Abhanga 3942
Āvaḍe sakaḷā miṣṭānna — all love sweet-food; rōgyā viṣā tyā-samāna — to the sick, it equals viṣa.
The verse
आवडे सकळां मिष्टान्न । रोग्या विषा त्यासमान ॥१॥
दर्पण नावडे तया एका । ठाव नाहीं ज्याच्या नाका ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे तैशा खळा । उपदेशाचा कांटाळा ॥३॥
Literal translation
Āvaḍe sakaḷā miṣṭānna — all love sweet-food; rōgyā viṣā tyā-samāna — to the sick, it equals viṣa. Darpaṇa nāvaḍe tayā ekā — the mirror is not liked by the one; ṭhāva nāhī jyāñcyā nākā — who has no place for a nose. Tukā mhaṇe taiśā khaḷā — Tukā says: similarly, the khaḷa; upadeśāñcā kāṇṭāḷā — has revulsion for upadeśa.
What it means
A short 3-verse observation by Tukārām with 2 striking-images.
The images: 1. Miṣṭānna-loved-by-all but-poison-to-sick 2. Mirror-hated by-the-noseless (because-the-mirror-shows-the-defect)
The application: the khaḷa hates upadeśa — because upadeśa-exposes-his-fault like-mirror-exposes-no-nose.
For someone today
Tukārām's fitness-of-receiver observation. All love sweet-food — but for the sick, it equals poison. The mirror is not liked by the one who has no place for a nose. Similarly, the rogue has revulsion for instruction. The verse permits the diagnostic that-the-khaḷa-hates-upadeśa because-it-mirrors-his-defect.
Where this applies
- Tukārām's fitness-of-receiver observation
- Mirror-and-noseless canonical-image
- Khaḷa-hates-upadeśa canonical-claim