāya jinkiyele mana — jīvitva kāmāturā trṇa — have (I) conquered mana? — life is trṇa to kāmātura; māge vibhichāriṇa — bhaktī Tukā ye jātī — behind, the adulteress — bhakti, Tukā, comes by jāti.
What it means
A striking 3-verse text with-two-clinging-images: ant-stuck-by-its-own-sugar-grasp and hungry-dog-won't-leave-mouth's-food-even-to-save-prāṇa. Tukārām petitions to-cling-similarly to-Keśava's-feet.
For someone today
Tukaram paints two vivid pictures of clinging. An ant gets stuck because it will not let go of a grain of sugar, and a hungry dog, even facing death, will not drop the food from its mouth. He prays that his own soul might cling to Keshava's feet with that same stubborn grip, letting go instead of worldly cravings, envy, and rivalry. He is honest that he has not fully conquered his mind, that desire can make life feel as cheap as straw, and that old temptations still trail behind him. Even so, he trusts that devotion takes hold in a person the way it is meant to.
मराठी: तुकाराम दोन ठळक प्रतिमा देतात. गोड साखरेचा दाणा न सोडल्याने मुंगी अडकते, आणि भुकेलेला कुत्रा प्राण जाण्याची वेळ आली तरी तोंडातला घास सोडत नाही. तशीच पकड आपल्या जीवाने केशवाच्या चरणांवर धरावी आणि विषयलालसा, मत्सर व स्पर्धा सोडून द्यावी अशी ते प्रार्थना करतात. मन अजून पूर्णपणे जिंकले नाही, वासनेमुळे आयुष्य गवतासारखे स्वस्त वाटते आणि जुने मोह अजूनही पाठीशी आहेत, हे ते प्रामाणिकपणे कबूल करतात. तरीही भक्ती माणसाच्या स्वभावात रुजते यावर त्यांचा विश्वास आहे.
Where this applies
- When you notice you are clinging tightly to something small, like the ant clinging to sugar, even though it traps you
- When old cravings or habits still tempt you even after you have tried to let them go
- When you want your devotion or commitment to something good to be as stubborn as an animal's grip on food
- When you are honest with yourself that your mind is not yet fully conquered