Abhanga 3821
A soul caught up in worldly bondage becomes like a tied bee, a led monkey, or a panting chained bear, paraded and exhausted with no one to set it free.
The verse
पायां लावुनियां दोरी । भृंग बांधिला लेंकुरीं ॥१॥
तैसा पावसी बंधन । मग सोडवील कोण ॥ध्रु.॥
गळां बांधोनियां दोरी । वांनर हिंडवी घरोघरीं ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे पाहें । रीस धांपा देत आहे ॥३॥
Literal translation
Leg-tied-rope — bhrnga-bound-by-children. So-you'll-fall-bandhana — who-will-release? Rope-on-neck — monkey-led-house-to-house. Tukā: see — bear-panting.
What it means
A 3-verse captivity-warning text. Putting a rope on its leg, children have bound a bee. So will you fall into bondage — then who will free you? Putting a rope around its neck, they lead the monkey house-to-house. See, says Tukā — the (street-show) bear is panting (in chains). Three vivid 17th-c. street-life images — children with bees on a string, the snake-charmer's monkey, the dancing-bear panting in performance — each a metaphor for the soul caught in samsāra-display.
For someone today
Tukaram paints three street scenes from his own time: children tying a bee to a string, a monkey led house to house on a rope, a dancing bear panting in chains for a crowd's entertainment. He warns that this is what happens to a soul caught up in the world's show, bound and paraded until it is exhausted, with no one around to set it free. The verse asks you to notice before you end up like the bee, the monkey, or the bear.
मराठी: तुकाराम त्यांच्या काळातली तीन दृश्ये उभी करतात: मुले भुंग्याला दोरीने बांधतात, माकडाला गळ्यात दोरी घालून घरोघर फिरवतात, आणि नाचणारे अस्वल साखळदंडात हांफत असते, फक्त लोकांच्या मनोरंजनासाठी. ते इशारा देतात की संसारात अडकलेल्या जीवाचीही अशीच अवस्था होते, बांधलेली आणि प्रदर्शनात फिरवलेली, आणि सोडवायला कोणी नसते. हा अभंग सांगतो की भुंगा, माकड किंवा अस्वल होण्याआधी सावध व्हा.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's bee-monkey-bear captivity-images canonical mortal-bondage warning
- 17th-c. street-life as bondage-metaphor