Abhanga 3822
The verse
मायबापें सांभाळिती । लोभाकारणें पाळिती ॥१॥
तैसा नव्हे देवराव । याचा कृपाळु स्वभाव ॥ध्रु.॥
मनासारिखें न होतां । बाळकासी मारी माता ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे सांगूं किती । बाप लेंकासी मारिती ॥३॥
Literal translation
Māyabāpas-protect — by-lōbha-they-pāḷitī. Not-so-Devarāya — krpāḷu-svabhāva. Not-as-mind — mātā-beats-bāḷaka. Tukā: how-many — bāpa-strikes-lēnka.
What it means
A 3-verse Devarāya-better-than-mother text. Mother-fathers protect — but they rear out of self-interest. Not so the Devarāya — his very nature is compassionate. When the child does not behave as the mother wishes, the mother strikes him. How many cases shall I tell — fathers strike their sons. A clear-eyed view of human parenting: love mixed with self-interest, with frequent corporal punishment — contrasted with Devarāya's unconditional krpāḷu-svabhāva. Compare 2597 (tūm-mājhī-māulī) where Tukārām calls Viṭhṭhal mother — here he sharpens the contrast: even human mothers beat children; Deva does not.
For someone today
Tukārām: human-parents-rear-by-self-interest-and-beat-children; Devarāya-is-krpāḷu-by-nature.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's Devarāya-krpāḷu-svabhāva-unconditional canonical
- Mother-beating-child realistic image
- Pair with 2597 (Viṭṭhal-as-mother-canonical-prayer)