संत साहित्य
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संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 4051 of 4582

Abhanga 4051

Tukārām's anti-durjana-without-compassion polemic

The verse

धिग तो दुर्जन नाहीं भूतदया । व्यर्थ तया माया प्रसवली ॥१॥ कठिण हृदय तया चांडाळाचें । नेणे पराचें दुःख कांहीं ॥ध्रु.॥ आपुला का प्राण तैसे सकळ लोक । न करी विवेक पशु जैसा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे सुखें कापीतसे गळे । आपुलिया वेळे रडतसे ॥३॥

Literal translation

Shame on the durjana with no bhūta-dayā; māyā in-vain gave-birth-to-him. Cruel-heart of such a chāṇḍāḷa; doesn't know other's duḥkha. As his own prāṇa, so should all lōka be — (yet) he does no viveka, like-an-animal. Tukā: cheerfully he cuts throats — at his own time, he cries.

What it means

A polemic against the one-without-bhūta-dayā: lacking-compassion is-the-distinguishing-defect. Compare bhakti = bowing-to-jīva-jantu-bhūta (2657).

For someone today

The cruel-one cuts others' throats cheerfully, then cries when his own turn comes — the ethic-of-bhūta-dayā is universal-reciprocity.

Where this applies