Abhanga 3856
Jayāsī nāvaḍe vaiṣṇavāñcā sanga — one to-whom Vaiṣṇava-sanga not pleasing; jāṇāvā tō mānga janmāntarīm — know him as mānga in prior-birth.
The verse
जयासी नावडे वैष्णवांचा संग । जाणावा तो मांग जन्मांतरीं ॥१॥
अपवित्र वाचा जातीचा अधम । आचरण धर्म नाहीं जया ॥ध्रु.॥
मंजुळवदनीं बचनागाची कांडी । शेवटीं विघडी जीवप्राणा ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे ज्याचा पिता नाहीं शुद्ध । तयासी गोविंद अंतरला ॥३॥
Literal translation
Jayāsī nāvaḍe vaiṣṇavāñcā sanga — one to-whom Vaiṣṇava-sanga not pleasing; jāṇāvā tō mānga janmāntarīm — know him as mānga in prior-birth. Apavitra vāchā jātīñcā adhama — impure vāchā, of adhama-jāti; ācharaṇa dharma nāhīm jayā — no ācharaṇa-dharma in him. Mamjuḷavadanīm bachanāgāñcī kāmḍī — bachanāga (poison-stalk) with sweet-mouth; śevaṭīm vighaḍī jīva-prāṇā — at end, tears jīva-prāṇa. Tukā mhaṇe jyāñcā pitā nāhīm śuddha — Tukā says: whose pitā not śuddha; tayāsī Govinda antaralā — Govinda distant from him.
What it means
A 3-verse polemic. Tukārām claims: one-who-doesn't-like-Vaiṣṇava-sanga is-spiritually-low and-far-from-Govinda. Uses 17th-c language including the mānga (low-caste-from-prior-birth) framing — must-be-read in-its-historical-context, not as endorsing-caste-essentialism.
For someone today
Tukārām's polemic: to dislike-bhakta-company is-itself-a-sign of-spiritual-misalignment.
Where this applies
- Anti-Vaiṣṇava-disliker polemic
- Uses 17th-c context-language; bound-to-time