संत साहित्य
Work in progress. Translations and commentary are AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies or hallucinations — please use your own judgement and check against the original sources.
संत साहित्य · Tukārām · Abhanga 4164 of 4582

Abhanga 4164

Ātām bare jāle — sakāḷīm chi kaḷōm āle — now (it is) well — it became known in the morning.

Tukārām's coming-here-was-a-mistake; keep-me-in-niraya-instead canonical bitter-self-deprecation

The verse

आतां बरें जालें । सकाळीं च कळों आलें ॥१॥ मज न ठेवीं इहलोकीं । आलों तेव्हां जाली चुकी ॥ध्रु.॥ युगमहिमा ठावा । नव्हता ऐसा पुढें देवा ॥२॥ तुका म्हणे ठेवीं । भोगासाटीं निरयगांवीं ॥३॥

Literal translation

Ātām bare jāle — sakāḷīm chi kaḷōm ālenow (it is) well — it became known in the morning. Maja na ṭhevīm ihalōkīm — ālōm tevhām jālī chukīdon't keep me in this loka — when I came, a mistake was made. Yugamahimā ṭhāvā — navhatā aisā puḍhe devāthe greatness-of-the-age was not (visible) thus ahead, Deva. Tukā mhaṇe ṭhevīm — bhōgāsāṭīm nirayagāvīmTukā says: keep (me) — for bhōga in niraya-village (instead).

What it means

A 3-verse bitter self-statement. Just-now-it-became-known; don't-keep-me-in-this-loka — my-coming-was-a-mistake; the-yuga-mahimā-wasn't-visible-to-me-from-outside; keep-me-in-niraya-village-for-bhōga-instead. The bitter-irony: niraya-gāva would-be-better-than-this-Kali-yuga-village.

For someone today

Tukārām says: some-days-this-world-feels-worse-than-hell; coming-here-feels-like-a-mistake; but-it-is-the-Lord-who-placed-us.

Where this applies