Abhanga 3844
This verse shows Tukaram speaking with formal social deference toward Brahmin authority, a stance that should be read alongside his other verses where he insists inner devotion matters more than caste or birth.
The verse
होऊं शब्दस्पर्श नये माझा तुम्हां । विप्रवृंदा तुम्हां ब्राम्हणांसी ॥१॥
म्हणोनियां तुम्हां करितों विनंती । द्यावें शेष हातीं उरलें तें ॥ध्रु.॥
वेदीं कर्म जैसें बोलिलें विहित । करावी ते नीत विचारूनि ॥२॥
तुमचा स्वधर्म माझा अधिकार । भोजन उत्तर तुका म्हणे ॥३॥
Literal translation
Hōūm śabda-sparśa naye mājhā tumhām — my word-touch should not (touch) you; vipra-vrndā tumhām brāmhaṇāmsī — you, vipra-vrnda, brāhmaṇas. Mhaṇōnīyām tumhām karitōm vinanti — therefore I make a vinanti; dyāve śeṣa hātīm urale te — give the śeṣa by hand that remains. Vedīm karma jaise bōlile vihita — as karma is spoken vihita in Veda; karāvī te nīta vichārūnī — perform the nīta by vichāra. Tumchā svadharma mājhā adhikāra — your svadharma; my adhikāra; bhōjana uttara Tukā mhaṇe — bhojana-uttara, Tukā says.
What it means
A striking 3-verse caste-humility text by Tukārām — must-be-read-historically.
The argument: My-śabda-sparśa shouldn't-touch you-brāhmaṇas; therefore-I-request-(by)-vinanti — give-me-the-śeṣa-leftover by-hand. You-perform-your-Vedic-svadharma by-vichāra; my-adhikāra is-only-bhōjana-uttara (eating-the-leftover).
Must-be-contextualized with-Tukārām's-other-caste-positions: - 2755 (śūdra-vamśī autobiographical declaration; no-adhikāra-for-akṣara-recitation) - 2973 (inner-quality-over-outer-jāti; no-jāti-business in-Nāma) - 3040 (even-karma-bhraṣṭa brāhmaṇa is-greater than-pretender)
This-text represents-the-formal-deferential-stance Tukārām-takes-when-addressing-the-Brāhmaṇa-establishment; elsewhere he-radically-democratizes (2973) or-claims-radical-humility (2755). The stance varies-by-context.
For someone today
Tukārām's text of deference toward caste hierarchy. Even my word-touch should not touch you — you brāhmaṇas, the assembly of vipras. Therefore I make a request to you — give me by hand whatever leftover remains. Perform the prescribed Vedic karma with due consideration. Yours is svadharma; my role is only to eat what is left over. The verse permits this formally deferential stance toward the brāhmaṇa establishment. It should be read alongside Tukārām's other statements on caste, where elsewhere he insists that inner devotion matters far more than birth or social position, and that even a corrupt brāhmaṇa outranks a pretender — showing how his stance shifted with context.
मराठी: तुकारामांचा हा जातिव्यवस्थेप्रती नम्रतेचा उतारा — ऐतिहासिक संदर्भात वाचावा असा. माझा शब्दस्पर्शही तुम्हांला होऊ नये — हे विप्रवृंदा, ब्राह्मणांनो. म्हणून मी तुम्हांला विनंती करतो — जे उरेल ते हातांनी मला द्यावे. वेदांत सांगितल्याप्रमाणे कर्म विचारपूर्वक करावे. तुमचा स्वधर्म वेगळा; माझा अधिकार फक्त उरलेले अन्न खाण्यापुरता आहे. या ओवीत ब्राह्मण-संस्थेप्रती हा औपचारिक नम्र भाव दिसतो. तुकारामांच्या इतर वचनांसोबत हे वाचायला हवे, जिथे ते स्पष्टपणे म्हणतात की जन्म किंवा जातीपेक्षा अंतरंगातील भक्ती अधिक महत्त्वाची असते, आणि भ्रष्ट ब्राह्मणही ढोंगी माणसापेक्षा श्रेष्ठ असतो — यावरून त्यांची भूमिका प्रसंगानुसार बदलत असल्याचे दिसते.
Where this applies
- Striking caste-humility — read-historically
- Must-be-contextualized with 2755, 2973, 3040
- Bhōjana-uttara = my-adhikāra deferential-stance